11/11/11

I have always loved the number 11 so I have been excited for this day to come. How fun!  Well, if I love this number, one of my best friends, Angie, loves it 111 times more!   I even mentioned to her that maybe she could get married on this day.  That did not work out, but I still think she is going to have a great day. :)

Angie is the one in the middle. No, we are not sisters, we got that so much growing up! :) People thought because both of us had red hair that we HAD to be related. :)

Photo taken from http://justinsalemmeyer.zenfolio.com/, someday I will get my own copy when they are edited! :)

So, Angie, this is my tribute to you. Thank you for your friendship. Love you! Happy 11/11/11

My Car

I received my bill for the yearly registration of my car and thanked God that He provided me with a car for which I had to pay this. I am very thankful for my car. I used to have a lovely 1995 Mercury Sable. I actually adored that car and it got me through college and the first 6 months of marriage.

I think this is the only picture I have of my sable and it's with my hunny. :)

Toward the end of having it though, the engine would smoke every time I drove and then it would not have heat in the winter. The cause was some radiator problem that was supposedly fixed but then never really was.  The last time I drove the car the smoke not only was on the outside, it went into the interior of the car smoking me out. I thought I was going to die from smoke inhalation. That was fun. Anyway, so God provided the money to buy my current means of transportation, a 2003 Toyota Corolla.  So thankful. :)

Here is my love after Tim so graciously washed her.  The cleanest she ever has been. :)

Washer

Our washer decided to quit a few weeks ago.  It started the spin process and sounded terribly loud.  I thought that maybe it would be a lot to fix or unable to fix because our washer is so old!! Well, I was able to get the name of someone in our church and he came out, thought he found the problem in 5 minutes, and said he would buy the part and put it in the next day.  He put in the $27 part and it worked!! However, I started to do laundry and it smelled REALLY bad like a belt was burning.  THEN it squealed during the wash process. I was so nervous.  So I let the repairman know about the smell and he thought it would go away.  Well, after 5 loads the smell is better (still there), and the squeal is gone (for now). :)  All that to say, so thankful that it was not too much to fix!! Although, I was excited to maybe get a new high efficiency, low water washer. :)  We didn't really have the money for this, so just another thing to be thankful for--the blessings that God gives me!! What a cheap fix for now! :)

 My Happy Washer (as of now) :)

Buildings

I LOVE Nature--God's creation is AMAZING.  But I also love huge buildings as you can see from the background of my blog. :)  Wanted to post some pics I took in Chicago. :)

Willis Tower in the Background!

 More Willis Tower!

 I would like to work in this building. :)

 Love the Chicago Skyline!

 Going to Willis to go to the top!! YAY!

Tim's Student Loans

When I got married, I knew it would be an uphill battle financially. Tim has a Bachelor's degree and 2 Master's and it was not cheap to obtain those degrees. Needless to say, I have had many different emotions regarding the 3 loans he had. I have come to accept it and now actually like the challenge of paying the debt down.  I like seeing the amount owed go down each month. I feel accomplished. :)I really love accounting, numbers, and anything to do with calculating money.  I actually like paying bills each month because it makes me realize how much God has provided for me and it's also a good feeling that I worked hard to obtain the money to pay to live.  God just continues to prove Himself over and over to me and it's just amazing the blessings He has given. I have more posts about little blessings that I hope to write about.  Back to the loans, I wanted to "put in writing" how far we have come to see our progress.

When I got married in July 2009:

 $71,644.13


Loan #1: $43, 463.08

Loan #2: $7,815.21

Loan #3: $20,365.84


Now, October 2011:
$54,128.61


Loan #1: $39,305.69

Loan #2: $3,002.86

Loan #3: $11,820.06
Yes, we have a long way to go, but I am rejoicing in how far we've come. :)
I love seeing the numbers, so like I said, putting them on paper helps with the pain of paying a bunch of money each month. The amounts owed are getting smaller, little by little!

Thankful

This blog is really for my benefit as I want to put some of the things I am thankful for and remember the blessings that God has given me and how He provides.

Plus, I love computer design, so I am excited to work with design and style of this blog too. :)