Forever 21 with Julia Gonzalez (17)

Having a teenager I  venture into stores I normally wouldn't step foot in. I'm  52 years old ,5'1 and weigh 184 pounds. Yeah, I said it. Put myself on blast.  I'm working on it. I will always be working on it,right?

We stopped at Forever 21. As we walked around Julia saw such cute fashionable items. She spotted a jacket with a price tag of $62. Even though she works as a barista and has her own money, she knows a jacket at that price is not within a teenagers budget. Don't get me wrong she left there with several items under $41 dollars. If it were a special occasion I'm sure she would have considered it. I'm happy she is methodical on her purchases. She has me go with her to the dressing room and  models outfits. I love my opinion matters to her at the age 17. I can be honest and tell her some fabrics, cuts and designs are not flattering.

 It's also important to instill a sense of budget and modest dressing for that matter. We even go over tithing to our church and savings. They don't teach this stuff in High Schools like they should. I'm trying each day to rewire my brain pattern.  With all the woes and trouble in the world, it really does start at home. One child at a time. One Parent at at time. 

Made to Crave By Lysa Terkeurst

At Church we are starting a free bible class called Skyline Slimdown. A group of us woman will go through the book Made to Crave, Satisfying your deepest desire with God not food. The book has sold over 500,000 copies. There's also a 60 day devotional.
The class is basically for us woman who need a support system to help us become healthier. Sharing and caring for one another through our  food  addiction. Using biblical principals since there's a real spiritual, emotional and physical battle going on within ourselves. Bringing it to the forefront, sharing and caring our way through it.
I'm excited along with the other  ladies to go through the book, share our stories, exercise together at Skylines gym and  make healthy dishes and smoothies in our stat of the art kitchen with roundtable talks  and praying .
I'll keep you posted on the amazing results.

Rachel

Simple Paying Bills Calendar -Easy as 1-2-3 for 2016

Bill paying system

I like simplicity. My brain, like many, handles so much information at any given moment, I came up with a simply bill pay method. About 98% of my standard bills are on auto pay so it goes directly form my checking account straight to the bill center. I do however like to see a visual. This way I can see when one particular week is overloaded with paying out bills. I can them work on changing things up. One of the guys at work, Mike, suggested I pay the condo bill every 2 weeks. That helped so much. My daughter, Julia's dental office actually asked what day would work for us. Communication is key, you will find places will work with you.

My calendar  (Target $3.00) method is placing "tabs"from Staples , with the name of the bill on the day its due, once paid I move it to the next month yet write it down for reference. It's such a simple method yet, works. I'm trying this for 2016 to see how it goes. 

What method do you use? 

Waiting for Spring 2016

Well, they said it would rain this weekend and it did. Power outages and down trees galore. I'm laying here in bed ready to call it a night and all I'm thinking of is springtime. I love planting seedlings and seeing them grow. What grows in your garden? I'm pretty limited with space here in the condo. Look what I started. You can barely see the little cilantro leaves. My little farm animals  can't

  wait either!
Blessings,
Rachel

A "BABY" CLOUD ON TOP OF MICHAEL'S STORE

I was making a work deposit at Wells Fargo Bank when across the way above the Michaels  I saw what looked like a big baby. I posted it on Facebook,without mentioning it, just to see if anyone saw it- I was relieved when my dear friend Cheryl mentioned the baby. I felt better! Do you see it?

$1.00 GARDENING SEEDS FROM TARGET

Most woman love diamonds, I love anything to do with gardening. These little starter kits from Target are so cute.

Here are pictures of other starter kits from 6 months ago.

Pumpkins
Very experimental since I live in a Condo 

Salsa Garden
Serrano Peppers 

Here is Penny, well she was actually a quarter at a yard sale. Didn't want to name her .25 cents lol 

Decorating with items from Michaels ,Target and local Yard sales

Loved having the task of decorating the Christmas tree at work. Most of the items were purchased at Target , Michaels and  local yard sales.

Another plate 

Touch of Roses

Adding stickers is always fun 

Little mason jar cut outs attached to a baby clothes pin

.50 cent pillow adds a special touch

Even added a plate to fill in the tree. 

Skyline Church Christmas Tree & Cafe/ Book Store Decorations 2015

Love taking pictures of the beautiful Christmas Tree Skyline Church displays every year. One is never disappointed!

Here are some snap shots:

The Cafe Decor :

My Julia and her friends