Living an abundant life...

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Some of you might remember the times when the original name of this blog was "Frugal and Thankful". And even though I changed that name since, it didn't influence what I believe in. Being thankful is a huge part of how I see life. There are times when the plate is overflowing, and it's hard to find things to be thankful for.

But if you slow down and look around, there are so many things, moments, people, experiences that can fill your heart to the fullest with gratitude... Really, so much in life depends solely on our attitude.

I read a quote the other day that really inspired some pondering here:

We can't direct the winds but we can adjust the sails... In the past few days I tried to put in extra effort to see good in life. And I was amazed at how many blessings I've received.

1. Peace. I'm not going to lie, this is not exactly a peaceful time in my life. There are so many things I worry about, scared of, not sure how to deal with, that it gets overwhelming really quickly. But this past week I tried to find a few minutes every morning to squeeze in some Scripture study and spending time in "sweet hour of prayer". It's not always easy to do with two kids and a hundred and two responsibilities but it definitely brought that peace into my life that I so longed for. Whether religious or not, there are many things we can do to gain extra peace and comfort...

2. Friends. I was amazed at how many friends reached out to me in the past few weeks. Some brought physical blessings  -like books on multiples - really made me happy - baby stuff, offers to babysit so we can find time for each other or extra cuddles for when babies are here so this tired Mommy can take a shower. Or this blessing to make our life truly "abundant":

Others just brought hugs, encouragement, extra laughter and much needed grown-up interaction. Friends truly rock!

3. Family. I have to say, I am not on perfect terms with all the members of my or my DH' s family. Some of those relationships have been a bit rocky lately, and not necessarily because of something we've done. But other family members have been such a tremendous help that my heart swells with gratitude. My FIL has helped us with so many doctor's appointments (since I have a lot more of them than ever before), my sister-in-law is always willing to babysit even when she has her own hands full beyond capacity. My other awesome SIL just celebrated her own Birthday but decided to make it a very special day for the kids instead. She and her husband rented a gigantic bounce house with water slides, and the kids had a blast - and Moms a break!! It was amazing!

And of course, my Mom and my sister are such a blessing in my life. The other day I spent more than two hours Skyping with my Mom and we chatted about everything and anything in the world as if the borders and miles between us didn't exist. I wish I could also squeeze her tight through the screen but it still amazes me at what we already can do thanks to some technology achievements.

4. The bounty of earth. And of course, it wouldn't be right if I didn't mention how grateful I am for the abundance that we get from our garden. Just picked this morning:

I don't spend nearly as much time as I should in the garden but it's still blessing us above and beyond anything I can comprehend. Love me some free and organic produce!

So what are you thankful for on this beautiful Sunday evening?

What really, truly inspires you...

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Today I was on a self-imposed mission... to find signs of spring. We had such a beautiful day today with temperatures in low sixties, so I just couldn't stay inside. So I put on my spring-y shoes:

And went on a mission.. I slowed down and observed the birds that are coming back and starting their spring courtship games (not in this picture. I guess, every creature deserves their privacy, right :)

The sun shining brightly on top of the trees:

Or something I could never imagine to see in February:

And even crazier - the first strawberry leaves...insane!!

Today I wanted to slow down and notice the beauty around me. Why? Well, this afternoon I met an amazing, inspiring woman. She and her husband came to pick up our old futon from the "dreadful room". While the men were working, we talked. And talked, and talked... Have you ever had an instant connection with somebody? This was mine. Two years ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She's been traveling to a different state for treatment every three weeks for many months. And she told me how grateful she is for every single day that she has with her loved ones. This couple had a little boy with them. Watching him play happily and rambunctiously with my two guys made my heart ache...

Sometimes we are so immersed into struggles of every day life that we forget what life is really all about... Day after day passes by, and we are too busy to slow down.  And than life just stops in it's tracks... Tomorrow I'll think of the budgets and money, and jobs, and stuff. Today it's about what matters most, and what I'm truly and eternally thankful for:

And how was your day today?

To love all ages yield surrender...

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Hello, my lovelies. How was your Valentine's Day??

There is always something in the air in the middle of February... We had the opportunity to have dinner at Church on Valentine's Day that was catered by a local restaurant. Everything was set on big round tables, and we ended up sitting with three other lovely couples. One was younger than us but the other two were a bit wiser age than hubby and I. Yet it was amazing to see how much in common we have despite the age difference!

At some point one of the husbands started talking about a recent conversation on marriage that he had with some friends. He went on something like,"This girl told me that they've been married for forty eight years, and another girl mentioned that they've been together for fifty two..." Girls, huh, was my very first thought :). One of my favorite quotes by Benjamin Franklin immediately came to mind:

 

"To love all ages will surrender" - as we say in Russia that basically means that for love there is no age limitation. As we were discussing it with Hubby today, he gave his own version of translation,"You're never too old to fall in love."

To that my 7-year old responded with a serious face, "I say you're never too young. I can prove it..."

Me chocking on soup with laughter tipped him off ...So we may never know what he meant...

Oh well, at least the love for soup is always there:

   No matter what the age, the way to man's heart is still often through his tummy :)

Love me some Valentine's air...

What inspires you?

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I occasionally like to watch "Shark Tank" on ABC. You know that show where a bunch of rich people descend to the level of some smart but not so rich people to help further promote the latter's inventions and to make even more money for themselves along the way? Yep, that's the one.

I'm not a constant viewer. It's more when I need to feed my curiosity and, maybe, get a good laugh once in a while too.

But some of the stories of the participants can be quite inspiring. Probably, about two weeks ago they had a girl on the show who started her own business selling absolutely adorable baby moccasins (for a whopping sixty dollars a pair, mind you). She ended up making a deal with Daymond John who offered her 150 thousand dollars for 25% of her growing company.

But this girl really inspired me. Why? Well, she started making these baby shoes because she wanted to find something cute and comfy for her own child. She did not know how to sew. So she taught herself following a bunch of different tutorials and discarding many ideas until she created exactly what she wanted. For the first few attempts the gal used a piece of leather she picked up at a garage sale.

When she realized she stumbled upon something big, this lady knew she needed the money to start her own business. They didn't have any extra money in their budget. But her brother was working for a window replacement company at the moment, so they could get a lot of old windows from him.

That whole summer she would take those windows, sand and paint them, and then sell on local classifieds. Some she would just dissemble and sell the metal parts at a scrap yard. She made a total of $200. When Mark Cuban learned how she funded her endeavors, he stated that it was the best story he's ever heard on how to start a business.

Just a few years later (I think she said three but don't quote me on that), she's selling $500,000 worth of merchandise a year netting about $120 thousand of pure profit...

I think, what inspired me the most about her is not even the fact that she started such a successful business but that she had perseverance. She started from scratch. Not even from scratch, from zero. She had no idea how to sew at first. But she taught herself, she used the knowledge she found and she didn't doubt her abilities. It wasn't always a smooth ride for her but she pressed on.

Sometimes the big idea can be hidden in your closet only because your doubts or hesitation wouldn't allow you to try to make something out of it. Sometimes the disappointment of the first or even second or third attempts seems to crush your biggest dreams. But Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the Untied States, once said:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

Quite brilliant, don't you think? And right on the money.

So what inspires you to be the best you can? Do you have any ideas buried under a layer of doubt? Do you have a dream that stays just that - a dream? And how can we help and motivate each other on this road to success, especially when the pathway is quite bumpy?

Why "On My Side of the World"?

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A few months ago I changed the name of my blog to "On My Side of the World". Lots of you started following my journey when it was still called "Frugal and Thankful". Honestly, most of the clicks and searches I get are still for "Frugal and Thankful" :) That's fine because that's still who I am. That didn't change! I think I will always live frugally, and I hope to always remember to have a thankful heart for all the many blessings in my life.

So why did I decide to change it? Well, many months ago I had a conversation with a friend from back home (if you are new to my blog, I was born and grew up in Russia, and moved to the States about 7.5 years ago). She asked me why I write in English. I tried to explain but she kind of brushed me off and said that I need to write for Russians instead.

That made me think. In the last decade my homeland changed a LOT. Even my own city changed so much that I, probably, wouldn't be able to find my way around any more. Many new areas were built, new public transportation lines started, new stores and businesses pop up every day. My friends at home all grew up too. Most of them are married with one or two kids, some achieved a lot of success in their career and other personal matters.

I try to keep my eye on what's happening in politics, economy and international relationships in my country. But I have to be brutally honest here, I don't know everything that's going on. Far from it.  Most of what I know comes from family, friends and media. I realized that when I was younger, I could tell and hum all the top ten songs on the Russian music charts. And now I know more about Justin Bieber than Russian singers. Well, I lied about Bieber. I don't know much about him (thank goodness). But I definitely hear his name a LOT more often.

And this, I guess, brings me to my point. I didn't stop loving Russia and my people but I know how to live HERE now. I know how to be frugal here. I know what my favorite stores are, where I love to go thrift shopping, what a yard sale is. I know where I can find treasures, and what's the best place to shop for baby stuff. I know how to craft on a budget, and where you can find cheap fabrics. I know quite a bit about finances, and I follow the political changes in the country.  And I try to write about what I know.

And yet, I'm not American either. I'm somewhere in between of both worlds. I'm on my own side :) I don't know if it makes me unique or weird but that's who I am. You know, take it or leave it :) Since I moved here, I've heard a lot of hurtful things about Russia. At first, I would just get mad. Now I simply try to help change misconceptions to the best of my abilities. Because I had them too before coming to the States. And I'm glad that lots of things I've heard about America turned out to be just not true!

And I'm grateful for many of you who accepted me for who I am - with my quirkiness, funny ideas and broken language ( I doubt, there are that many bloggers whose husband proof-reads almost every post to fix all of the "a" and "the"...Don't get me started on my love for English grammar...). You saw beyond that and became friends and supporters without judging. It means a lot! More than I can explain.

I often feel like I live a little bit on both sides and sometimes like I don't belong in either. But I'm also so happy that I have some awesome friends in both worlds, and that you come and visit me here, on my other side.

You, guys, are amazing! Just saying :)

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!

It's your journey...

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North-east of Sasebo city in Japan is located one of the oldest Noritake factories where they make world famous beautiful porcelain. Super high quality is a priority for the makers of Noritake china. In this factory at every stage of the process, standing next to the conveyor belts that carry dishes along, are huge reject barrels. Every time there is a flaw in production, whether a little chip, wrong paint or shape, the piece of china goes into the barrel.

Later they gather all of these barrels and recycle. Nothing is wasted. All of the items are reground, reshaped and made into beautiful pieces.

So often in our lives we feel like rejects - everything is falling apart, we are drowning in debt, we lose a loved one, we can't keep up with the pace of life...We feel like a complete failure. We also look at others who seemingly lead a perfect life, and it makes us feel even worse. We catch a bug of "Superwoman-ism", and we can't seem to be able to reach the high standards that society or we ourselves create. Have you been there? I surely have!

I don't know who said that beautiful quote above but I love it. Like the Noritake porcelain, times in my life I felt like a cup in a reject barrel. I had to scrape myself from the bottom of despair or disappointment and try to stand back on my feet ( or at least, on my knees). I compared myself to others and thought I have nothing to offer. 

But this isn't true! And so many times I was shown that it isn't true! In the past few months we've been watching a family member going on the path of complete destruction. This certain individual achieved so much in his life and helped a lot of people. But he recently had to endure some personal losses and heartaches, and now feels like he's nobody. It brakes my heart to see him doing it to himself and his loved ones because I know that he has so much to offer to this world and those around him.

We are not rejects. On this journey we can get reground, reshaped and made into beautiful and individual pieces. Life sometimes sucks but it's still worth living. It's our journey and each and every one of us has a reason to live! And to love! And to care! Even if it sometimes means to go through a massive heavy grinder... Our life is not a competition even though it occasionally feels like a marathon...

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone :)

The Inspire Me Sundays.

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I don't know if Einstein really said any of this....but it's pretty much brilliant, so I thought I would share it with you today!

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The following is an exchange between a student his professor on the existence of God:

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in God ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is God good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is God all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … God …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen God?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & God is Faith. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

************************************************************************************

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!!

The Inspire Me Sundays...

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I was really inspired today with Carla's "abundance post" . The last few days were so busy that I didn't have time at all for blogging. But after reading Carla's post, I really wanted to write a similar one because there is so much in my life to be thankful for.

• We started working on a couple of smaller projects around the house here. I received a little bit of money and some gift cards to some of my favorite stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Michaels) for my Birthday, so all the materials we bought were almost free.
• It was raining all day today. Generally I don't like rain but rain early in March means spring is near! We are getting more and more sunshine every day, and the days are getting longer. We were supposed to have dinner with friends tonight but it didn't work out, so we stayed at home instead and had a quiet evening enjoying each others' company.
• This week the kids and I went to the dentist. The little one flat refused to be seen but the Kid and I both had a regular check-up and a cleaning. The best part- no cavities!
• Our minivan has been acting up lately making strange noises, so we were really concerned about possible repairs and how much it would cost. Yesterday we took it to our friend who fixes cars. He's always honest and does a great job. Turned out that there was nothing serious with our car. Last time when we went to get the oil changed, they also topped off all the fluids in the car. Well, apparently, Honda has it's own kind of power steering fluid that only works for Hondas. After we replaced it, there were no problems any more. The price of repairs - $4.90!!
• Yesterday we went to the Kids Safety fair. It was free, and kids had a blast.

 It was a perfect place for boys. They had real police cars and motorcycles, buses, fire engines and other fun vehicles. They could get in and study everything and play:

I hope it was the only time in my life when I'd find one of my kids inside a police car...

• We also went to a Kid's and baby sale in the same building where the fair was. It was great! For $12 I scored 1 Spiderman T-shirt, 1 pair of jeans, 1 vest and 1 polo shirt with long sleeves (all in great condition) for the Older Kid, and two sweaters (the same but different colors, brand new) for the Baby next year:

That's one of the sweaters that I got for the Baby. I also spent $7 on new books for my boys (with a retail value of more than $50). I love me some baby sales! The best thing about similar sales is that most of the things are in great condition because people are trying to sell their own stuff when in thrift stores, for example, are things that people got rid off. I don't buy that much clothes for the Little One, he wears what's left after his brother most of the time (and his brother had more than enough clothes) but I couldn't pass on deals like this.

• We also went to the library yesterday (I told you, we had a long day) and among other things, I got some DIY and HGTV magazines for inspiration (my husband is shaking his head already...). I love libraries! It's free and what you get from it is priceless.
• I'm just grateful for this beautiful day, for the opportunity to go to Church every Sunday and for freedom of religion, for a healthy household (finally!!), for the roof over our heads and plentiful food on our table, for the opportunities to help others, and share and serve. And of course, I'm thankful for all of you, my friends :)

So here's my "abundance" list!! Thank you again, Carla, for inspiring me to look at what I'm thankful for in my life today (and for letting all of us read your list :). We all just need to pause occasionally, count our blessings, say our prayers and give thanks.

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!

I love me some quiet Sundays...

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This week was fun but somewhat tiresome. We had two little celebrations (my Birthday and Valentine's Day) plus we worked on one of our two bigger projects here - our half-bath. I still have a list of about 30 smaller projects (don't tell my husband!) that need to be done here but I'm excited to have this one finished. I promise, the pictures are coming. It just needs a couple of finishing touches...

So we had a very low-key Sunday today. First, we went to Church to hear Hubby's brother speak. He just came back home from a 2-year Church mission, and we are excited to have him back. Then we stopped by Grandpa and visited with him a little bit.

 After that we came back home and were just lazy :) I tried to catch up on blog reading (still working on it :) because I was too busy with the bathroom all week... I'm still learning to budget my time :) I also made some carrot-banana-zucchini muffins that are cooling down right now in the kitchen. Can't wait to see how they turned out! They smell divine...

At some point today I went to the living room and found my boys on the couch:

My cuties...I love them so much. Now I just wish I could convince two of the younger ones that they still need their naps...

And here's how my Sunday went. Not very inspiring but surely is peaceful :)

How was your Sunday?

 Now going back to reading some of my favorite blogs...

The Inspire Me Sundays...A week to recoup.

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I haven't posted here in the past few days and haven't commented on your lovely blogs either. I apologize! About a week ago the Kid came down with a one day flu. He got sick on Saturday but by Sunday he was OK. And on Monday the Little Guy started showing the same symptoms (that lasted for only a couple of days). Not surprising but by Tuesday my head started feeling heavy. The difference between Mom and kids is that they can rest when they want, cuddle as much as they want and pretty much get what they want when they are sick. Moms on the other hand...well, we don't get "sick" days. Naps are illusive, everybody is hungry and nobody wants to cuddle with a Mommy who uses half a box of tissues a day :(

I'd love to say that I feel better by now but that would be a lie :( It's hard to believe but it's been a month since we were sick last (it feels like it was a week ago!). The last time was around the holidays at the end of the year. This week I stayed inside the whole week. Yesterday I thought I was getting better, and we even went shopping for some much needed food (and I blew our budget for the month...but that's another story for a different post!). And today I went to Church in the morning but didn't last long. I had to go home because I started shivering and feeling overall miserable. And did I mention that I go through half a box of tissues a day...sigh...

Being sick totally killed all the inspiration in me. I would come to write here...and would just sit staring at a blank page. I had a few ideas of what I wanted to write about but just couldn't make myself do it.

Today my boys will go to celebrate some Birthdays with the family, and I'll stay at home and finally relax a bit. And hopefully, catch up on all the blog reading :)

To finish up, I will leave you with some inspiration today:

 Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!!

The Inspire Me Sundays...The two kinds of people.

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As I was cleaning papers the other day, I stumbled upon a beautiful story written by Bruce Barton, an American author, advertising executive, and politician. You might've heard it before but I thought I would still share it.

                                The Sea of Galilee. Image via Tripadvisor.

THERE ARE TWO SEAS

There are two seas in Palestine. 

One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it, and stretch out their thirsty roots to dip of its healing waters. Along its shore the children play, as children played when He was there.

The River Jordan makes this sea with sparkling water from the hills. So it laughs in the sunshine. Men build their houses near it, and birds their nests, and every kind of life is happier because it is there.

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea. 

Here there is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children’s laughter. Travelers choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs above its waters and neither man nor beast nor foul will drink. 

 What makes this mighty difference in the neighbor seas?

 Not the River Jordan.  It empties the same good water into both.  Not the soil in which they lie; not the country round about.

This is the difference. The Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan.  For every drop that flows into it, another drop flows out.  The giving and receiving go on in equal measure.

  The other Sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. 

It will not be tempted into any generous impulse.  Every drop it gets it keeps.

The Sea of Galilee gives and lives.  The other sea gives nothing. It is named the Dead Sea.

            There are two seas in Palestine.

            There are two kinds of people in the world.


I just love it! Do you?? My parents, actually, had a chance to see both seas last year when they took a trip to Israel, and they said that the difference is pretty amazing! What do you think?

The Inspire Me Sundays.

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Do you know that it's only a month left until St.Valentine's Day? It's honestly one of my favorite holidays (but who knows, maybe, it has something to do with the fact that my Birthday is the day before...:) But I'm just grateful to have a true sole mate in my life, my best friend and a strong man of God.

                          (no link for the image because I made it myself :)

And now that I put you in the right mood (insert a big smile here:), check out this LINK. It's a true story of love without end...in pictures... Cherish those special people in your life everyday and not just on special occasions. Celebrate each other and your relationships every single day...


Lots of love,

The Inspire Me Sundays...My 13 in 2013.

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                                                        (source)
This was the first year of my life that I created goals for myself and worked on them throughout the year. I think the difference was that they were not New Years resolutions...you know the ones that you work on in the month of January and then successfully forget about as spring rolls in. Putting them in writing here on this blog made them real, visual and something I felt accountable for. I didn't achieve all of my goals (especially, the weight loss one...that's where I plain failed) but I didn't forget about them, I kept moving on and learned from what I achieved and from my mistakes too.
So today I'm finally ready with my 13 for 2013. It took me a while. I wrote a few goals down and then I realized my heart just wasn't in it. I went back and forth with others. So here it goes:

1. Live healthier. Last year I wanted to lose a set amount of pounds. I did great for a few moths, then slacked for a few months, then completely gave up in the last quarter of the year. But I realized it's more than just losing a few pounds. I'm not very big. At 5'6" I'm 159 pounds right now. It's a lot more than I would like to weigh but I have other more pressing issues. We don't eat very unhealthy. We can't afford to go organic (we do have our own organic garden though) and I'm not ready to become a vegetarian again in my life. But we rarely eat outside of home and try to stay away from a lot of processed food. We consume a ton of fruit and veggies too. My biggest problem is lack of moving andlack of adequate sleep. These are two of the few things I need to work on this year. I'm lazy, I'm not gonna lie. We go to bed late, and I'm so tired in the mornings that I have no desire to exercise at all. I have a sitting job working from home, so I move very little. That's why I realized that I need to make a few changes. It's not about losing pounds (but I wouldn't mind to shed a few along the way). It's about becoming healthier and stronger. This is my priority for this year.

2. Keep track of food waste and continue with meal planning. It worked great for us this year and I want to keep going. Menu planning really helps us to spend less and to use up more before food goes bad. I will keep posting it on Mondays as I did this year.

3. Create mini-goals every month. That's another goal that I'll continue next year too because it worked great for us in 2012. It helps me stay focused and feel that I make progress.

4. Read 50 books this year. Last year my goal was 12 books. I don't know what I was thinking! I love to read and read a lot (when I have time, often hiding in the bathroom :). So I think 50 is a very achievable goal for me. Any suggestions on books worth reading?? Just, please, don't recommend  "Fifty shades of grey" because it's...mmmm...not exactly my style :)

5. Have a Pinterest Challenge once a month and post about it. This is something I started working on last year but never kept it going. But I keep pinning things, just don't do them. I think it's time for me to try again and share with you if I was successful or not.

6. Nourish my creativity (on a budget). Somewhere mid-year I changed a focus of this blog from being strictly financial to just being about me and us. We have a very tight budget that dictates lots of things we do. But I just go crazy if all I concentrate on in life is money. I'm a fairly creative person. I love to work on different things and projects. I love to explore and learn new things. I want to keep doing it on a budget that we can afford. And of course, I will keep sharing my/our projects with you :)

7. Finish two bigger projects in our house. We have a few bigger projects here that will require  advanced planning/saving for. No, I'm not ripping off the kitchen cabinets...We (I... believe me, Hubby doesn't want to re-do anything :) want to work on our powder room and our laundry room/area this year.  

8. Keep working on organizing our lives. This year we got 412 different items out of our house. I didn't realize we had that much stuff! So this year we will keep working on de-cluttering but I'm not going to have big goals. It will be more about organizing things we have and take stuff out before we bring new things in.

9. Write at least 3 letters a month. This year I tried to write in my journal 4 times a month. I'm ashamed to say but I haven't reached this goal even once. I was close though! But one of the things I felt  bad about is not writing many letters. I have a lot of friends, especially back in Russia. And I haven't talked to many of them for more than a year. I'd love to try to write a letter a week but I think it's a little bit of a taller order than I can handle, so I'll keep it at 3 a month. They don't have to be hand-written letters. It could be a message on Facebook or e-mail. Or even writing in my journal (these are "letters' for future generations, right?:)

10. Make time for myself, for us and for others. I tend to be an over-achiever...I'm always working on something. I want to learn to simplify my life and spend more time doing what's really important- spending time with my kids, going on dates with Hubby, serving others. And finding time for myself. I think it's the hardest thing for me. But just like the quote above said- I want these goals to help me become somebody - somebody better, more relaxed, more spiritually uplifted, more satisfied with life. Happier...This is my goal for this year.

11. Work on savings goals. We have so many things we want to work on that it will need a separate post! Stay tuned...

12. Have a smaller family vacation and a little getaway with Hubby. Originally, we planned to go to San Diego and Sea World this year. But after we played with the numbers, we realized it's not going to be possible. So we decided to settle for a Bear Lake trip again and then Hubby and I want to go to Las Vegas this summer. Neither of us are gamblers. We will not waste money there. But I just wanted to see the city, out of curiousity. Plus we have friends living in the suburbs of Vegas, and we wanted to go visit them for a while. So here's the plan for now but it might change as time goes.

13. Last but not least, I'm thinking about joining Facebook and/or Twitter. Or not. I haven't decided yet. I have a personal Facebook account but I don't spend much time on it. And as for Twitter, I don't know ANYTHING about it. So it will take me some time to figure out what I want to do and if I do it, how to manage my time better so I can update one or both of these accounts.

 Again, it's all about finding a healthy balance in all of the goals. I don't want to feel intimidated by them, I want them to help me to progress.

So here it is. Might not be very inspiring for YOU, guys (sorry!) but I hope it will at least inspire ME to have a better year in 2013 :)

   

  
 

The Inspire Me Sundays...Wrapping up the 25 days of Christmas

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Only two days until Christmas...I think my 6-year old will soon start counting by minutes :)

Yesterday, for "25 days of Christmas", we did something I've been waiting to do for a while. We had a lot of fun in December as a family. We baked cookies and delivered them to friends and neighbors, we built forts, we read new books, we went to the Dicken's Festival and the Festival of Trees, and many-many other things...We enjoyed every minute of it. But yesterday we finally did something that Christmas is really all about - loving and serving others.

First, we took a donation to the Road Home. The Road Home - is a shelter for homeless families and individuals. Just last month alone they hosted about 1100 people, 196 of them kids. It's honestly heart-breaking to know that these families will spend their Christmas in a shelter.

We took them some new and gently used clothes, new toys and new pillows:

(completely forgot to take any pictures, so here is just a few items on my lap in the car). I actually spent very little money on all of it thanks to coupons, gift cards and drug store rewards. But it's not even about the money at all...

Right across the street from the Road Home there is a Catholic Mission home that shelters more homeless people and provides for some of their needs. But the needs are higher than both of these places can provide. We saw people sleeping on the streets.  Didn't take any pictures due to privacy issues for these people. But it was a very humbling experience for our whole family and made us think yet again at how abundantly blessed we really are!

After that we went to the Food Bank. We took a little donation there too, and they gave us a tour around the building:

It's impressive how much work and love they put into this place. This is the main warehouse where food is collected and then distributed to smaller places around the state:

They showed us how the food is collected, packed and wrapped with plastic. They have lots of programs for volunteering, and we are looking forward to do some of them next year with the Kid.

Overall, yesterday was an amazing experience and a great lesson for our whole family. And I know it will be our new Christmas tradition from now on!

And if you are wondering how we did with the rest of the things in our "25 days of Christmas", well we didn't finish all of it :) But there are only two things we didn't do. First, we didn't get a train ride with kids in a mall (we had a kiddy train that would go through the whole mall). We tried, I promise, we tried, but unfortunately they moved the train to a different mall, and we decided that it's not worth the gas.
The other thing we never did is we never got the outdoor lights up :( I know, we are lame. There was one thing after another (or somebody was just lazy...not to point fingers at my significant other who is sitting on the couch in front of me..), so we just never did it. But at least, we saved on electricity, right?...( insert a big big sigh here...I do love my lights...)

The Inspire Me Sundays...A photo heavy post.

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I decided that it's time to share with you a few things we've done for our 25 days of Christmas. As was expected we didn't achieve everything we planned up to this point. First, we didn't decorate outside yet ( it was raining, then snowing...then I think Hubby just got lazy...deep sigh...). Then we (kids) didn't ride the train in the mall. Something just came up and we couldn't do it but it's still on our list. The last thing we haven't done yet is going downtown to see the lights. But one of our friends from Russia is coming to visit, so we'll go altogether on Tuesday.

But we did have some fun together baking oatmeal-raisin cookies:

And the boys built a "fort" in the living room:

Guess, who's enjoying it the most? Yep, that's my husband under there...

We also added something unplanned to our list - we went to the Dicken's Festival because our niece and nephew were dancing there. Aside from the performers, this "festival" is one big fair with lots of stuff on sale:

We didn't buy much but the Kid scored a new plastic sword (boys will be boys, right?) for $3:

Sorry for the underwear background. Didn't realize it until I loaded all the pictures on the computer :)

We also enjoyed a plate of funnel cakes. It was my first time to try them and they taste exactly like something we eat in Russia too:

And look at this awesome lady:

Isn't she absolutely awesome??  I tried to get a good picture but it's hard with all the windows on the back. Did you realize that it's a real person?? It's hard to see on the pic, she looks so much cooler in real life. Freaked out quite a few people too by her occasional wink ;)

Overall, we had fun and supported little dancers in our family too :)

And to leave you with something inspirational today I wanted to share a thought that I just love:

Beautiful, isn't it?

Have a good night, everyone!

 

The Inspire Me Sundays...

Pin It              Today I wanted to share with you a great thought that I stumbled upon on Pinterest last week:

   Isn't it awesome? I don't know how many times in my life I said to myself "I'll do it tomorrow, I'll start next month..." Raise your hands if you are like me! :) I think it's a great reminder that we need to cherish every moment of our life and make it something amazing no matter what the circumstances are! 

   As I said before, I tend to think of myself as a failure if I haven't achieved 1/8 of my to-do list. I guess, I can't accept I'm not a super-woman... One of my goals next year is to do little things to learn to appreciate life (and myself ) more. Being constantly hard on myself is not helping anyone. I want to learn how to make most of the moments in my life special and perfect. At least, I want to give it a try...

  How do you love yourself? What do you do to make your life special and perfect? What do you do for a "me" moment?