No, sorry. I failed to credit the Arizona Republic.
Anonymous said…
the mountains east of us, the Santans, I think, are blanketed with snow. I LOVE it! The kids all want to go sledding. Pinetop got 4 feet and the Nielsons were in the middle of it. That would be fun, if you had no place to be for a week!
I made Steve plan out a Saturday and put it on the calendar during which we will do nothing for anybody else, only for ourselves. Selfish desire of my heart, it is. And it feels good. And that Saturday is, drum roll...... this weekend! Hooray. Help move yet another family into our ward? Sorry. Family commitment. Go to yet another bridal shower? Can't make it. I have a previous commitment. Ward temple night? Um, maybe, we'll see, but if we do, it will be for us and not for anyone else. I tell you, it has been a long time since we've had a no-commitment Saturday. I'm already planning ahead for the next one.
I just read this scripture quoted in a blog comment thread, alluding to. . .me. 2 Nephi 9:28 28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. The context: I had suggested that Ezra Taft Benson's political views as expressed in 1968 before he was the prophet were not the official political views of the church, and shouldn't be construed as such. It is actually not the first time this month that I've been told through scriptural references that I am a wicked person {my extrapolated take-away from the conversations}. I give up.
I don't have a lot of real visible or artistic talents, but one talent that has served me well is an ability to manage and organize money well. A few of my sisters-in-law have asked me how I do the family budget, so this is a straight up accounting of how I do the accounting. When we get a paycheck: 10% tithing right off the top Then, with the remainder (net minus tithing), I divy it up into percentages and put money into different "funds" -- that I keep track of in the back of my paycheck because I'm old school like that. Mortgage: I figure out the percentage it will take to cover my mortgage. Usually 29-30%. I think this percentage needs to stay under 35% of take-home after tithing. Baby steps: 20% goes to meeting financial goals a la Dave Ramsey's baby steps. This means that you focus on one thing at a time, leaving the rest so that your money is not so thinly spread and you can make visible progress. This presupposes that one has abandoned using credit, and i
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I made Steve plan out a Saturday and put it on the calendar during which we will do nothing for anybody else, only for ourselves. Selfish desire of my heart, it is. And it feels good. And that Saturday is, drum roll...... this weekend! Hooray. Help move yet another family into our ward? Sorry. Family commitment. Go to yet another bridal shower? Can't make it. I have a previous commitment. Ward temple night? Um, maybe, we'll see, but if we do, it will be for us and not for anyone else. I tell you, it has been a long time since we've had a no-commitment Saturday. I'm already planning ahead for the next one.