If You Give a Wife a TV...

I'm eating my words and chowing down on a nice slice of humble pie. I hate to hear I told you so, but...

We recently started Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps to being debt free. Millions of Americans are thousands of dollars in debt. We only have a measly couple thousand (except our home), but our frugal family wants that debt dead and buried. 

MisterKidd and I are already "gazelle intense" with everything we do. Since starting our debt free journey in June, we are well into Baby Step 2. It has taken serious discipline and a lot of saying "no" to ourselves to get here. Along with trying to save money, we've been looking for ways to earn more for our cause, including selling some of our stuff.

Enter: Serious Regret

I was doing a pre-move/debt free purge one day, and I set my sights on the bedroom TV. "It's so decadent to have two televisions," I thought. "We just need to read more books." I had been trying to talk MisterKidd into selling it for some time, but he always insisted that we used the TV more than I thought. We were dangerously close to completing Baby Step 1 at that point. So close we could taste it.

Marriages are made of opposites: a spender and a saver; a nerd and a cool kid; an introvert and an extrovert; a pack rat and a purger. I'm definitely the purger in my household, so I'm usually the one who goes on the selling sprees. Because we were trying to live like no one else, he finally agreed, and I posted it online that day. 

I sold it for way less than I wanted, way less than it was worth, but more than I had before I started. And then I felt the sting.

I'm not a TV junkie by any means. Some days (when I'm not postpartum and trying to keep a toddler occupied), it doesn't even get turned on. But I like to see a few Gilmore Girls episodes when I'm folding mountains of clean laundry on my bed. And I have a few "sick movies" that work better than any prescription ever could.

I sheepishly admitted my regret to MisterKidd, and he was very gracious (Ahem. "I knew you'd miss it!"). 

So the lesson I've learned is that there's a difference in having a 60 in TV in every room of your house and sitting huddled in the dark with no creature comforts in the name of being debt free. The balance is a tiny little TV in the bedroom. 

But if you give a wife a TV, she'll need a DVD player to go with it. Because I sold that, too. 

Tuesday Tidbits 10/7

It's Not Tuesday

Tuesday came and went this week without a new post here on Beautiful Functional. I'd like to say it was because I was busy all day doing something exciting. That's not true. I also didn't have any kind of emergency in my household.

It's not that I was too lazy to write. It's not that I was uninspired. I was even ready to reveal Tuesday Tidbits' new graphic that I created using Canva.

This week's Tuesday Tidbits is going up on Thursday because on Tuesday during "writing time," I was holding a sleeping baby. Baby Sister is going through an I-need-Mom-all-the-time-or-I-will-whine phase. And really, y'all, who would rather stare at a computer than try to burn that smooth, sweet face into their memory for all of eternity? Not this mama.

This is why I don't put on makeup. 

Is Scentsy wax toxic? Asking for a friend. A short, curly-haired, Frozen-loving friend. 

I spend tons of money on teething helps. Toys to chew on, pain relieving medicines, organic tablets, jewelry forged in the fires of Mordor, even an expensive giraffe, who recently released a series of novels. What helps when nothing else will? A good, clean knuckle. 

Blog Fun, Part 4

I've been highlighting a few of my favorite blogs on Tuesday Tidbits for the last several weeks. This week, it's Carisa from 1+1+1=1.

This site is a recent find, but it has quickly become a must-read for my homeschool planning. Carisa is a former Kindergarten teacher turned homeschool mom, and she blogs about what works for her family. She originally coined the phrase "Tot School" for kiddos who are too young for traditional Pre K materials. Because I'm overzealous and ready to get some structured fun time in with Big Girl, I've been looking for direction on where to begin with "under 3's." There are literally thousands of pages of content with ideas for materials and activities that are developmentally appropriate from birth to 3 (and beyond).

Signing up for her newsletter gets you the download link for her eBook, Where to Begin with Tot School, for those of you who, like me, get overwhelmed and excited like a puppy that has company (ha).

Tuesday Tidbits 10/14

Bargain Braggin'

I got a sweet deal today at Mom's Mecca. It was posted on Facebook by Money Saving Mom. Readers often share their bargains, and MSM passes them on to other readers through social media. It's a long one, so stay with me...

Target Brand (Up & Up) diapers are originally $28.99 per box. This week, they are on sale for $24.99 each. If you buy 2 boxes, you get a $10 Target gift card. There is a digital coupon circulating for $10 off a $40 purchase of Up & Up products. The Cartwheel App had a scan for 10% off Up & Up products. I have a Target RedCard, which gives me 5% off my purchase when I use it to pay. 

So with all of the discounts, I was able to get 316 diapers for $35 (including tax) and a $10 gift card. I pretty much got 2 boxes of diapers for $25. And with two in dipes, those will last me HOURS. (I kid. Maybe a couple days.)

MisterKidd says that it's not really a bargain if you get a gift card back because they're still getting your money. But he just doesn't know Target like I do. He doesn't understand the intricacies of my relationship. Target wouldn't cheat me like that. Target cares about me.

Villains

Stories, retellings, and parables in scripture often feature a hero and a villain. A deceiver and the deceived. Somebody who behaves as God would have him and somebody who doesn't. But before we label the characters, we have to check ourselves. 

My church is about to start a book in our community groups called "Ministries of Mercy" by Tim Keller. We are evangelically minded and hope to share Christ through compassion, and our leaders felt that this book would help us with the practical aspects of that goal. 

I started this book on Sunday and made it through the prologue with only about 85% of it highlighted. It was that good. 

Keller uses the parable of the Good Samaritan on the Jericho road (Luke 10:25-37) to set the stage for explaining what Christ thinks about mercy. I am always amazed at myself when studying these kinds of passages. When I first read, I think,"Ugh. A priest and a Levite, of course. Holier than thou. No time to stop by and help a brother out, even if he is bleeding from the head." And just like always, I start to find a little of myself in those who disobey the commands to love The Lord with everything you have and to love your neighbor as yourself. 

Keller's warning is that "we should not be too quick to scorn these men, or we may discover we are convicting ourselves." The Jericho road was a dangerous one. It was nicknamed "the bloody way," and for very good reasons: not only was it steep and rocky, but because of the twists and turns, it was common for ne'er-do-wells to hide, attack, and rob passers-by. This is what happened to the man lying in his blood. 

I can imagine the thoughts of the priest and the Levite. "Whoa. That dude is mangled. Where there's smoke, there's fire. I'm outta here, but I'll let somebody know he's here. That's good enough."

And I can't say that I'd be any different. 

What is in our hearts in situations like this one? Self-preservation. The fact that "self" might be harmed, or at the very least, made to feel uncomfortable. If loving your neighbor as yourself means giving your neighbor the kind of care and attention you would hope for yourself, how can we possibly leave a man in his blood?

There is so much GOSPEL in this parable. God saw you in your blood and said, "LIVE!" (Ezekiel 16:6) if you are His. And He sent Christ to bandage your wounds and take you to safety. Ultimate compassion was shown to you, and your responsibility is to "go and do likewise." (Luke 10:37)

But how should I apply this to myself, today? I don't know. I've only read the prologue.

Blog Fun, Part 5

This week, I'm featuring Matt and Betsy from DIYNatural. 

DIYNatural is my personal authority for natural living. They have articles for almost every topic imaginable: remedies for colds and other illnesses, natural cleaners, organic gardening and eating, frugal finances, and so much more. One thing I really appreciate is that Matt and Betsy test everything before they post about it. Each recipe is perfected and experts are consulted before they present content to the public. Thanks for being guinea pigs, Matt and Betsy.

This site is a great place to start for those just beginning their natural journey and for people like me, who hang out at the starting line for five some years.

Next week will be the final Blog Fun Tidbit, and it will knock your socks off.
Hint: my food hero. Not Mom, but the other one.