a whale of a tale

The other night, Brian and I watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (1954, Disney, live action.) See more about it.

I loved it. What an awesome movie! Why have I never seen it before? Brian said it was one of the staples when he was a wee one, and he enjoyed it even up into his teenage years. Here is what I liked about it:

--It doesn't fit easily into any category. It's a little bit mystery (What is this weird thing in the water? Where are we going now? Will we survive?), a little bit sci-fi (that sub is cool and still looks good, even for being done over fifty years ago), a little bit fantastical wonder (a complete life under the sea? An underwater island for a farm! Look at those amazing creatures!), and a little bit nature of man/ethics (for good measure). 

 

--It was free of sex, swearing, and (mostly) violence, but still felt like something adults and kids could enjoy and think about.

--It lends itself well to interesting conversations. (Why does Nemo do what he does? Is he justified? Why does Nemo test the professor? Why does Ned disobey the captain's orders? Why does he save Nemo's life? Is the ending for the best or the worst kind of tragedy? How on earth could you milk a sperm whale?) 

 

--I recognized the song on it from my classic Disney CD. “Got a whale of a tale to tell you, lads, a whale of a tale or two...” Every movie that you can sing along to goes up a notch.

--It doesn't have the typical story arch, but rather a series of smaller incidents (which do, I'll admit, lead up to the grand finale) and that keeps you guessing all along. I love how one question would arise, and be answered, but then there was something else to figure out, then another crisis came up...it kept me on my toes.

--You never quite know who the protagonist is, nor the real villian. Is Captain Nemo good or bad? What about Ned? And why does the professor change his mind about the whole thing?

I know what book I'm getting from the library next!

The 66th Annual Lower Umpqua River Tree Planting Project

One of the things I love about not going to work is that I'm available to go to work with Brian. I used to love those days during Spring Break or over the summer when I'd wake up early and head out to the woods with him. The smell of his work truck, eating lunch out of Tupperware, bouncing up dirt roads to the far reaches of the Coast Range...these all made the day different than normal (for me, anyway) and therefore unique and special! I've gotten to drive his manual diesel truck (not sure if that's allowed, but it was fun and made Brian's day easier. I dropped him off at the top of a ridge and picked him up at the bottom.) We see unnamed waterfalls. We use the CB to warn log trucks of our approach around corners. Lots of excitement! Since Joseph arrived, there has only been one excursion so far, because Joseph's car seat can't fit in the work truck, so he needs an all-day babysitter. This week, though, we got to do something that was fun for the whole family...tree planting with school kids!

The kids in the Elkton and Reedsport school districts have been planting trees for 66 years now...that means the first one was back in 1945!

One of the buses was overheating, so we took a break on the way up. I stopped right next to this sign.

I'm not sure how it all began, but nowadays, it works like this: Roseburg Resources (Brian's company) donates the land. The BLM donates the trees. A woman in Reedsport school district coordinates the whole thing. And there is a free hot dog lunch afterward at the Scottsburg park on the Umpqua River.  Fifth and sixth graders get a talk in the classroom a week ahead of time, then a refresher course on the unit, about how to plant a tree. (It's not as easy as, dig a hole. Well, it sort of is. But the type of hole, how you put the tree in, and what you do afterward are also very important.) So I've been hearing about the tree planting for a few years now, and this year, Brian invited me and Joseph to come along. I was so excited, I woke up early that morning and couldn't go back to sleep. It was like Christmas or something.

 So here it is. The kids work in pairs. One has the shovel and the other carries a bag of about 25 seedlings. Roseburg picks a unit that needs to be planted and is relatively easy for the kids to walk on, i.e. flat and burned. There are lots of adults who show up to help...teachers, parents, Roseburg employees, BLM employees, fire patrol guys, an ambulance...there are almost as many adults as kids! I was impressed, they already had the sign up for this year!

 We're ready to plant! Brian had a pair of gloves for me. We helped kids mostly. Some of the stories Brian tells from years in the past are hilarious. They've found trees that are upside down...poor little roots up in the air, green needles firmly lodged in the soil. Once, there was an entire bunch of trees--about twenty or so--stuck in one hole. They got replanted.

 Joseph relaxing in Dad's truck after all that hard work. Oooh, pink flagging tape! Let me just help out a bit with this rip in the seat.

 Look at me go!

 I can't quite see over the dashboard...and the pedals might be a reach.

 This truck was right next to the park where we had lunch. The driver hit the bank on the other side, flipped over, and skidded down the highway for over 100 feet. He was fine, though. The truck, not so much.

 Brian in front of the hot dog happenings.

 We had some sun breaks! Joseph and Brian are checking out the swollen Umpqua River.

The kids arrived and were more than ready for some hot dogs and fudgsicles!

Yay for the next generation of trees, and yay for my wonderful husband who takes care of them. :)

cha-ching

I wrote an entry a couple weeks ago about staying home with Joseph and I feel like there are about a million things I left out of it, but I was hurrying to get it posted. It was like college all over again and I was turning in a rough draft instead of the final. Not a good feeling. One of the things I did manage to mention was the money issue, and this entry is going to be dedicated to that: Moolah. Dinero. Pénz.

I remember during my Literature and Film class back at BYU when we talked about how money itself wasn't the root of all evil, it was the love of money that caused so much havoc. Or maybe I talked about it in my paper on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and it wasn't a class discussion at all...and come to think of it, maybe that was my Bible in Film and Literature class. (I really liked the film classes the English dept offered. Good stuff.) Anyway, wherever it came from, I digress.  

Love of money=bad. Having money=not so bad. It seems to be a slippery slope. We've all heard that scripture about the rich man and the eye of the needle, and I can certainly see how it's related, but it also seems like there are a lot of wealthy people in our church. Good people, who give away a lot of their money (at least 10%, we might assume) and genuinely care for others and are good at saving and all those things. So maybe that's why they're so wealthy...they have good discipline and good control over their spending. But what about those people who aren't rich but who seem to always have the newest technology gadgets, who have really nice cars, who wear lots of brand name clothes, live in a massive house, and on and on? It turns out they may just have the appearance of wealth but not the actual thing itself. I just always assumed that if they spent that much, they must be able to afford it. And they must be saving an appropriate amount on the side. I know, naïve of me to assume adults were acting responsibly. But then I got this book from the library that I read a review of on Amazon and it turns out that most people who really are wealthy, meaning actual millionaires, never act like it. That's how they get to be that way. They drive Chevys and Fords and live in three-bedroom houses in middle-class neighborhoods. And those who act like they've got lots of money are doing just that, acting, because they spend almost everything they make. So a person who makes $700,000 a year but spends $690,000 of it is, obviously, not going to accumulate much in the way of real wealth. I wish everyone I know would read this book, it was that wonderful to read. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. They wrote a second one too, and I just love the title: Stop Acting Rich...and start living like a real millionaire. I haven't read it yet, but I'll bet it's full of fascinating examples and trends, just like the first one.

So all of that felt like a really long introduction to what I really want to write about, which are the ways that Brian and I are saving money. I'm quite proud of our efforts. I'm mostly proud because I've never been that great at saving so this feels like a real accomplishment. When I got my first paycheck from teaching, I set up an automatic transfer of 10% into a savings account and called it good. That happened every month, but sometimes I had to take a little out of my savings for trips or things, and one way or another, the balance went up very slowly. When Brian and I found out we were pregnant, we knew that I would stay at home and we would lose one income (and with it our carefree spending, which in no way was extravagant, but we didn't really have to track anything. Or I should say that I didn't. Brian has a head for numbers and always knew exactly where everything was going.) So we started adjusting our bills and our spending. Here are the main things we did:

1. We looked at utilities to see where we could reduce costs. Brian had already canceled the satellite before we got married when he realized how much he was paying every month to watch one hour a week. We got rid of the landline to our house since we both have cell phones. (There went $40.) We set the thermostat lower during the winter. (60 degrees! Completely off at night! We wear sweatshirts and slippers! Saves us more than $100/year.) Nothing we could do about the water, but it wasn't very much to start with. We also don't have garbage pickup, or recycling (we take it in ourselves, which is free).
2. We bargained for cheaper contracts of the things we kept. Our internet is a “special,” which we have to renew every six months or so. They keep trying to raise the price, but we call them and tell them we're leaving and they say, “Oh, we have this great deal going on that you could take advantage of if you stay!” Brian's cell phone is through his work, yay for no costs there, and we also took advantage of a deal offered through his work to reduce my phone plan to less than $40/month. No added texting or internet costs for either.
3. We switched Brian's car insurance to my company. Better rates. Best in the world! (Thank you, Dad, for making it possible for us to use USAA.)
4. We started tracking every single purchase—how much we spent, what we spent it on, which category it fell into, what the total was for the month. The first month, we did it on a piece of paper taped to the kitchen cupboard, but then Brian made us a snazzy spreadsheet on the computer that totals for us and tells us how much we have left. You think a lot harder about every purchase when you know it's going on the expense sheet. Now, it's second nature.
5. We set a savings goal. It feels awesome to reach that, and then exceed it.
6. Brian started investing in the stock market. He researches stocks online and this has become his hobby/obsession. We have learned SO MUCH. (I can say we because he tells me everything he learns about dividends and wash sales and commodities. Do you know what the company is that is the biggest (according to market capitalization, i.e. worth the most) in the world? I never did...but now I can tell you the top three. See below!)
7. We started planning menus and using lists for grocery shopping. We set a limit on food expenses for the month that included groceries and eating out, so we had to fall under it. We use coupons and a rewards card in the store and stock up on sales. We even comparison-shopped one week with Brian at Wal-mart and me at Fred Meyer and compared prices over the phone; that was a huge pain but let us know that it wasn't much cheaper to buy all our groceries at Wal-mart so we could keep going to our favorite Freddy's. (FYI: going to BOTH stores would have saved us $10. Going to just Wal-mart would have been $7 cheaper than the same groceries at the store a block from our house. No question about our final decision.)
8. We stopped eating out so much, and when we did, we tried to go to less expensive places. We have lots of dinners out for about $20 (Sizzler, anyone?) and save the big splurges for birthdays, anniversary, and Valentine's.
9. We use credit cards that have rewards and then use those rewards for everyday things we'd buy anyway.
10. We shopped around for the best CD rate and put all our savings in there. Everything we accumulate in the meantime goes into stocks.
11. We had one student loan forgiven. This involved looking up my school, writing to the government, and then, poof! No more little loan. But the big one is still there. :(
12. I invested in a short-term disability insurance when we got married because it was applicable for giving birth. They took out a bit from my paycheck each month for about two years (pre-taxes!) and then when Joseph was born, we got a nice check from them. Woohoo!
13. I took maternity leave instead of resigning. I was paid for all of my accumulated sick time and was covered through FMLA for health insurance for 60 working days.
14. We had double coverage of health insurance for me and Joseph at his birth. End result, we didn't pay a dime of those bills. Our out-of-pocket expenses had all been met.
15. On the subject of health care, we called about every bill we got that we had questions about. You wouldn't believe the mistakes that came up that would have cost us money, or how often they would send us a bill without going through the secondary insurance.
16. We donate lots of things to Goodwill and keep a detailed list so we can make an accurate deduction at tax time. We have qualified  for the itemized deduction every year, so it was worth it, rather than taking the standard deduction.

Joseph has even gotten into the game because he wears cloth diapers all day and even actually likes the homemade baby food I've made him! When I started making this list, I had no idea that it was so many. I conferred with Brian and he reminded me of some that I'd forgotten about. The wonderful thing is, it hasn't felt like a huge sacrifice. We still have fun, enjoy the world, relax, and do things with friends and family. We don't live on just Ramen and oatmeal, and we have never said, "We can't afford that." We say instead, "We choose not to spend our money on that." Because really, it comes down to what are needs and what are wants. Do I want a matching set of furniture in the living room? YES. Fully aware that the red couch does not match the teal and pink one. But do I NEED a matching set? No. Don't need more than the seven pairs of pants I regularly wear. Don't need that Slurpee. Don't need an iPhone. The wants are endless...the needs, less so.

There are so many other things that are enabling us to meet our goals. We have the blessing of a low rent. I already had a car with good gas mileage. Brian drives a work truck. We have no car payments because Brian paid his off years ago and mine was a gift. We have lots of generosity bestowed on us by family at all times of the year. We use the library for movies and books. We don't have cable or satellite at home, no internet on our phones. Our two “luxuries” (because they're not technically essential) are Netflix and the internet at home. I did the whole internet-at-the-library thing for a year and a half, and that was way longer than I would have liked.

The entire reason for this in the beginning was mostly two-fold: a down payment on a house and to bulk up the retirement fund. We wanted to have a nice down payment but now we're thinking of doing a 15-year mortgage or even paying cash, depending on how long we are happy staying in this house and when I go back to work. And retirement looks a long ways away but won't be if we can continue to live frugally and invest wisely.

The greatest benefit from all of this is, for me personally, the discipline I've learned. It's changed my habits on a day-to-day basis. I never have to worry that something huge will wipe us out financially. And I love that I'm not saving so that someday I can spend like crazy; I'm saving because that's what I want to do. I don't think we'll ever spend like crazy. Even if we end up like the titular people in the aforementioned book. Hey, we can always dream. :)

Now, yay to you if you read all the way to the end! Here's your prize: 1: Exxon 2. PetroChina (China's gov't oil company) and 3. Apple. (Based on 2010's fourth quarter earnings. Exxon is worth around 350 billion dollars. That number boggles my mind.)

So, if you're still here, I'm assuming you care about money. What is something you've done in your household that helped your finances?

pet peeve

Just have to share this. I go to the recipe site Allrecipes.com every day to see what their recipe of the day is. If I like it, I'll save it for later. I've found some really good ones on there! The site is not perfect though. I looked and looked to find a recipe for the sauce for Hawaiian Haystacks and eventually found it on another site. They also (at last check) don't have any recipes for wheat berries. They do have a cool feature where you can input ingredients you have and which ones you'd like to exclude, and they'll give you a list of what matches. So, not perfect, but I still like 'em. I usually read the ratings, but it is rare that someone makes it exactly as stated. Yet they'll still rate the recipe low, but it's according to the changes they made. So I was quite happy when I came across this review for today's recipe, Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken. (Quoted in its entirety and I restrained myself and didn't edit.)

"Ya know what bugs me? So many people down rate a recipe and post all of the alterations they made and don't even try the recipe as written and the recipe it's self gets a lower grade than it deserves! I made this recipe just as written and it was absolutely wonderful!! Delicious, perfectly balanced flavors and perhaps the idea of baking the chicken is to reduce the fat from pan cooking in oils. The idea of cooking the pasta in the chicken broth with the seasons and lemon juice is brilliant because it really holds in the flavor! Wonderful, We love it!! Not to be petty, but it's really rediculous how so many discredit a recipe they don't even truly try because they make all of the changes, they're only rating their own recipes. Kudos for sharing this recipe, it's great!! Five stars from my family"

Amen, sistah. Here here. 

want books?

The first reviews from the A-Z Challenge. More to come.

B. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Awesome. Loved it. I fell in love with this book, and then it broke my heart. The narrator (Death) tells you the end of the book, so that's not a surprise, but it hurts more than you think it will, for many reasons.

C. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. It was a bit dry at the beginning. There are many, many references to people, places, and events, most of them ancient, which took me a while to read and not feel out of the loop. Someone like my husband, who loves reading about ancient civilizations, would no doubt find it second nature to understand, but I struggled. I love the description of her education in Alexandria. It sounds incredibly rigorous and thorough—I'm jealous. I thought it was fascinating how much emphasis was placed on the art of public speaking and rhetoric, two skills almost absent in our school system. I was also a little horrified to realize how often they married, and killed, or both, close family members. There was no perfect world or golden age of the past; people have always been what they are. I am left wanting to know what was in Cleopatra's heart. Did she like being a mom? Would she give it all up? What did she think defined who she was? Excellent insights into this woman who was, from all accounts, a political mastermind, enthralling conversationalist, and quite plain-looking royal. I also learned what a diadem is...who knew all you needed to be royal was a white ribbon?

G. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Two Someones. I really liked it. It starts off with a light tone but has some very serious notes. There is a good humor throughout. I was drawn to the narrator, probably in part because it was a female in her early 30s (like me) and one who loves writing, but she also had an awesome wit and strong spunkiness. I never knew that Germany had occupied English territory during WWII, so I learned some new information. I enjoyed all the little facts that were, I'd bet on it, true stories from the German occupation of this English island. These were both good and bad, the best and worst of humanity. It had an interesting layout, composed entirely of letters, telegrams, and notes between the characters. There were quite a few surprises for the reader. You are led to assume some things and then realize the truth is almost the opposite. I liked it overall but it took a very serious time and topic and portrayed it in what felt like a light-hearted manner.

I. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Took me a while to get through it, but I did. I'm not big on non-fiction but I'm getting better. I particularly liked that this one also told the story of living people and their lives. It was hard for me to not judge them, based on their level of education and income, but more on their desires and misunderstanding of the world in general. The scientific aspects were well-explained and interesting. I'd give it a 7/10. I just never really cared that much, like I felt the author wanted me to, that this woman's cells had been taken from her and were now multiplying by the billions all over the world. Tons of people had cells, tissues, etc. taken from them. Hers kept growing. Should the family, 60 years later, be reimbursed for that? I did like the ethical issues and legal cases presented that related. I felt like the author clearly wanted me to feel one way but never came right out and said it. If anything, however, she accomplished her aim of telling the world who Henrietta Lacks was and what her family is doing today.

L. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. This story was stuck in my head for days! It had a slow start but then started linking lives of various characters into one another's fates and left me caring about each one. I've seen it on quite a few “Must Read” lists, and I don't know if I'd agree with that. But I did enjoy it.

M. The Misadventures of Augie March by Saul Bellows. Terrible. Read 10% and couldn't bear to go one more page. Too much description of boring mean people. Uninspiring main character. Still no plot after 50+ pages. Ugh. Maybe if I'd been stranded on an island with nothing else to do, I'd pick it up to finish, but only after a few weeks had gone by and I was bored of counting sand grains. It must get better, but I have too many other books I want to read.

O. Outliers: the story of success by Malcolm Gladwell. Reminds me of Freakonomics. Browsed through a couple pages and it got me hooked before I actually started to read. Liked it a lot! One particular section stands out to me. He is talking about education, namely in the U.S. and in Asian countries, and gives the actual days in class of students. U.S.: 180. Japan: 243. He also posits that some reasons for our slacking in education, notably math, is inherently linguistic in nature. Our numbers are confusing because of our names for them, while that isn't the case in Chinese. His overall theme is that it takes a remarkable intersection of timing, luck, hard work, and intelligence to be an amazing success, or “outlier” in life. He demonstrates this with the Beatles, Bill Gates, and others. I thought it was fascinating reading.

Y. You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon. Stories (fictional) set around the army base of Fort Hood, Texas, that bring that mini-world to life. The wives left behind, the men in Iraq, the ways war has changed from the common stories we hear of WWII. It was well-written but left me feeling desolate, like one of the women with small children who knew she would be alone for the next twelve months. Is it good writing when I was irritable, depressed, and lonely after reading it? I felt their feelings. There were moments of poignant and tender truths, especially regarding motherhood and marriage. This life and culture came alive for me. I know some people in these circumstances, so I couldn't keep them out of my mind. I also thought a lot about what my own mom went through while we lived on an army base, though the US was not engaged in any war at the time and my dad was never deployed. When I was little, we swam at the Officer's Club pool and did our grocery shopping at the commissary. It was overall sad, heartbreaking—there are many casualties in a war.