Yeah, my kid chose to skip those darn lemons even though we have a plethora of them hanging from our tree and made some orange juice instead. This was not the best mommy decision I have made with no running water, thank God for baby wipes! Payton was doing her usual “this, this, this” while pointing at the oranges so I gave her one while Serve Master was ripping out our carpet, taking baseboards off and taking samples of possible espestice laid 1950’s linoleum that lie in our room, fabulous huh? Good thing is we’re on a week vacation at our Aunt and Uncles three miles up the road. It is actually pretty fun being here, bringing back the three years I lived with them before finishing school. Too bad it’s not really a vacation but a week away from our house that we left in shambles. Good thing is we will have the espestice results by Tuesday and then they can start the jackhammering to fix our leak. The bright side to this whole situation is that I get new carpet! I told Jim that my vision is to have hardwood flooring and then carpet in our rooms. We’ll see what Farmer’s insurance has to say later this week!

I am sorry there has been a lack of posts for you my dear readers. Life has been busy around here! I have been working like a crazy mad woman, and when I am not at work I am full filling orders for my Etsy boutique, Evi Luna, which by the way is doing really well so far! I am slowly getting my name out there and participating in some great giveaways. This last week was great because I sold four skirts and a few headbands, slowly but surely, right? I have also been researching the BlogHer convention which is being held in sunny Sun Diego this Summer so I need to take advantage of this amazing event, are any of you going? I have also been spending as much time as I can with the hubby and my baby. I take them for granted sometimes and I need to spend the extra time I have with them. This past Tuesday, Jim decided to surprise me by staying home from work since we typically have opposite schedules, we might see each other for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday before I head to work but usually we “see” each other by texting or me calling him a bazillion times while he is working away. It is rough, each day brings us a new challenge, usually it’s who is going to watch the baby but sometimes we’re faced with crappy things like me coming home from work at 2:30 am to find out that we have a slab leak! I laid in bed crying, asking why we are being challenged so much this week, it comes in waves but for some reason God seems to be challenging us lately with some major issues. The water has leaked into our office and our hallway, hopefully, the leak is coming straight from our hot water heater. The plumbers are coming late this afternoon to assess the damage, I know it’s an easy fix for them, we just went through this at work so at least I am familiar with the process but the actual carpet damage is what is putting another pit in my stomach. The replacement of our carpet has been on the “list” it isn’t even bad, just a tear where Delilah as a puppy wanted in our office and a few milk/juice stains from Payton, but it needs to go. Hopefully, our insurance will cover some new flooring (thinking hardwood for high traffic and new carpet for the rooms). Oh! the things life throws at us!

How was your week?

A few pics of P and our week:

Have a great weekend!! Any plans?

I have never posted about money issues, but since it is a relevant subject in our lives I thought that I would give it a go. We make a great living, don’t get me wrong. We make well above the National median for income, we own our own house, two cars and a bunch of crap we don’t need. I am very good about purchasing items on sale, highly discounted and I am a huge coupon clipper. But I have this problem that usually leaves me with zero to no money left as soon as I get paid. I pay my bills right away, you know, the utilities, student loan, car payment, my consolidation bill, and I am usually left with a hefty sum for groceries and personal spending. My problem is I never save. I never have, and honestly I don’t know how. Payton successfully has a savings account, with money in it I mind you while her proud Mama has nothing. Jim and I set a budget a while ago, did we stick with it? NO. I am horrible. Our lives are changing and we need to figure out how to save, well, we know how it’s just, “how will Melissa put money away?’
I am always amazed by those who successfully save, but how do you do it? We have plans to move out of our house sooner than we expected, we need something bigger, and in a better neighborhood. We love Poway, I actually love our neighbors except for the ones immediately on our left. There is some sneaky business going on, teens coming and going, strangers knocking on our door and the constant torment that their “untz, untz, untz” sound causes my pup. I guess this is a random post, but what I am asking is, how do you do it? I need to learn self-control. My dear hubby is placing me on a strict budget so we can save over $5k by the Fall, it seems so daunting, I know we can do it, because it always works out.

Here are three things I need to improve on:

• One weekly Target trip vs. daily or every other day. That damn store I tell you! There is something I always think I need. Problem #1
• Go the route my Sister does and have the hubby do the grocery shopping. This is by far my favorite thing to do and I thank my parents. I love making my list and going up each aisle. It’s sick. Because I am such a foodie it would probably be a great idea to send a non-foodie to the store. 
• Eat lunch at home more often. I love going to lunch with P, but now that she is eating normal lunch I tend to spend anywhere from $13-$19 per outing. I am a sucker for Panera, Champagne bakery, etc. I guess making lunch at home would be better on my wallet. 

So forever ago, well, maybe like four months ago I got a little birdie in my ear telling me that I needed to  zush up Payton’s room for her upcoming first birthday. Of course, being the activator that I am, I went out right away to Lowe’s and picked up the paint that matched her bedding perfectly. I coerced my Dad to come down and help with the paint and chair rail and voila! We had a happier, brighter room for our soon-to-be toddler. I have always loved her bedding, and as many of you might remember I had my eye on it when I was barely seven-weeks preggo with my little love. I also had an old friend, Danielle, decoupage some new letters since I had to forego my “Payton” vinyl decal that I loved so much. The room really is a happier place, not only for me but for Payton. It is such a big girl room, I keep imagining it with a bed instead of crib and without the changing table. When she does eventually move into a bed we will have to find bedding that matches the “jalapeno jelly” and “butter yellow” paint, maybe she will get something with pink, but then again, my girl is not a pink kind of girl.

Here are a few pics of before and after.