Sunday Homily

The priest had a very interesting homily today.
A grandson told his grandfather that he would get very angry. The grandfather gave him a box of nails and told him to hammer a nail into the fence each time he was angry. The grandson did this. After many days the grandson was no longer as angry. He was not hammering in any nails. Then the grandfather told the grandson to take a nail out of the fence each day that he was not angry. When there were no more nails he told his grandfather. His grandfather took him out to the fence and asked the grandson to describe what he saw. The grandson said that the fence had a lot of holes in it.
The grandfather said to the grandson that when you get angry at someone even if you say your sorry or ask for forgiveness that the scars will remain.

Close to Reaching my 100th Post

Just checking how many readers I have.
Please let me know if you are out there. You can just say hi on the comments.
I assume I have at least 3 readers. Just kidding. It is at least five (O, J, R, M, and A).

Happy Labor Day!

My Visit with a Redesigner

I contacted a redesigner to look at my home and make suggestions. For my time and money, I walked away with 5 drawings of ways that I could reposition my furniture. The money would be worth it if and only if we followed at least some of the designs.

The other alternative would be that the redesigner would come back after I make the necessary purchases and would redo two of the rooms for $700.00. The problem I see is that the redesigner is requiring that I buy certain items for the rooms. These items might spice up the room but might also be unnecessary. Only necessary for her to agree to do the work. The items in question are a large piece of art work for each room, three large lamps, light bulbs and some solid color pillows for each room.

The artwork and the lamps are what I would be questioning. There is also the possibility that the redesigner might add some things of her own that we can purchase if we like how they are displayed in our house.

I would have preferred a consultation that was free or at least the money could be applied to the cost of redesigning the rooms. Sometimes it is just a motivational issue. We can have the redesigner work on our house or we could leave it how it is. Yes we could follow the redesigner's designs but I would probably not make as many changes.
For example: my children would be switching rooms; my shelf in the living room (that is attached to the wall) would be coming down; my armoire in the bedroom would turn into an entertainment center in the living room; my vanity would turn into a desk for the living room

On the positive side I would get to purchase a coffee table (or sofa table) and an end table for the living room. That would be fun!

Ideally I would like a redesigner to use my existing furnishings and make magic happen!!

Ways to Improve our Home

1. hire a housekeeper
2. rent a storage unit
3. take advantage of donation places pick up service

Traveling Expenses

Our two trips / vacations were very different. One was spent traveling, hotel rooms and attractions while the other consisted of renting a home, grocery shopping and a few attractions.
It will be interesting to see which one was better financially. I guess it is time to tally the expenses!

Keys to Success

Pray, Eat, Live and Love (Repeat)

And don't forget to surround yourself with good friends.

Have a great day!

Credit Card purchases for the Summer

Here is a look at the percentages for July
Gas 37%
Food 17%
Dinners (out) 15%
Drug Store 5%
Gifts 5%
Car Main 5%
Baby items 4%
Online services 4%
Toys 3%
Hair Cuts 2%
Entertainment 2%
Clothing

August
Gas 45%
Eat out 21%
Entertainment 12%
Gifts 11%
Drug Store 5%
Groceries 2%
Internet Services 2%
Parking 1%