Wednesday, November 08, 2006

It's a good budget......really

Holy bovine, it costs a lot to have your wedding bouquet preserved. I knew for a long time that this is what I wanted but man, I didn't know it would be this much. I called for a price quote and it ended up being a pretty broad range since it depends on the size of the bouquet and the size & style of frame you want. When the woman told me last night how much it cost I almost crapped my pants! I had already paid $125 for the actual freeze drying and then last night she wanted me to pay 1/2 of what the final price was. I told her I didn't have my new debit/credit card yet so I couldn't pay (which was true). With Mike & I starting our budget and getting used to it I didn't know how I would tell him. Mom to the rescue. I was telling her the whole story and she mentioned how she wanted to get me a mother/daughter gift for the wedding but at that time I didn't need anything so......she is paying for 1/2 of my flowers! Thanks mom!
I got to see my dried flowers and they look so good! The calla lilies are a bit discolored but they said they could touch them up with some artificial color. My bouquet will be placed in a domed frame to hang on the wall.
In case you forgot, my flowers look like this:












Oh and did I mention that I won the contest put on by my SP9 hostes?!?! Well I did!!!! And I got the package in the mail on Saturday!!!!! I got some lovely yarn, knitting needles, and the cutest little tin of mini altoids that are sugar free!!!! I will post a pic soon.
This is our first month of being on a budget and I am proud to announce that I feel I am doing well with my "allowance" aka fun money. I can't spend as freely as I did before, I now have to ask myself if I really need it, which is hard b/c sometimes it is something that I really want but don't necessarily need, such as Jenni Bowlin's paper crafting kit, I have been getting her kits since June and it is kinda sad not getting it this month. This month is also a little more difficult since I want to shop the day after Thanksgiving! I know the budget is good for me though. We already paid off one credit card and our new matresses. Next we are aiming to pay off my car.
Being on a budget has caused me to have to cut some things out of my daily diet. No, not food completely but I have stopped getting my daily mochas and lattes (I still allow myself to splurge on a cinnamon roll now and then). Instead I bought a can of folgers coffe, I know, it's like the low of the lows, I figure if I can get through that can I can move up to more "gormet" coffees. The first couple of days I had to doctor up the folgers quite a bit with milk and fake sugar. It has been a couple of weeks and I no longer add sugar and I add just a hint of milk. I actually like regular coffee now! It is hard to believe but it has gotten to the point where I finish my cup at work (I make it at home) and I wish I could have more! It just tastes sooooo yummy!!!! I am totally addicted. It is probably a good thing we don't have a coffee pot here at work b/c I would be drinking coffee all day long!!!! So thanks budget for introducing me to regular coffee!!!

2 comments:

Shelby said...

I'm so glad you got the prize!! I had fun putting it together. And good job with the budget, I'm really impressed! My husband would tell you that I've never stuck to a budget to this day (and believe me, we need to!), and we''ve been married 5 years and have an almost 3 year old. Maybe someday I'll get the hang of it. You're inspiring me to try harder this month!

Anonymous said...

yeah dawg!! regular coffee is where it's at. ;)