It is Not Me who is writing this post on Sunday night, with hopes to be able to participate in the fun over at MckMama on Monday.

It is Not Me who fed not only my children but also another child; chips (at least they were Multi-grain), salsa and cheese dip for dinner tonight.

It is definitely Not Me who is allowing my kids to watch Nick Jr while in the bathtub simply to get a few minutes of peace without interruption.

It is also Not Me who decided that the weekends don’t count on her diet :).

It also would Not be Me who is so excited because she used the strike out feature in her last blog. That would be very nerdy.

It was also Not Me who after discovering, she had lost 2.5# consumed 3 bottles of water, knowing full well that means I am going to be in the bathroom half the night.

It would also be Not Me who is glad that her husband has finally seen the light regarding the expense of processed/convenient food and is willing to cut every corner imaginable to save money!

Finally it is Not Me who after cleaning out the freezers last week is so happy that they now are incredible full due to the cooking we have accomplished this weekend.

Anyone else what to join in the confessions?

I have heard that if you want to see both side of something that you make a list of the good points and bad points which make them easier to compare. To be honest with you, I am struggling right now.  We are facing several huge financial changes in the next 6 months.  I know in my head that “God has a plan for me” but I am still struggling with doubt and worry. So I am going to write a good vs bad list about the things going on in my life both financial and not. Bear with me, support me or close the page…

Good
– I have been able to not take but 2 hours of vacation time during the month of December. So I should have enough saved for both my trip and our beach trip.

-Zach is doing excellent with potty training. I think* that we have bought the last bag of diapers around here.

-I don’t have any more scheduled days at the nursing home.

-Last year we were able to replace/ repair the majority of major expenses around the house. We currently need to replace only 1 more window and purchase gutter till we will be complete finished with the house as far as major remodeling expenses.

– We have no car payments!

-We have purchased a lot of new electronic equipment over the past 2 months and don’t need/want anything else unless our current television stop working. And even if this is the case, I don’t see us replacing them quickly instead saving for a couple of months.

-We have replaced a ton of clothes over the past several months and should not need anything until the spring/summer.

–“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 
Jeremiah 29:10-12

Bad
-Matt’s unemployment is becoming very unstable, we are reading various statements that indicate that it may end as soon as February or that it will last through June, which is what we originally thought and planned for.

-My work at the hospital has really slacked off. I will only be working 20 hours a week for at least the next 2 weeks.

-I don’t have any more scheduled days at the nursing home.

-We need approximately $1000 to complete both the remaining window and gutters for the house, I had planned to finish during the month of March/ April but it just may not be possible.

-I greatly reduced our tax withholding for last year and we should only expect a refund of $1000 or less. My plan was to use this either for the remaining house repairs or pay upfront for the beach condo.

I decided this year to scale back on my Christmas decorations. But one of the few items that we brought down from the attic was the Fisher Price Little People Nativity Scene. This was a gift from several years ago that I absolute love and the kids have been playing with for several days now. However this gift comes with one problem….things that are said that you should really never hear at Christmas.

“Take Baby Jesus out of your mouth.”
“No Baby Jesus can not slide down the stable roof”
“Why are you putting Baby Jesus in time out?”
“A camel does not say woof, but that is okay just this year”
“Please share the donkeys with your sisters, you don’t need both the Baby and the donkeys.”
“Leave Baby Jesus alone and go watch TV while I get dressed.”
“Why is the cow sitting on top of the stable?”
“Yes, I realize that the cow plays music out of it’s butt when you sit it there.”
“No, I won’t make Zach give you the baby Jesus because you are a girl” or the alternative is “Zach give baby Jesus back to your sister, she was playing with it first.”

I really wish I could put a disclaimer here saying at least one of the above has not been said this year but instead I will add that after repeating the above statements at least 6 times, I am beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea!

This morning as I went in our bathroom, I had to add these

“Please don’t give Baby Jesus a bath in toliet.”
“Why oh WHY are all these people in the bathroom with me?”

Blogging: .November has 14 post including this one. Matt would say this was a success because not a single one of these was a picture post. Opps need to fix that soon!
 Goal: 15 per month

Devotions: Slowly but surely, I would guess 1x a week still working toward the goal. With all the stuff going on this month, I really had lost sight of doing a regular devotion. My plan is to start a year long devotional book in January so that might keep me on track better. In the mean time I need to just read something!
Goal is 3 a week.

Couponing/Grocery Budgeting: We ended up spending $755 on groceries this month, so under the goal. I am also pleased to say that our eating out has decreased as well. In order to cut our budget for December I am going to reduce the budget for December to $400.
Our Grocery Budget is set at $800 per month, this includes diapers, cleaning supplies, food and toiletries.

Financially: November has been the best month so far to date. We currently have $300 in our emergency fund. I was able to purchase ALL of our Christmas gifts this month. We also ordered 3 new windows for the house.  December will be a small month due to my decrease in income that I am expecting but we hope to at least achieve the half way mark of our emergency fund. As for the car fund, we have not been able to save in this area but are using the money to maintain the cars that we currently own. Goals in this area: Emergency fund of $1000, car fund equal to a payment of $300 each month and by January- debt free except for mortgage.

Weight- UGGHHHH
Goal to exercise 3x a week.

I was actually excited to write this review, until I realized that I had only hit my goal in about half of the categories. But at least I am honest and hopefully this will help keep me on track in December. My current plan is to write a month in review as well as a year in review where I establish new goals or keep working on the problems with these!