On Saturday night, we had our first-annual Mandajuice Christmas party and if I can be so bold as to toot my own horn (which, you know, isn't so hard being a blogger and all), it was a lot of fun. Part of that can be attributed to my absolute LOVE for party-planning, but most of it is because we have such awesome friends and any time we get to spend with them is time well spent.

So here are… Read More

Looking back, I can't honestly remember a Christmas during which Dave and I didn't overspend. It's just something we do. We get caught up in the spirit, we fail to anticipate every expense and every January, I open my credit card bill and my jaw drops. Sometimes it's only a couple hundred dollars over budget; sometimes we spend twice as much as planned. Of course, I technically COULD keep track of my spending as I'm doing it, but I'm not… Read More

This morning I spoke with an old friend who is struggling through some hard times. Her husband is looking for a new job and even though financially they are doing fine, she hates being in a state of limbo. She's a planner (sound familiar?) and it's really difficult not knowing what chapter comes next in her life.

And I totally understand that. Hello the last four years of our lives!

Although the more I think about it,… Read More

I think it probably goes without saying, but this has been an expensive year for us. Because we moved out of state and then bought a house, there has been literally no way to make this a positive cash flow year. Especially over the past few months, we've been spending more than we make. Normally that could mean the accumulation of some credit card debt, but we've been lucky (or smart, depending on how you look at it!) enough to… Read More

Sorry for the unexcused absence there! It's not that I haven't been feeling grateful, I just haven't found the energy to get anything done before bed. Posting every day for a month is hard!

We had a lovely thanksgiving and now we're pile driving our way right into the usual Christmas mayhem. I LOVE Christmas. It's hands-down my favorite time of year. I've actually been known to listen to Christmas music in the summer, I love it so.

… Read More

We had such a nice low-key family Thanksgiving today. The kids played well together, Genoa took a three hour nap and we stuffed ourselves silly with delicious food. I have a million things to be grateful for, but today I'm most thankful for my family. I have a wonderful husband and the two best kids in the entire world. When I stop to think about it, I truly have everything I could ever imagine wanting and more. I am a… Read More