Category: All
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Prepping for Walt Disney World trip in June – part 2 – How to eat
So we are 20 days and some change from leaving for Walt Disney World (WDW)! How did I come to the conclusion that the meal plan was a good value? A lot of reading what others have said and spreadsheets. First off, when I broke out my costs highest to lowest for our family of…
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Prepping for Walt Disney World trip in June – part 1 – Where to stay
We are all very excited to visit Walt Disney World (WDW) in Orlando this summer. It is a 8 day 7 night trip. I spent a lot of time (over 100 hours) planning this trip. In the end the most economical and fun option for lodging was Fort Wilderness. I originally booked a cabin but…
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SUMMER!!! Are you looking forward to it too?
I’m not totally ready but close enough. I’ve been working on my Summer Play-Book for several weeks now. I have a list of activities broken down by indoor or outdoor and duration. I scheduled each day with items from my list, for the first couple of weeks anyway. To ensure that I am focused on…
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no matter what
So i’m at the Refresh confrence in Redmond WA and the kids are at home. For several months i have been battleing minor depression and after 2 days away i’m feeling chill and somewhat relaxed. One of the downsides of being depressed is your creativity is stifled so to counter act that, a poem. no…
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Family of 4
We are officially a family of 4. My wife did a great job recounting the day so read her post here http://marisaala.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ariel-hanna-ala-adopted-july-12-2013/ I am so happy to have a daughter and that my daughter is Ariel is a blessing.
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How do we handle non-monthly recurring payments in our budget?
I get this question a lot when leading FPU or in one-on-one financial counseling. I have questions about the one (or twice) a year payments. How do you put it in the budget monthly but then pay out a larger sum you have already saved up for without blowing the budget? Great question. Here is what I…
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Do the bunnies in your feet make you hop, hop, hop?
I made up this song and the kids like it so I thought I would post the words. (I’ll record it this weekend and post the recording) Do the bunnies in your feet make you hop, hop, hop? When you run really fast and try to stop? When walk down the street, and you want…
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Out of town
So last Friday, Saturday and half of Sunday Marisa was out of town and now I am in Nashville for 4 days while Marisa is at home with the kids. We had her mom come out from CA to help and it was a good thing. Ariel has really been rough to deal with. Her…
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Trauma calendar is a must
So Ariel is having a particularly difficult day. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason until Marisa remembered that we are on or near a trauma anniversary. Which reminded me we were going to go through Ariel’s case file and make a calendar noting all the transition and trauma days that are documented. That…