What a year it’s been. I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings!
2009 in Photos from Karen Sams on Vimeo.
Tag Archives: Life
Frugal year in review – 2009
It’s been an amazing year for us, and I’m so glad I’ve been able to document it all here in this blog.
I’ve picked up quite a few new readers in the past 12 months, so I thought it would be fun to recap the year with my favorite post from each month (an idea I picked up from Being Frugal). These weren’t necessarily your favorite posts, but they’re the ones that have been particularly meaningful to me.
January: Frugal European vacation — first we need a budget
February: Personal finance is romantic
March: I’ve got a new attitude
April: Comfort & complacency — frugality’s worst enemies
May: Frugality is about quality of life, not money
June: Unexpected benefits of a cash only budget
July: Stop making excuses and start making progress
August: Searching for a place called home
September: Lessons learned from our no spend summer
October: Unexpected benefits of life without cable
November: It’s not failure; it’s an opportunity to learn
December: If at first you don’t succeed, try a new approach
I hope you’re spending today focusing on your accomplishments from this year instead of your setbacks. I hope all of you have a safe and happy new year celebration.
Photo by stewf
Christmas through the lens of my point-and-shoot camera
Unfortunately, my camera didn’t return to me until yesterday afternoon, so I shot Christmas through my AA-battery-powered point-and-shoot camera. I was dying to take photos, though, so I’m thankful I had it (even if finding batteries for it was a last minute struggle that took over an hour).
We spent the weekend drinking cocktails, watching movies, eating too much chocolate and playing Beatles Rock Band. Just as I anticipated, it was heaven. However, I’m not looking forward to my not-so-triumphant return to the gym tomorrow (or today if I can actually force myself to get up and go).
Click on the unfortunate family photo below to see our Christmas slideshow. You should know that this poorly timed family photo was not taken for lack of trying to get a good shot. However, when it comes to photographing animals, you’re largely at their mercy. Getting Howie to sit still and look at the camera as we sat on the floor next to him was impossible. We finally bribed him with treats, but the result was just photos of a dog staring at the floor.
And now back to the real world. Sigh. I’m counting down the days to the New Year.
It’s a wonderful life
It’s been an incredible year for us, and next year is going to be even better. I’m so grateful for all of the blessings in our lives. Thank you for letting me share our journey with you, and for offering so much support along the way.
I’ll be taking the next couple of days off to spend with Tony. We’re spending this Christmas in North Carolina eating Chinese food and seeing a movie on Christmas Day. It will be absolutely heavenly.
Now get off the Internet and spend some time with the people you love! :)
Photo: Christmas 2007
The importance of slowing down
I have always been pretty decisive. Usually it works in my favor. I trust my instincts, and when I have to make a decision, I can usually pretty quickly make up my mind. This week, this decisiveness led to a pretty crummy mistake.
When I bought my digital camera, I wasn’t sure how into photography I would get. But it turns out I love it. I’ve had a lot of fun with my camera, and I love that we have photographic memoirs or our lives now.
We recently made the decision to add a camcorder to our tools. We really want to be able to shoot videos when we’re in Europe, and we definitely will want one when we have a baby. I’ve been looking at pocket HD camcorders in the $200 range (like this one that I really like and have been considering purchasing).
This morning, I started looking at the newer model of my camera, which shoots HD video. I realized that if I could sell my camera body without the lenses for $400, I would be able to upgrade to the newer model with HD video capabilities and higher quality still shots for only about $200. I was so excited, that I acted impulsively (which is pretty out of character for me).
I listed my camera in the Amazon marketplace, and I was surprised that it sold within minutes. But by the time I got to the post office on my lunch hour to ship it out, I was starting to have doubts. Was I really ready to drop $200 on another camera? How would I take pictures of Christmas in the meantime? Was this the right decision?
It turns out, my hesitation was an indication that I should slow down. After I’d already shipped it, I received an email from my buyer. He realized that the description said I was selling the camera body only without the lens. He didn’t want to buy it anymore. But it was too late.
He’ll be able to send it back, but I’m out the $20 I paid to ship it to him and I probably won’t have my camera back by Christmas. And now I’m having second thoughts about whether I want to sell it and upgrade yet at all. This is something that could have waited until the spring since I don’t even need the HD camcorder until May.
And now my beloved camera is somewhere between here and Minnesota instead of being safe in my camera bag.
Sigh.
I learned a valuable lesson about slowing down. When I get an idea, I tend to get tunnel vision. Sometimes I act too quickly. I need to learn to take a step back, think through the situation, and make sure I have all my bases covered. Luckily this time it only cost me $20 (hopefully). But I really hate when I lose money because of a stupid decision, don’t you?
‘Tis the season
This weekend I celebrated the holidays with my co-workers, first at a Christmas-lights themed holiday party in the office and then at our annual fancy dinner. We had a fantastic time.
My co-workers took the themed office party to the extreme, dressing up in ridiculously over-the-top lighted costumes. Here’s my lame attempt at participation:
I hope you had a great weekend!
Turkey and the Beach: November 2009 in photos
When I went through my photos from last month, I was bummed to realize that I just didn’t take that many. I blame the plague that nearly killed me in the beginning of the month.
Anyway, here’s a slideshow, mostly from Thanksgiving with Tony’s family. Lots of dogs and food and beaches. But who doesn’t love that stuff? (Note: clicking on the image above will take you to Vimeo.com because the slideshow somehow uploaded with a blank screen cap.)
Click here to see the rest of our Thanksgiving pictures.
Reasons to be thankful this year
Because it’s good to remind yourself, right?
- The continued well being of my family and friends.
- My commitment to a healthier life and body.
- A steady job that allows us to live comfortably and save for the future.
- Health insurance.
- The will power and know-how to live frugally, save for our goals, and live the life we want.
- The best dog in the world.
- And last but most definitely not least, my husband, Tony, who is committed to me, frugality, and our goals for the rest of our lives, and I’m all the better for it.
I hope you’re reminding yourself of all the things you have to be thankful for in your life this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!
Too busy for a slideshow this weekend
We spent the whole weekend watching independent films at the local annual film festival thanks to some free passes from my employer. We saw six movies in all, and we didn’t get much done other than that.
Because we spent so much time in dark theaters all weekend, we also didn’t have many opportunities for photos. So all I have is a couple pictures of our excitement before the festival started.
Please excuse my bad hair day. As I said, we were in dark theaters. I guess I didn’t think about the fact that I’d end up posting these pictures on my blog.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!