7 Random Facts

This post is because of Bettie, you can visit her to read her random facts.

1. I love puzzles. It had been a long time since I did one. My dh hates to do puzzles so I haven't had anyone to puzzle with for a long time. Plus you add in the young children and having a puzzle out is hazardous any time. But when my family came for Thanksgiving and we were stuck in the house with bad weather and illness we broke out a Christmas puzzle. I had almost forgotten my passion for puzzles. We ended up doing two while they were here, and I've done another since they left. Then while I was at Wal-mart I bought a couple kids puzzles to do with my kids. I definitely want to pass on the love for puzzles to my kids. I want them to do puzzles with me over the holidays for years to come. I also decorate with puzzles. I have a puzzle of "Rhyme and Reason" by James Christensen over my couch in my living room. I also have three Thomas Kinkade puzzles waiting to be hung in my bedroom.

2. I'm a quitter. This is something most people think is funny, but I've quit several jobs. I always felt justified at the time, but my dh and my sisters laugh at my job history. The first job I quit was Wendy's, I was 16 and in high school and color guard too. Color guard met before school every morning to practice, then I'd go to school. Stay after school for marching band rehearsal, then go to work. I don't remember when I did my homework. One night driving home from closing Wendy's, so it was 1 or 2 am. I was falling asleep at the wheel and driving dangerously. I was pulled over and the police officer told me I needed to quit my job and get some sleep. I didn't quit immediately, I told my manager I couldn't close anymore. After a week or two I was scheduled to close again. I told them I couldn't work there anymore since they scheduled me to close again.

Another job I've quit was K-mart. I worked there while I was pregnant with Lily. It was pretty much like any retail job, on my feet alot and working hard for little. The thing that got to me was the week of Thanksgiving I found out how employee UN-friendly K-mart was. They held their biggest sale of the year ON Thanksgiving Day! It wasn't the day after like every other store. I guess they wanted a jump on the dollar. So instead of being closed like every other self-respecting business, they had the busiest day of the year. I was so upset by the selfishness of this that I quit that week. I still worked the rest of my scheduled shift, including Thanksgiving day, but I didn't continue to work for them. I did notice that K-mart, this year had their sale the day after Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll be willing to shop there again. Maybe.

3. My favorite candy is Almond Roca. This is a candy we made at Christmas growing up. It wasn't until I was 17 or 18 that I realized I could make Almond Roca anytime of the year, I didn't have wait until December. I made it frequently for a while until I had my fill. Now I've gone back to only making it in December. There's something to having special foods at special times. It makes them taste better I think.

4. I never considered myself crafty. I didn't feel that I could make beautiful things. At church in AZ I had several crafty friends who encouraged me to develop that talent. One of my best friends even gave me a small cross-stitch sampler for Christmas. After I finished that I moved onto a birth record for my baby. Now I'm working on a Christmas cross-stitch that is complicated, for me. It has Santa's face in it, so lots of counting. I'm excited to be making something that's turning out beautiful. It's fun to be able to do something artistic. A woman at church in AZ had a passion for crocheting and wanted to share it. She offered her home and time to teach a few of us how to do that craft. I went along to learn. I started on a washcloth and found something else crafty that I could do! So far I've made a Christmas tree skirt, blessing dress, ornaments, and several purses. I also have a stocking in progress. I'm so proud to have a skill that can produce beautiful things. I'm grateful to my friends who pushed me to grow.

5. I like to drive with the windows down. When we were driving out of Phoenix to our new home it was still over 110 degrees. About halfway to Albuquerque we were in the mountains and realized we could roll down the windows. It was wonderful! We were all so happy at this that our spirits lifted to singing with our loud music and waving to the construction workers we passed.

6. I will never have "that" house. I thought for a long time that I'd be able to have a beautifully decorated house someday, when we have more money, when our kids are older, when the stars align.... Then I realized that I had friends still in school, making no money but were still able to have magazine worthy front rooms. I know people with several children that still gorgeous decorations out for every season. So my excuses ran out and I realized that I'd have to make it a priority if I wanted to have a beautifully decorated house. I'd have to spend my money on it instead of something else. I've found it's not that high of a priority for me, at least not now. So now I can relax in my house and just hope it's nice enough to be comfortable for my guests.

7. I like to read personal finance books. I also enjoy listening to finance talk shows on the radio. I highly recommend Clark Howard, I found his show while living in Atlanta. That's where he broadcasts from. He gives lots of shopping advice for normal people. I also like Dave Ramsey. His show is all about getting out of debt. He really gives you a kick in the pants to help you do the things you need to to pay off your debt faster and not get into debt again. His smartest piece of advice (in my opinion) is to have an emergency fund, before you start your debt snowball. So if something happens you don't have to charge again, just use your emergency fund, refill it, then go on to working on your debt snowball again. Genius!

There you go, seven random facts about me!