2012

Happy New Year!!

I spent some time this morning looking back at my 2011 goals.  I have crossed out the ones I feel I have accomplished.

1. Read the bible more often.
2. Give more at church and to the community.
3. Spend less time on the computer each day, and more time with hubby.
4. Finally pay off our personal loan from college expenses!   We paid this one off, but still have some unsecured debt.
5. Double my Coupon Teacher followers (you can help me by spreading the word).
6. Get my stockpile organized, “Taming the Stockpile” begins January 1st.
7. Come up with a system to tackle my dining room table mess (mail, coupons, etc).
8. Buy a house with 2 bathrooms.
9. Stick to a $150 budget per month at the drug stores and grocery stores. (Budget?!? The past six months have had no budget, thus the Erase Your Debt series.)
10. Cook more and eat out less.
11. Give it my all to be a good teacher for my students.

So here are my 12 goals for 2012:

1. Read the bible more often.
2. Give more at church and to the community.
3. Spend less time on the computer each day and more time with hubby.
4. Pay off ALL unsecured debt and my car.
5. Continue working hard to help others with Coupon Teacher.
6. Read more books for fun.
7. Come up with a system to tackle my dining room table and kitchen mess (mail, coupons, etc).
8. Spend more time with friends and family.
9. Stick to a $225 budget per month at the drug stores, restaurants and grocery stores (including eating out).
10. Cook more (healthy foods and veggies) and eat out less.
11. Give it my all to be a good teacher for my students.
12. Work to continue to get healthy.  (Weight, better foods, chronic illness, etc.)

What are your 12 goals for this year?

Yes, you read that right.  And no, I am not proposing.  So, today’s Christmas memory is not from my childhood.

One of my best Christmas memories comes from my 18th Christmas.  Yes, I was young.  Very young.

That Christmas day, my (then) boyfriend came to pick me up to take me to open presents and have Christmas dinner at his house.  On the way, he said he needed to make a quick stop at his parents’ store.  I didn’t think another thing of it, until he wanted me to come in too.  What is going on, I wondered?!?

Inside there were a dozen red roses, and a Christmas card that said, “Will you marry me?”

Hidden in the roses was a ring holder in the shape of the rose.  Inside?  The prettiest ring I have ever owned.  A ring that I am proud to wear on my left hand.

In case you were wondering, I said yes.  Yep.  Coupon Teacher was engaged at age 18.  It may not be right for everyone, but I think it was just fine for us.  Hubby and I are now celebrating our 15th Christmas together (11 of those years as a married couple)!

You should have seen my future in laws trying to check out my finger as we arrived at their house for dinner.

I am very blessed to be a part of their family.  And I am very happy that a wonderful man asked me to marry him that Christmas 13 years ago!

Do you have a romantic Christmas story to share?

I know a lot of children stay up to see Santa Claus.

My sister and I stayed up on Christmas Eve one yet, but I don’t recall wanting to see Santa.  If you have young children that share a room, I highly recommend checking their bedroom a couple times on Christmas Eve.  We were quiet, but if mom and dad had checked, they would have found two wide awake young ladies.

We stayed up and were quiet for quite a while.  Then, we when we could hear our parents anymore…

We played Barbies, games, and who knows what else.  We wanted to make sure Santa had time to come.  We didn’t want to see him.  We wanted to see our presents!!  So, we played and played and played.  (Not sure how long we really did.  My young self had no concept of time, and I had never stayed up that late.)  It seemed like an eternity.  But we probably just stayed up to 1 or 2 in the morning…

I have to be honest.  I was the mean sister (I wish I could take it back now, but alas, hindsight is 20/20).  When we finally decided it was “safe” and that Santa had definitely come to visit, I sent my little sister out to scope our stockings and presents out.  I was too chicken.  I was a mean, chicken, lazy older sister.   My sister was often fearless, and she headed to the living room.   I can only imagine how she felt, seeing all our gifts so early.  I often wish I had the courage to go out and look too!

Santa always left us one unwrapped large present each year.  (I think we had new bikes that year…. but I honestly don’t remember for sure.)  As soon as my sister made it back, she reported back to me.  We were both so excited and  by that time  so sleepy that we fell asleep immediately after she returned!

Talk about good young dreams that night.  We knew we were waking up to a ton of fun the next day!

Did you ever try to spy Santa?