A Journey of 30 Years or A Dream Fullfilled

The first time I remember the words coming out of my mouth I must have been around 10 and I had probably watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As I recall I said something like "Someday I will have a room just for chocolate!" As I got older I wanted room for horses and friends and kids but the basic dream remained unchanged. I wanted my own house.  I have been putting it together in my head, in magazines and recently on Pintrest. Some areas of style are pretty well nailed down and some are still pretty hazy. You would think after this long I would have it down cold right? Well no not really. Because although I've wanted a house for 30 years there were a lot of years there where I wasn't sure how it was ever going to happen. Making rent and feeding us was beyond my reach, but the dream was still there, lurking in the background.

The house has gotten smaller over the years in my head from a mega mansion to a place where friends can gather and it doesn't take all day to clean. The daydreams of a 10 year old to reality and lots of things in walking and driving distance for a 40 year old.  But dreams do come true and this American dream is now my by the grace of God and there is no doubt in my mind that His hand is in this real estate transaction.

Starting with a real estate agent from my family,  to a financial officer who was awesome. From the lack of nerves in the bidding process, to the loft that appeared that wasn't photographed, to the appraisal process. My sister in law found a house full of furniture from people who were moving at incredible rates (thanks again). DJ sewing and stuffing couch cushions, Brian hauling totes all over for me. Providence is everywhere in this process.

Here is the view from my new front door:



Here is my living room:



My window seat in the master bedroom:



My loft that will become my office:



I have all kinds of plans for redecorating and will post progress starting with the painting party this weekend.

Thank you in advance to everyone who is helping with the entire moving process. This has been a dream for me for as long as I can remember. Thank you to everyone involved.

I feel like I should ...

Finish reading Alice in Wonderland but as much as I love the movies the Lewis. Carroll book is a trial for me. I think Alice in the movies is fun and silly. It the book she is so far selfish and judgemental.

I dont like Alice much in the book so far and i feel like i should.

January Musings

TIts almost the end of January, this time next year the chaos of the general election will be over and we will be watching a President be sworn in. We will have a new Congress, and for those of us with plans for the year I hope we will all have achieved them.

Now how are we gonna get there folks? Well, that is the easy and the hard part. We have to have a goal, a plan, and follow it.  We learned in school about short term and long term goals right? I will admit I really didn't fully get it til I was older. But I do now break that big goal down into small goals. Keep breaking it down into chunks you can handle and then go for it!

What Freedom Means....

My brother Brian posted a YouTube video on Facebook the other day. It was not a short video.  Here is the link go ahead its a very worthwhile 20 minutes. Got it? OK good. Most of the ideas in the video are not new, but the manner they are put together in were very good and thought provoking.  George Carlin talked to us about Stuff 20 years ago. Glenn Beck and a cadre of financial management people have been trying to pound debt reduction though our heads for the last several years and most people except for Congress and Washington are listening. I heard a report on the news the other day that personal debt in the US has gone down 10%. Yeah us. So we are starting to listen. Starting. We need to do more than just start. But you know what? Freedom is individual and Michael Jackson had it right you have to start with the Man in the Mirror.

After listening to Adam Baker give his talk I thought about what Freedom means to me. There are all kinds of Freedom.  There is the the time of Freedom that makes me give money to the Heritage Foundation, support GBTV and the Fair Tax. But then there is the other type of Freedom, the financial kind that is frustrating me and the kind that I often call my perpetual hamster wheel. Have you ever watched a hamster or a gerbil on his little exercise wheel? The little guy is running for all he's worth often for hours on end, and he's not getting anywhere. And sometimes he's going so fast that when he stops he spins backwards for a full spin. I feel like that sometimes. So what do we do?

We stop spending more than we make. We take a good look around at what we have and ask what do we really need. But before we can decide what we need, we have to have a goal - a destination. I was missing a key part of that destination for a long time. I knew I wanted to buy a house, I could see the house in my head. I knew that I wanted the house for me and for my financial security. I also knew that I wasn't buying the house as a financial investment to move later. I am planning on buying and staying. But I have never been able to get really past that. What happens next? Where is my life? Sounds kinda silly right? Those of you who have read my somewhat infrequent blog may have picked up on the fact that most of my life I have spent my life living for others, I am a daughter, a sister, then I was a wife, I became a mom, I am an aunt. I have always focused on others. Focusing on myself is very hard. By no means am I saying I am going to ignore or neglect my family :) of course not. But for the first time I am starting to see how I would like to see my life when I'm not hanging out with my family. And hey...maybe some of those friends I haven't seen in forever will finally get to see me.

The good news for me in listening to Adams talk is that I have never been one to acquire stuff to impress others. The better news is that with a clearer vision of what I want my life to look like, there is more stuff that I can get rid of...although I have already completed a good portion of that step. As for the financial steps...my new mantra must be "Is spending this getting me closer to my goal?".