Fast Food vs Parental Responsibility

Today, Parents Magazine posted this saying that McDonald's is adding preservative laden apples and low-fat milk to their kid's meals. How are these "healthy" alternatives? Kids need the nutrients from milk. Taking that away is not serving any purpose.

First of all, why is this even a debate? Why are parents and even the government blaming the restaurants for unhealthy food menus? Did common sense really die? I mean, I did read an obit once... Why do we have any say in what a business serves? Stop griping about it and just stop eating there for cripes sakes. Tell your kids NO. I know it's hard, but you can do it. Really.. try it out... and laugh when they cry while telling them, "There's nothing to cry about. I'm saving you from a lifetime of potential health problems." They may not get it now, but one day they will thank you.

America is FAT. America is FAT because we make poor choices. And WHY we are asking our government to do something about it is beyond me. Seriously. Grow up and put your big girl/boy pants on and make your own decisions! We think that eating out is quicker, cheaper than groceries and more convenient. But, the fact remains that it is not cheaper to eat out. In fact, it has a long-term cost associated with it. Heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity.

And is it really faster? It takes me 10 minutes to sautee up some zukes and mushrooms. It takes 20 minutes for me to make a homemade pizza. It takes 5 minutes to make a salad. Back in the day, when I ate a lot of fast food, I remember waiting 45 minutes one time in a Whataburger drive-thru line for my burger. How is that faster? That meal cost me over $7.

A package of hamburger meat is $4. Buns are $1. A head of lettuce is $1. Tomatoes are 88 cents a lb. If I really want to load it up, I can get a block of cheese for $5. Cheese that I can use for all sorts of things since I obviously wouldn't use it all for hamburgers. Then I can get a bag of frozen fries, or a potato for a couple of bucks. So, for about $8 I can make 6 hamburgers and have fries with that.

Cheaper? Ha. No. And, I know what's in my burger that I made myself. Do you know what's in your fast food burger? Want to know? click here.. Over to the right there's a list of categories. I don't know about you, but if I can't pronounce is, or know what it is, I really don't want to eat it anymore.

The bottom line is I'm tired of hearing from parents or even single people saying they don't have time. Make time. Budget your time better. If you are over scheduled, figure out why.Why people put their health as a lower priority on their list of things to do bugs me.

Homemade Jewelry

I don't plug very often... but Kelly's business is worth plugging.

So, go check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PeanutGalleryJewelry?ref=si_shop

Swing Set Defeated!

Dear Flexible Flyer Swing Set,

DIE.

Love,

Kristal

A few weeks ago I went on the hunt for a small swing set. I only found one that didn't require me to buy lumber. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I've been asking since March for one to be built. It wasn't something I could do by myself with an infant, so I knew I needed help. Well, I waited... and waited... I finally asked my stepmom if she thought my dad could help, but he's swamped right now.

So, this is what I was stuck with if I wanted anything any time soon. Kaylee's swing was sitting in my room in a corner collecting dust. When the swing arrived, Brian was able to carry it in by himself, which basically told me "I can put this together by myself."

That statement was true, but at the very beginning of the process, I was ready to take a baseball bat to it. When I went to put the two top bars together, this is what I saw:

How the heck are they supposed to fit together when the manufacturer left the metal punch outs inside?!?!? After being mad the rest of the day, searching for another swing, I gave up and got the Dremel out.


Take that you jerk! Now... please last us 10 years because I never want to build another one of these again.

PS: Would anyone like to come mow? :)

Kale Chips

I have just finished my first ever dehydrating project. I started with something I've actually never had. A while back I did a Groupon for a local grocery delivery service. It delivered a bunch of locally grown vegetables, which I shared with a good friend. In the bucket was kale. I had no clue what it was. Thankfully, my friend is a vegetarian, so she could tell me all that we got. She even gave us a way to cook it up. Both Brian and I really enjoyed the dish! I've never been a big chip person, but every now and then I get the urge to gorge myself with them. This is why I wanted to try making some veggie chips.

The results:

Why my picture is portrait instead of landscape is beyond me.. stupid Blogger.

Anyway, they aren't bad! It's definitely way different from a potato chip. They are very thin and have a completely different texture, but overall, it was 9 hours well spent (waiting... I didn't have to do anything to them during the process).

Here's the recipe if you want to try! http://thehealthyeatingsite.com/salted-kale-chips/

We Made It!

We went two weeks without a major grocery shop. Now, our fridge is pretty bare and it's screaming to be cleaned. There's still things in the pantry, but it's thinned out quite a bit. I'm pretty proud of us! I did get some veggies, fruit and milk along the way, but that was it.

Our grocery list consists of a lot of cheese. Mexican cheese, colby jack, parmesan, cheddar, mozarella, Velveeta (I know it's not really cheese....), which I'm almost embarrassed about... but we love cheese.. what can I say? And I like to give Kaylee cheese as snacks every now and then.

I made my list based on what I have left in my pantry. It should last us another 2 weeks. Our menu will be a bit boring this time around.... and carb heavy! Chicken and rice, King Ranch Casserole, Enchiladas, tostadas, nachos, tuna fish, grilled cheese sandwiches, egg sandwiches, alfredo or pesto pasta, pizza...

I'll get my food dehydrator Wednesday night! I'm so excited about this. I really want to try and make yogurt, but Kaylee has a ton right now, so I need to wait. Instead, I have decided my first experiment will be kale and sweet potato chips.

Now I'm hungry.....

She's Taking Over

I didn't want my living room covered in toys.
It is.

I didn't want her to have more clothes than me.
She does.

And now, my backyard is slowly becoming a toddler's haven. We have a kiddie pool. A slide, which can be put in the kiddie pool, or just slide into the grass. A water table. A wagon and a multitude of little outdoor toys. And as of next week, a swing set. The poor dogs are being kicked out. In fact, we built a dog run so they would stay out of her way and wouldn't run tracks in the new grass.

I found a 2 swing swingset for $89 at Walmart. It's little, which is great for our backyard. But, it's meant for bigger kids, meaning it'll grow with her for a while. Since we have no trees with good thick branches, her toddler swing has been sitting for months waiting for me to figure it out. I had asked Brian to help me build a swing, but us building things together ends up us arguing on the best way to go about things. Then I asked my dad, but he's been swamped at work. I'm tired of waiting... so I bit the bullet.

I figured the more we have to do at home, the less we'll go out and spend money. I can have friends come over and we can throw the kids outside. It'll be great :)

Toddler Room

We are going to give Kaylee's room a makeover. Something a little more functional. Something a little more "her." Right now, she has her crib, my armoire, two nightstands, an endtable and a chaise lounge crammed in there. It's the safari theme, which in my opinion is pretty neutral. I wanted to see how her personality would play out. She's very playful and sweet and just overall a happy kid. So, here's my plan:

Wall Art, but I may not write out the meanings.

Wall Decals

Here's where I plan to "borrow" an idea Adrianne had. I thought it was so cute! Not sure if I'll do a birdhouse or a birdcage... I think it's going to be a last detail and depend on what I find.

Bed (eventually...) This is at Furniture in the Raw... 

Love this place! Here's hoping the price isn't too bad. 

I'm not sure on the stain yet... probably a lighter one to keep her room bright.

 

 As for bedding, I'm thinking of keeping things simple... just a plain white bedspread... the walls will be busy enough that the bed can stay simple.

Here is where I'm scared I'll fail. Her room gets HOT. So, I need some good window coverings to block out the heat and light for naps. I also need a lamp. And a small table with chairs (for crafts, etc.). And I want them to be solid wood. I really don't want to buy new furniture for her until she's in high school, or maybe when she moves out... It's not cruel to have a teen in a twin bed, right?

I want to build her closet out with shelves so it'll work as a dresser and storage. Her walls are beige and we don't intend to change that since we're hoping to move within the next 3 years.

I am thinking of buying an artificial branch and wrap a strand of Christmas lights around it as a nightlight... thoughts?

Another thought was to take some cherry blossom flowers and attach them to the wall with the tree and branch... this is where I'm wondering if it'll be too much.

Wood pulp in our food

 This article really grossed me out. I'm sure I've been eating cellulose all my life. But, I had no idea that it was wood pulp. In fact, I never took much time to think about what it really was. I've been slowly teaching myself what different ingredients in processed foods are... this one was just "forced" upon me via a post through in.gredients on FB.

This article officially grossed me out. I'm thankful that our fast food intake has been drastically reduced to almost nothing. But, I haven't gotten rid of all the processed stuff yet. This will be a great motivator.

http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/15-food-companies-that-serve-you-wood/

Avoiding the grocery story

So, in an effort to reduce how many times I have to go to the grocery store, we started eating from our pantry/fridge/freezer. It's going great so far! I've made enchiladas, crab salad sandwiches, pasta with pesto, and tonight, tostadas.

Not bad so far! Tomorrow for breakfast, we'll be having blueberry muffins and maybe some eggs. Lunch will probably be leftover tostadas and dinner.. well, I haven't figured that out yet... but I'm happy with us forcing ourselves to cook.

Use, Reuse

A while back, my friend Paula posted a video she found on self watering containers. I have been wanting to do this ever since, but I valued my blue tubs a lot for storage, so I haven't done it.

Today, as I was giving Kaylee her milk, I realized I was going to be buying gallons of milk for the next foreseeable future. And at least until in.gredients opens in October (assuming they get their funding), I would be stuck with buying those plastic jugs every week.

So, I Googled "self watering containers milk jugs" and my favorite How to site popped up with these instructions.

I don't have any floral foam, but I do have some dense sponges. I took a cheapo sponge and cut it half (length-wise) and rolled up. Then shoved it in the little opening.

The cost of this project depends on what kind of milk you buy. I buy organic, so it's around $4. The great thing about this is I won't be purchasing anything I don't already buy.

Ta-da!

Next... I'll try garlic that I bought from our local Pfarmers market.

It's comments like this that make my head want to explode....

"People use the excuse of "I don't want to get into debt" for why they keep flipping burgers instead of going to college are dumb. 7 months since graduating and I've already paid off 35% of the student loans I built up over 6 years."

This comment was stated by someone who got real lucky. I don't know all of his circumstances, but I know he had various bits of help throughout his 6 year college career.... such as not having to work. For 6 years.Must be nice. While *part* of this statement is true... I don't see why you wouldn't want to better yourself, I don't think you have to go into debt to do it. He will never know how ignorant this statement makes him sound. And the reason is because he is in the minority of those who did not struggle during and after college.

Here's my story....
I remember being 13 years old and wanting to save all my babysitting money for my dream truck. A Chevy Ext-cab 1500, two-toned paint (dark green on top, tan on bottom). My dad said "You don't need to worry about that." So I didn't. The following year I began high school. Again, I mentioned saving all my babysitting money for college. My dad said "Don't worry about that.. We'll send you to college. It won't be Ivy League, but it'll be something." The Ivy League he was referring to was Harvard, where my BFF at the time wanted to go. I never had those dreams... I didn't know where I wanted to go. I just knew that after high school, you go to college.

At 15, my parents went through a bitter divorce. Somewhere in all of this mess a promise was broken. I wouldn't know this for years. The truck I received, while very grateful, was not what I was expecting. This truck wasn't in the best of condition. There was a new paint job and new interior. It looked nice. But the inside was a mess (according to my uncle anyway). The truck lasted about a year and then it became too dangerous to drive.

Before I graduated high school, my mother moved to Houston. I had the choice of staying or going. I stayed.

When I graduated high school (98), I figured I would start college that Fall. I tried enrolling in ACC while in my Jr and Sr years, but they wouldn't let me. There was too much confusing paperwork and no one to help me with it. The counselors were worthless. While my relationship with my dad was pretty much nonexistent although he cosigned so I could have an apartment, I figured the promise still stood. He paid for one class, but getting that was too much. I never beg for money. I never asked for college money again.

I began working several jobs at a time to make ends meet. I moved to Houston for a brief time and then somewhere in all that mix, I moved back and got married, then moved again and again and again then got divorced. I landed back in Houston during all of this. Depression hit but I finally got off the couch a few months before my divorce would be final. I was working. My mom's BFF at the time had a position open, so she introduced us. I would stay at that job for another 3 or so years. We became pretty close, but the last year I worked there was absolute Hell. I wanted to go back to school. But my boss (who I carpooled with) wouldn't let me. It would mean she'd have to either get to work at a decent time or sit in Houston traffic for an hour and a half. I finally just stopped going to her house. I couldn't allow anyone else to keep me down. I began going back to school.

It was now Fall 2002. I took as many distance learning classes as I could, but some classes you just had to go to. I paid as I went for school because I did not want to be in debt. Debt scared me. I was taught a value of a dollar, but I was never taught how to properly use a credit card. I had never had a loan for anything other than a vehicle. My ex was in A LOT of debt. Working through that and getting everything paid off took what seemed like forever. It was stressful.

When my job became too much for me to handle (ulcers, anxiety attacks, depression, anger), I made a plan to move back to Austin. I was already going back all most every week anyway. One weekend, I went to look for an apartment. Not to rent, but just to know where I wanted to live. In that same weekend, I went to a temp agency. Within an hour of them testing my skills, I had a job interview. I wasn't even dressed for a job interview! It was after 5pm. This was all happening so fast!

I got a great job right off the bat. This was fate. It had to be. I went back to the apartment I had picked out. They had a 1 bedroom available! And, they were having a drawing. I drew a ticket out of the fishbowl and I won a FREE MOVE! OMG.... this is AWESOME! Two weeks later, I moved back to Austin (04).

When trying to figure out how to get back into ACC I found out that the majority of my credits from NHMCCD would not transfer. I was so distraught. All this time I thought that public colleges in Texas would have a good enough system to where I could transfer. I had no problem transferring credits from ACC to NHMCCD... why would I lose everything I learned there though? Two years... wasted. And I would have been a mere 12 credits away from my associates.

I decided that it wasn't worth it. I didn't have time to lose anymore. I had been out of high school for 6 years and had nothing to show for it. I was bitter. I'm slowly learning to let that bitterness go. In my hunt for an accelerated program, I found AIU. I had an awesome counselor who walked me through everything I would be doing and how much it would cost. I pulled up the tuition of UT... it was less than them, so I was mildly satisfied.

I would start earning my debt in Fall 2004 and graduate with a Bachelors in Fall 2005 (technically my graduation date was Feb. 2006, but I only took an exit course in January...). I worked at AMCO until I was forced to quit due to medical harassment. From what I understand, the Controller lost her job but not before I felt I had to quit. The timing wasn't bad though. I was halfway through my BA when I found an internship. This was after months of job hunting to get into the industry only to find out the majority of places hired from within... from internships.

The internship I found was in Georgetown. I lived off of Stassney and Congress. A bit of a commute is an understatement. I paid my lease off a month early and moved to North Austin. Why I didn't move to Round Rock or Georgetown is beyond me. There was probably some reason. During the interview, I was told that the internship was unpaid but if it was extended it would go on to be a paid position.

My debt was already piling up. I saw jobs out the wazoo that I *would* qualify for after I graduated. They had impressive salaries. I took out a living expense loan to cover my expenses while I was doing the internship. I took out enough to live on for a year. While I was hoping I would have a paid position at that company within a few months, it wasn't guaranteed. This ended up being my life saver.

After months of prodding the owner, I finally received a check for all my hard work. Work I took home with me. Work I did while also working a PT job at Garden Ridge. And freelancing. I was making the same as when I worked one job. I graduated college a few months later. Then one day, that company decided just not to pay us. Their cashflow dried up and they didn't bother to tell us. I started job hunting again.

Thanks to my mentor, I found a job through a temp agency that specializes in our industry. The job sounded PERFECT. And it would pay a lot more than I was making. That is, until they backtracked and offered $5/hr less than the original offer. I was so desperate to find a stable company to work for that I took it anyway. I was now making $3 an hour more than what I did before I had a degree.

Was my degree worth the $40k + interest for $3 an hour more than what I was making pre-college?

No.

Do I love what I do? Absolutely! More than what I was doing before, for sure. But, I taught myself everything that I do now. My degree taught me the ins and outs of marketing and advertising. It did not teach me to code.

As you can see by my tickers over to the side, even though I paid on my loans while I was in school (and had an income...), the interest was too much to handle. I now, 5 years after graduating, owe more than what I took out. And that includes the God only knows how much I've thrown at these loans to make a dent. Thankfully, Brian makes twice what I did - without college. And even though he works for his family, anyone could do his position with on-the-job training. Because of this, we are estimated to pay off my loans in about 2.5 years. Less if I'm able to get back to work. It's much more difficult with a toddler though.

Blanket statements like the one above are ignorant. The economy is in the gutter right now. People aren't paying what they used to. They also aren't posting as many positions. This person got lucky. Very, very lucky. He never had the hardships that so many others have. And to think that everyone's life runs as smoothly as his does is, well... to use his own word.... dumb.

Cable. We has it.

In April of 2009, we canceled cable. It's been a glorious 2+ years watching only Netflix, DVDs we already owned and rented movies.But, then Netflix's selection began to trickle out. It became harder and harder to find things we wanted to watch. And finally, Brian asked if we could fit cable into our budget.

Thanks to a bunch of discounts they are giving now for a 6 month period, it is. I'm switching cell phone carriers and we are cutting out a bunch of things in our grocery bill. Things like sodas, juice, ice cream (ok, not always...) and other processed foods that I can make from scratch. We're also working on lowering our electric/water bill. I'm keeping the A/C at the highest most comfortable position. Lately, that's been 80F instead of 77F. If I'm feeling hot, all I have to do is step outside to remember what hot really is. Water usage has been a big problem for us. We finally got our outside faucets fixed, so no more wasting water while watering the yard. I am a bather. But, I love filling the tub and soaking for a good half hour. My sacrifice is to lower my tub level. That should pretty much do it.

But, I can already tell this is going to be a problem. I'm not a big TV person... unless it's a show that I like. Just now, when I was going to get up and make some bread, a show I like came on... so I sat back down. The cable has been installed for a whole hour and a half. /facepalm.

I am not liking that Kaylee will be exposed to commercials (more than the once a week she goes to her grandma's). But, I'll have to just limit how much I have the TV on... I can do this. I know I can...

Water Babies

I *love* the lake. But, I am a weak swimmer. I do ok, but I do not really like deep water without a life jacket on. I love skiing and miss it dearly.

Before Kaylee was born, I was doing some research on infant swimming. Infants from birth to about 6 months have a reflex that literally allows them to hold their breath under water. After 6 months, they lose that. I wanted to get Kaylee in the water by 3 months so badly, but I could not find an instructor to teach before they were 2.

When Kaylee was a few months old, I was at a party. With a pool. And lots of unsupervised (meaning, there was only 1 adult actually in the pool and she was tending to her own kids) kids in said pool. None of the kids had any type of life jacket on. It made me a nervous wreck. But, there was nothing I could do or say because.. well.. I was a new parent. One of the kids went under - no one saw this happen and no one knows for sure how long he was under. It could have been only seconds, it could have been longer. When the mom noticed, she quickly got the boy out. Thank God he was ok. I'm not even religious anymore, but I was praying that day.

While in Halifax, my friend Jo show us an amazing video of survival swimming for infants.This is what we all witnessed. As heartbreaking as it was to see the baby being in the pool scared for 5+ minutes, it was amazing to see that he was perfectly ok. Some think this is cruel, but who knows how long it will be before you notice that your backdoor was left open? Training a child to float for an extended amount of time is important! Here's hoping Kaylee will never have to use this skill, but at least she'll have it.

That experience reaffirmed why I must get Kaylee in the water. That situation should have never happened and could have turned out so much worse. Kaylee has a life jacket now as of her birthday. We've tested it out at Lake Pflugerville. It only flips her on her back. She will probably only wear it on boats, but I'm glad I have it.

A few days ago, a friend posted some pictures of her 2 year old swimming under water. It was the neatest thing! I'm so proud of Tammy for getting her son in swim lessons so quickly. They do have a pool, so Wyatt has been a water baby for a while. She provided me information of her instructor and a facility that does IRS (infant swim resources).

Kaylee is now enrolled in Aqua-Tots. /squeal!

Week One: Menu (kinda)

So, after going through part of our pantry I found several things we can have without having to go to the store. Hopefully, I'll have time to really go through it soon... so far though, I have found a ton of stuff I didn't really realize I had.

Freezer packed with deer sausage, nilgai, fish, crab and pork... time to start thawing and using!
Pinto beans (dried)... I want to try my hand at making refried beans again.
Salad with homemade salad dressing (tomorrow for lunch)
Tunafish sandwiches
Enchiladas (tomorrow - dinner) - nilgai (still have enough to make this again... 30 minutes from start to finish = win!)
Rice (cheesy, buttered, spanish)
Couscous (will probably give to a friend as this stuff has the consistency of fish eggs... gross)
Ricearoni

Beef and veggie Stirfry (tonight) - have plenty of veggies in the freezer to do this again a handful of times = win!
Pizza - nilgai
Macaroni
Fajitas (frozen)
Smoothies/Popsicles (frozen fruit)
Eggs (scrambled egg sandiwches, breakfast)
Blueberry muffins
Pancakes/Waffles
Cereal
Spaghetti
Penne - thinking baked ziti, but I'd have to buy stuff to do that...


So.... I think we're good for this week and possibly next. I am adding yeast to my grocery list, as my dry yeast is officially a dud. But, once I get that, I can start making bread. I have the Kitchen Aid mixer on the cabinet ready to go! My next goal will be to really make my own stuff like pancake mix... just need to run out of the packaged stuff first.

Our Challenge of the Week

Don't buy groceries.

There is an exception to this... I will not feed Kaylee junk, so I might have to make a run to get her some fruit if I run out before the end of the week. But, our pantry is full and needs to be cleaned out. Meaning, we need to eat more from it. The goal is to rid ourselves of any and all processed food and figure out which processed foods we want to continue to buy... like Ricearoni. I'm sorry, but I just can't give that up...

My goal while Kaylee is napping is to do an inventory and make a menu. Then stick to said menu. I don't think it'll take us more than a week to rid ourselves of all this stuff, but it might. A lot of things like the chips and cookies are probably stale and just need to be tossed.

Things like the rice and pasta can be made into casseroles to freeze and use later, if needed.

I'm also pulling out the Kitchen Aid. I received it as a gift but have been terrified to use it. My first project - make bread. I used to do this all the time... but I had a bread maker. The one I had for over 10 years finally died. The new one I received as a gift just doesn't do the trick. So I've decided to forget it... I'll just do it the old fashion way. Fortunately, this will keep me at home since I can't really leave it unattended like a bread machine.

I'm also hoping to acquire a food dehydrator soon. This will allow me to save all the fruits that we don't get a chance to eat... as well as learn to make kale and spinach chips. Brian wants to make jerky, so I foresee this being used A LOT. The one I'm looking at also has a temp control, which means I should be able to make yogurt!

I challenge you.... clean out your fridge and pantry. Eat what you buy before it goes bad. Make a list of staples. :)

Dream House Wish List

Want to see something completely insane? Because we think we found our dream house for a ridiculously good price. The builder claims to be super energy efficient, which I'm doing more research on to make sure they aren't blowing smoke up our butts.


This is what Brian and I are calling "Walter." We must refer to this house as "Walter" because it's just that awesome. It'll make sense later if we go through with it and I post the real name of this plan. The house boasts 4,163 sqft, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and a 2 car garage. That's right... FOUR THOUSAND square feet. INSANE.

Supposedly, someone else in the neighborhood with a 4,600 sqft home has an electric bill of $178. Again, I'm going to make sure this is true because my inlaws have a big house and their electric bill is no where near $178. Their house was also built in 1989.

The neighborhood is located in Liberty Hill, which is about 30 minutes from where we live now.
It's right off 29 and 183, so we have quick, easy access to the highways. The tollroad will be completed within the next few years, so that will help Brian get to work a little faster. While that will cost us a bunch, it'll be worth it not to have to fight him to get him up and out the door on time. The neighborhood is in year 3 of a 7 year plan. Our hope is to get in at the end. Maybe some end-of-year/end-of-neighborhood savings. Then again, for this house... I can't imagine paying any less.

I never thought I wanted to live in another 2 story house again. The electric bill SUCKS and I'm afraid of the kids (or myself) falling down the stairs. But, for some reason, this house made those fears go away. I think it may have been the fact that I wouldn't have to jerry-rig gates onto them like I do now. Or that I was completely overwhelmed with the awesomeness this house projected.

I loved this house. The gameroom with a wet bar is perfect for us. The media room is perfect for us. The master bedroom with a nice bathroom and huge WIC is perfect for us. The thousand rooms upstairs is perfect for the kids and guests. The backyards are a good size for the dogs and kids and their stuff, plus room for a garden.

So, now I'm crunching numbers and figuring out how much we should be saving. Plus, we don't have much to furnish a home this large, so I need to make sure we have enough left over for that. The scary thing is.... it looks VERY doable. This would be our forever-home. And I love that we would never have to move again.

My hope is to pay off my student loans in 3 years. This is doable. My hope is to save $25,000 in 3 years. My hope is that we'll make twice what we owe on our current house when we sell. My hope is that the house will sell within weeks. My hope is to put between 20-30% down. My hope is that we don't have our hopes up too high already.

We've taped the floorplan to our bedroom wall so that it is a constant reminder. I think I'll move it around periodically so that it doesn't become part of the scenery and we lose focus.