Shocking

I don't use a credit card very often. I don't have a good reason, the free flights and Disney dollars are great when I actually do use them, I just have my debit card in my front wallet pocket and it's become a habit to grab and swipe that one. Probably a good thing in the end. Other than big purchases that I know I'll just pay off the next month and get granddaddy size rewards, I'm a debit girl. Anyway, I've been using my Disney card recently because we are planning a trip to D-land in August and I want the bucks. It's nice to not have to pay for food on these trips.

I'm mentioning this because while paying bills I saw that I had a bill from my Disney credit card...a little unusual for us.... and for a moment I forgot I had been using it all month, for groceries and our trip to Vegas. I honestly wondered if someone had stolen my card.....not a great feeling. No worries, I quickly remembered and all is well. But as I opened the bill, I saw an interesting little grid. I hardly ever open my credit statements when they come, I remember what I bought and pay it off, no need to review it. But I am positive this is a relatively new graph they have added to their statements. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Do you know what I'm talking about? It tells you how long it will take to pay the entire balance if you only pay the minimum required payment. It's INSANE.

You may all know this. Surely we've all been warned about consumer debt, but this really did shock me. For a balance of $533.72 it would take me 8 YEARS to pay it off! And if I paid double the minimum balance (whoopee) it would take 3 years! That's a car loan, folks.

So, I paid the full amount, and then I gingerly placed the bill in my "paid" file and made a silent vow to only charge to a credit card what I know I can pay off the next month. Scary stuff.

Workin' at the Car Wash

Just don't tell my sister he's washing a car in the Kenneth Cole outfit she gave him.

Mixed Signals.

Nate had to buy Gray a new bib. We left his only one in Washington, then when we bought him a new one we left that one in Vegas. Very responsible of us, I know.

I like to buy him those plastic heavy duty ones that you wipe off and use over and over, so when Nate went to buy him his third bib, that's what he came home with...or so he thought. He actually bought one that is almost a shirt, it has arm holes so the bib covers the shoulders. Whatever, it fulfills it's purpose. Even better, I read the label and it says in big bold letters:


Machine Wash!! That means when it gets really nasty I can just throw it in the washer without having to spend precious minutes scrubbing the thing with steel wool. Or can I? On the back of that very same label, we have the Care Instructions:





I'm confused. Really confused. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but that seems like conflicting reports to me. To use "Machine wash" as a selling point and then instruct people to NOT machine wash? It says the same thing in Spanish, too, so it's not a typo.

Alas. Break out the steel wool.

Deprived

If you haven't ever played Mall Madness, you are seriously missing out. Nate and I played that game together last night. Three times in a row. We thoroughly enjoyed it!


It was kind of a random Sunday. In addition to playing Mall Madness for the first time, we also made coconut milk together. We got two coconuts in our bountiful basket and turned them into yummy coconut milk for some future Thai recipes. So excited!

I took Grayden to the church meeting formerly known as a farewell for the guy who was my "husband" in the last show I was in. I realized how spoiled I am always having Nate next to me in church to help with Gray. Without him there, I was sweating when the meeting was over. On my mission there was a mother of four kids under the age of 6 whose husband was the bishop, and she had to deal with all of them by herself. I have a new respect for her.

Blogging may take a back seat for a bit. In the next 5 weeks we've got Father's Day, a cousin's wedding reception in Vegas, Nate's birthday, the Fourth, our fifth anniversary, and my birthday. Gotta love July. If I'm really on top of things, I'll blog about all of these events as they happen with excellent pictures to document.....it could happen.

Explanations:

You deserve one.

First, the new title picture was changed to one that more closely represents our life. A picture of me and Nate alone and carefree, laughing on a hike up the mountain certainly doesn't apply quite as well as the little guy terrorizing the house. Much more appropriate.

And the next explanation is to let you all know why we aren't living in Vegas yet, since we were supposed to go in May....then June......then in 2 to 3 months.......and finally, the move is planned for November. Actually, there is not much of an explanation, the company just changed their plans. And ours, by default. I'm betting things will change again in a week or two. We'll keep all interested parties posted, but for now, we're staying in Phoenix for....a bit.

Party Heartily

I never posted Grayden's birthday party pictures. I made two round cakes, one for the adults and one for the birthday boy. He also got Ramen for dinner, his favorite food. Those things plus a balloon and the (Anderson) traditional Happy Birthday sign and box of cereal concluded the festivities.

Most of the pictures show him with one or both hands in the air, because Nate kept trying to teach him to put up one finger when asked how old he is. Also, you can mock me about the number of pictures, but I didn't take them. My sister and her husband were visiting from China and they took them. I may or may not have threatened them with their lives to get a good one, but you can't prove that.















I think it'll be a good year for him.