Dear Abby

Hello all! I read this article today and it stirred a bit of emotion in me so I thought I would share. I e-mailed Abby my thoughts as well and I explained to her that I do not think college is bad it is AWESOME, however it is a choice and is not the right choice for everyone, like me for example and I will tell you why.
I have put my responses in red, I hope you enjoy this and please comment on your thoughts!

DEAR ABBY: My girlfriend and I have been living together for two years and are starting to talk about marriage.(This is a good thing) She is kind and considerate, and we love each other. (Aww that is the most important thing) The only problem is, I have a college degree and she has only a high school diploma.(So, let me get this you love her but she isn't as smart as you?) I always imagined that I'd marry a college-educated person, but she has no desire to attend college or to get any other type of schooling, either. (What is wrong with her! lol)
I'm worried, Abby, because I'm afraid that we won't have a secure financial future because of her limited education.(Maybe if $ is you biggest concern you should get your Masters) I want to provide a good life for our future children.(So you love her now and you want to have children with her but she can't offer you the money you want?) Should I ignore my concerns?(No) Or should I depart from this relationship? ( I say depart if you think that money can buy a good life, for yourself or your kids. There are ways to get by, you do not have to be rich in money to be rich in love!)-- LOOKING TWICE IN IDAHO


DEAR LOOKING TWICE: Your concerns should certainly not be ignored. However, your last question is one only you can answer.(Okay I'm in agreement.)
And since we're on the subject of "questions," I have a few more for you: Although a college degree is not the end-all and be-all in determining success,( yes) is this young woman at all ambitious?(Hold up, ambition and college are two different things. How many people do you know that are in college but have no ambition? I know a ton!) Is she willing to expand her career options, or does she plan to be a housewife and stay-at-home mother?( And if she did want to be a housewife and stay at home mother would that make her ambitious? I think so b/c it is more difficult to control your spending and lifestyle in order for a mother to stay at home.)
You and your girlfriend could benefit from premarital counseling.(Yeah) After that, you will both have a clearer picture of what your future together will hold.

Not much if you keep judging her for not choosing college! Again I think that college is great for the right people but it does not make you rich, it does not make you successful, it does not make you anything really. You determine your own success, you and God. You can create that in so many different ways, not just through college!

Personally I don't like school. It is very difficult for me, I don't enjoy it, and I don't have the desire to go! Why would I spend 30,000.00 on something I don't care about? I can work maybe I won't rake in the big bucks but I don't need them. We have everything we need, food, shelter, love, and God. So I am content is that so wrong?!

Please I would like to hear your take!

Mrs. Natural ( well I'm working on it)

Woo hoo I found a local Natural Food Store! Sweet Meadows Farm Market. It is really cute inside. The only thing is I don't know what to buy! It's awful that I'm so used to having stores that guide all my buys that I don't know how to think for myself! So I'm doing a little research on what I need. I want to start with the basics.

My first local purchase was milk and root beer. The milk is from a local dairy farm in a glass bottle that you bring back when you're done to refill, I love it.. I even took pictures he he. The root beer was soooooooo good. Were weening off the pop. We drink a lot of tea in the summer time so its not too bad.

I'm so excited for this weekend because my husband is going to help me with my garden. I think were going to plant sweet corn, broccoli, green peppers, tomatoes, green beans, watermelons, and strawberries. I plan to do some canning so that we will be set for the winter. Hopefully I can learn to make jelly too.

I would love to hear your gardening tips or shopping ideas!

About $

When I think about money the first emotion that I feel is frustration. I do not like needing it and honestly I'm not the best at handling it. In the past few months I have made a few minor changes that really help me in my spending.

1. No Debit Card
2. Duplicate checks
3.No credit cards
4.Carry little cash
5.Direct Deposit
6.Make shopping list

I'm not making a huge savings off this plan, however I'm chasing my bills instead of them chasing after me. Dept free is obviously the ultimate goal. Were in the process of buying our 1st home so I suppose it will take around ugh 30 yrs to meet my ultimate goal, but long term goals are the best ones :).

Have you seen the credit card commercial where the guy is in a mall or food court and he pays with cash and the whole place comes to a halt? He slows everything down. I think the advertisement even states something along the lines of not letting money slow you down. Don't quote me on that but its something like that, you get my drift.

In my opinion that is exactly what we need to do. Slow down that is. This country is all about the impulse sales. I'm a sucker and I know it so if i take away my debit card and credit cards I have to stop and think about what I'm spending. In most cases I would actually have to go to the bank and get my money (OMG thats so inconvenient!).

The duplicate checks just help me keep track of what I am buying. I'm not very good at writing down everything so this leaves a trail for me. All plastic payment options are stupid. The company behind that card is going to make its money off of you somehow so chop em up! Ill be the first to admit if its in my wallet and I want something bad enough I will give into my temptation, so I take the temptation away. ( We can use this in other areas of life :) as well! )

Baby steps is my motto. My oldest sister Mandy and I are trying*** not to buy new. I like this idea way much. It is challening and I deffinatly dont always follow the rules but I am doing better everyday!

What do you do to stash your cash?

Get Functional

As you may know I work at a fitness club. Nautilus and Body Jetics 24/7 Fitness. I love it! I love helping people meet their goals, its awesome!

Functional Fitness is my favorite. Its for people of all fitness levels. Functional fitness is great because it will help you in your everyday task. When you lift weight at the gym or in your home you concentrate using one muscle at a time. Functional Fitness is using different muscles together. For example when you are grocery shopping you don't grab a can of beans off the bottom shelf and curl it 10 times. You do squat down turn stand up and place the can in your cart ( yes this is exercise!).

Wouldn't it be more useful to exercise muscles that help you in your everyday duties!?

I like to use a 7-9 lb Medicine Ball. You can use anything really a heavy book is an idea or even two cans of bean. Whatever you can find around the house will work. I find its easier for me when using one object with both hands on it. Its easier to balance.

A couple exercises to try:

*hint* keep your eyes on the book, it will force you to move with the book, using more muscles.

* The wood chop: Stand with your book above your head. Arms fully extended, legs a little more than shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Bend from the waist and swing the book between your legs then right back to the start position. I do 3 set of 12.

* The side chop: Standing the same way hold your book straight in front of your chest, come down between your legs, back to start position then turn as far as you can to your left side repeat motion 3x12 then do the same to your right side. (Arms stay at chest level not above the head.)

This is just two but give it a try! Let me know if you hurt in a good way the next day!

To live for today or tomorrow?

"Its only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest as if it was the only one we had."
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

I am reading Chicken Soup for the Couples Soul. I love these books :). They give you that warm fuzzy feeling! This caught my eye and got me thinking (scary I know). It's difficult to think about death. Last week a girl that I know from High School (an acquaintance not a close friend but I talked to her nearly everyday for 3 years) was killed. A horrible accident. Carly wrecked her car, while walking to find help she was hit by a 19 yr old paper boy.

She was so kind. I remember the way she talked. She had a beautiful smile. I'm am sure this is much more difficult for her family and close friends to handle. I pray that Carly is in happy in Heaven today. Such a tragic death, makes me wonder why? Why do these things happen?

A few months ago I was driving listening to the radio. It was announced that a teenage girl and her grandmother slid on a patch of ice, the car went in to the river, men jumped in after them. They could see them banging on the windows and couldn't help them. Sorry if I'm depressing you but it's a part of life. This accident made me sick. When I came home from work I found out that the teenage girl was my husband's cousin's best friend. Now it wasn't just a story on the radio, it was real because it touched the life of someone I am close to.

I got so upset. My mom is a Hospice nurse. When I'm trying to understand death she can usually calm me down. She did help me to understand that death happens. It's going to happen to her some day, it's going to happen to you, and yes it's even going to happen to me! I still didn't hear what I needed to, believe it or not my mom doesn't have all the answers, but I know somebody who does.... So I open my Bible.

I'm reading my Bible to my hubby every night from front to back. I opened it and picked up where I left off the night before. God cleared things up. It was talking about when the apostles just found out that Jesus was going to be killed. They were so upset, inconsolable. Jesus told them do not question acts of God. You have no idea what God's plan is. We must accept that God has a plan and it's not for us to understand, but one day it will show all its perfection.

So I'm thinking maybe when I die God will pull out his blue prints. Maybe he will say remember when Carly died, or remember when things didn't go your way? Well, here's what I was doing. I will say ohhhhhhhhh okay now I get it...lol! I don't know if it will work out just this way. I do believe that when I do pass to the other side (hoping that I get where I want to go) there will be relief to all the worries and questions I have. I guess that's the beauty of Faith!

We do not know the hour. I am trying to live the best that I can for today for tomorrow b/c what I do today determines where Ill be tomarrow. Hope that my babbling makes sense!

holla back with your thoughts!

Walk Slowly, Live Wildly: Transforming

Walk Slowly, Live Wildly: Transforming

Its Hard

So Ive set a few goal for myself recently. My first goal is to get up early in the morning. When I say early I mean early enough to pack my husbands lunch, eat breakfast together, and still have time to get ready for work myself without rushing. This is hard for me because I love sleepy! Today I woke at about 5:20 my goal was 5:00 but hey I usually don't roll out of bed until 6:45 so its a start!

I'm also trying to uhhh lets say invest my marriage. I have a great marriage but I would like to invest more time in our future. Everybody keeps telling me that were still on the honeymoon which is a little scary because it doesn't always feel like a honeymoon! I think going to Church together is the best way to start.

I attended a Catholic school and grew up in a Catholic family. As we grew older my grandmother passed away and my mom could hardly go to Church because it reminds her of her mother. Its been 8 or more years sense my Grandma passed away. My mom goes to Church ones in a blue moon. I am trying to make Church a priority for my husband and I. I was talking to my mom yesterday and told here we were going to try a Non-Denominational Church closer to where we live and she was so upset with me. I know this is because I was raised Catholic and that is where she wants me to attend Church.

Don't worry I'm going somewhere with this story. Last night I got upset because I thought that I was doing something positive by being sure that we keep God in our lives and I got negative reactions. I laid down and read my Bible and what I read said don't try to please anybody but God, and that will please God.

I'm am sure that my mom wants God in my life, she isn't upset because she doesn't want me to have a strong faith but it doesn't matter. Obstacles that prevent you from getting close to God could present themselves in very different ways. So as much as I love my mama and value her I have to get my God in the way that works for me. So Catholics, Jews, Muslims, whoever you are if God speaks to you take it where ever you can get it. God said Hey Zay I know this nice Church just down the street from you, try it out, so I'm going to.

Its hard when your families beliefs conflict with your own! Id love to hear your thoughts!