If You Ain't First You’re Last

If you ain't first, you're last. You know when you’re in a race it’s easy to look in front of you and feel like you are never going to catch up.
There were many times going back to middle school and high school track where I felt I was never going to win.
The summer before my senior year of high school a friend asked me to join the cross-country team…a different kind of race. I said, “I’ve NEVER ran that far”. He said, “it’s fun. Try it“. So…what did I have to lose? I cannot say I was good at this kind of racing. I spent the entire season just training to get to the skill level others on the team were already achieving before I arrived. {Start running a race with a plan.}I spent a season running and never being first. Watching everyone pass me by. The thing was, I just ran. (Yeah, take that two movie quotes in one post)

As I now run the Savings Race with my family, ask for friends to pitch in with votes {Vote Team Kayleigh here.}, come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th in challenges and monthly standings we found ourselves saying, “this is as bad as last. We are not getting anywhere". Discouraged that we are running on a treadmill and things keep coming up and we cannot put money where we want or we missed out on a bonus we were expecting or we needed printer ink. {do we do without it or do we continue printing those additional college scholarships?}
Then remembering the experiences of high school I remember to keep running. Keep training. Keep doing what we know is healthy and we will come on top. I never won a race that season, what I did do is improve myself. I went from running 3 mi. in 30 min to 3 mi. in 23 min. I shaved 7 min. off my time in 6 weeks, earning MIP. And at that moment in time…for me being most improved was far more valuable than coming in first. It meant I came a LONG way.
Applying this to the race I take now with my family, (1) we have support system (2) The Yake Family was adding $300 to charge cards every month meaning at the end of the year the charge card balance was $3600 more every year than the year before. We WERE using cards to pay other bills/debts. One huge thing I notice is we are NOT adding to the debt any more. We have a budget to allow us to pay everything without charge cards. So…every month we don’t add $300 to our debt it’s like paying it down even if it doesn’t reflect in our goals…but we have done so much more than just “pay down” this amount.
This realization means there is more than first and last…there is everything in between.

To Run A Marathon You Have To DRIVE.

Many Savings Race teams have blogged about the marathon. Dave Ramsey says it takes 18 – 24 mos. to complete baby step 2. When I think of babies I think of how quickly they change. It takes them time but in a blink of an eye they are new people. When I think of a race I think of fast. How conflicting; running a race with baby steps. Now Dave Ramsey reminds us no matter how many times you read Tortoise and the Hare, the tortoise always wins…slow and steady wins the race. So drive…cars are fast, they drive. But maybe, just maybe drive means something else. Well, according to thefreedictionary.com there are 22 different meanings for the word drive. So why not make up another one.
To run a marathon you have to drive.
Develop goals and stick to them.
Realize your financial limits and budget within them.
Implement a plan for emergencies.
Value small accomplishments.
Evaluate your budget regularly.

Thanks for voting for Team Kayleigh and supporting our goals. Team Kayleigh Savings Race Vote

Christmas on a Budget

I just finished my Savings Race Blog and I thought it's time to update my personal blog. Where did 2012 go? I, for one, have been busy. One thing that has kept me busy is the lack of freedom spending money gives you. When you aren't spending money you are spending more time. Making dinner, making gifts, baking cookies, etc. One of my favorite gifts this season is the Tin Can Storage Sculpture. I'm copyrighting that name. LOL Anyway using tin cans, some wrapping paper and tape I created a cute, and practical gift. yes! practical because every gift should be practical. Keep that in mind in case you're giving me a gift as well. ;-) The tin can

wrap the top rim and bottom edge with double-sided tape. cut the paper to the size of the can. I got the paper with graph lines on the back (totally on accident) the expensive paper was on super sale at Hobby Lobby. OR check out this link for some hot buys Wrapping Paper Choices

Once the can is equipped with tape, wrap the pre-cut paper around the can and you have a finished can! Ready for pens, chapstick, candy, scissors, etc.

Finally you can take many cans and put them together in pyramids, or shapes. I've used mounting tape, double-sided tape and hot glue to secure the cans together. I think the mounting tape worked best but ultimately it comes down to how you want the cans to attach together which medium to use.

Soapbox: My Vote

Listen friends: Voting is confidential, allegedly. I have received 4 calls in the past hour from volunteers that are asking if President Obama, Josh Mandel, Mitt Romney can expect my support tomorrow. If you volunteer at an office I'm sorry, but people do not want to answer these questions. You are aggravating them! Nobody should EXPECT my support at this time. Grassroots, and GPS, and whoever just called me now knows that asking me for support is, in my opinion, violating my privacy. I'm not posting my political opinion and if I wanted everyone to know my political opinion I would state it on here like I do every other thing that runs through my mind. With that said, here is my political opinion. It's none ya business. BTW, the billion dollars spent on presidential campaigning alone could have put American to work.

I would like a full-time job, I would be happy with 5/100ths % of your campaign budget as income and actually that is more than I'm looking for but keep cutting education funding and spend your money on the 232 unsolicited calls I've received in the past month. Forget the Federal "Do Not Call List" Volunteers have called to give me information, recordings of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Joe Biden, Josh Mandel...have littered my answering machine. And I mean littered it with trash talk in which I cannot get real messages because the machine is full. I will be voting tomorrow. I will not tell you who I support and why. I will say, vote yes on Issue 22 in Northeastern School District. This is a good thing for education and only affects working residents. I mean I gotta keep it interesting and list at least one issue that someone can challenge me on. In closing, I don't think the extra effort, ads, and definitely not the calls in Ohio really affect the outcomes of the election. People from all sides hate to be in Ohio right now, and if I wanted to hear what you have to say I can attend one of the 16 physical appearances in the past 2 weeks that either candidate has made within 35 miles of my home. I think that is valuable campaigning. Bothering me, asking for me by name, asking who can expect my support is nothing short of annoying.

Jack of all trades.

Today I finished Kayleigh & Caleb's homecoming corsages. They are going to both homecomings this year so I suggested to save money they should get artificial flowers. I didn't expect to be the one arranging them but it worked out fine. It ought to be interesting to see how it all comes together with the Batman motif. I'm no florist but this turned out to be pretty easy. I bought 2 stems. One larger flower and one stem with 3 smaller flowers. I guess they're roses. That was less than $4, then Kayleigh picked out silver leaves to go with the Batman suspenders...you'll have to wait until tomorrow. 2 sprigs of baby's breath...also silk, one wristlet and I still have florist tape from my wedding 12 years ago. You can see I do this all the time. Oh, yeah, don't forget the blue ribbon to match the dress. $11 later we have corsages for 2 by 2.

Later

Later...the answer to every question. Right?  I have done an excellent job at raising girls that don't argue...with me any way.  A answer to anything I say is always (almost always) a polite. OK.  This is a trained response that they don't argue with their mother, they say ok, and do it!  So I have learned what accompanies OK.  Presumed thought process of teen and pre-teenage girls, After I say OK mom will walk away feeling satisfied. I will continue doing whatever I want to do. 

So, what happens when mom comes back into the room?  No laundry folded, no dishes done, no shoes put away, and the response to my question "Why didn't you do what you said you will do?"  I will...Later. Ugh!  "No, you WILL now!" Now arguing will ensue right?  No, the response..."OK" Stares at each other for a minute.
"When?"
"After...."
"Oh, later."
smiles
"I'm turning off the TV."
still no argument...child picks up iPod/iPad, book, or goes to room

At least I have polite children, right?  They don't argue or often backtalk.  But...Later.

Aladdin's Genie on Teaching

In the movie Aladdin, Genie has some rules on wishes; 
"Rule number one: I can't kill anybody. ...
Rule number two: I can't make anybody fall in love with anybody else. ... 
Rule number three: I can't bring people back from the dead." 

hmmm! Limitations on wishes. Interesting thought. As I was preparing my speech last week, starting with a series of numbers the first thing that came to me was the phrase from Genie, "10,000 years, will give you such a crick in the neck." Genie comes out of lamp 

I considered opening my speech with a similar phrase. My husband joked that if I was going to do that I needed to incorporate the Genie's limitations on wishes in my speech too. "No way," I thought. On reflecting on my first interview however, I thought maybe incorporating my limitations (weaknesses) was an ok idea. Not for that speech, but as a philosophy. 

At my first teaching interview I was asked 2 very similar questions: how will I motivate students to do a project, and how will I motivate students to do daily work? Seems simple enough so I talked about how I share stories, build connections, have students build the guidelines for projects around their interests, tell students why I'm there and ask them why they are here. All of this amounted to building relationships to motivate students. I wasn't asked to give examples but I gave examples from my class for projects, I also said I share my enthusiasm about the subject and when I'm interested, it builds student interest. These responses from me was followed by, "How are you going to motivate them?" What?! I just told you. What are you looking for? 

 Here are the facts...just like the Genie, I have limitations. 

• Rule number one: I cannot put information in your head and make you remember it; you have to put forth effort yourself. 
• Rule number two: I cannot make anybody fall in love with math, I can only share my enthusiasm and hope it's contagious. 
• Rule number three: I cannot make students act a certain way in class, I can only set expectations and be consistent seeking administrative support IF necessary.

You tell me, am I unrealistic?  What do I say in an interview?  Listen, other than grades, what motivates students if it isn't a relationship and connection to real-life?  Can teachers, that have to do it all, love everyone, share everything, still expect that there are some limitations?  Don't get me wrong, every day, every year, I can change my courses to be better for my students and myself. With that said, I know I have limitations as a parent, as a teacher, as a wife there are some things I don't have control over and pretending I do is a bigger deficit  than realizing what I DO have control over, I think.