At Home with Jacie

Jacie Lake turned 37 yesterday, October 21st.  She's not sure exactly how she feels about that just yet, but as of right now, it's no big deal.  She's grateful for her blessings, regretful for her mistakes, and believes that her future is waiting for her to arrive.  If only there was a road map to get her there.  The last few years she feels like she's been just putting in her time as an office droid until she could really put herself into something that she's passionate about.  The time has finally arrived.  She's going to start today.

Simple by design, Jacie's house is a warm butter yellow with stark white trim.  It's a one level cottage with the cross braces in the windows, shutters that are actually useable, and decorative eaves that give it an animated look. The front yard is meticulously manicured with a beautiful linden tree in the center and rose bushes climbing the trellis next to the front porch.  It's the old fashioned kind of porch, with a rocking chair on one side of the front door and a porch swing hanging on the other.  A wind chime dangles carelessly just behind the rocking chair and solar lights line the walk that leads to the porch.  Each side of the house has a single row of sunflowers with gigantic blossoms creeping up the walls, and a single rose bush on each front corner.  The backyard is fairly large but manageable with just a few trees, a flower bed, and a small portion sectioned off for a garden. 

Resolutions... for Real. No Fail Plan.

Well well well... 2013.  We finally meet.  Just exactly what do you think you have in store for me, eh?  Bring it on.  There is a sense of determination, a sense of future accomplishments, no fear to interject its nasty fury, no insecurities to undermine my vision... oh they still exist, but in a far off distant land where I have locked them up for at least a little while.

I know there is a grand scheme to everything under the sun and I know we are in the dark a little bit, especially when daylight savings time is still ruling the day, but I know that every choice me make will be a determining factor in the final outcome of our days.

Me, for instance, I have chosen to return to Probation and Parole.  Still in the admin arena, not a P.O., but happy to be back, full-time, with more challenging duties on my plate, and with a group of people who I love and trust.  They are all very good people, each with their own personality quirks, habits - bad and good, and who LOVE pot luck lunches!!!

Along with welcoming in the New Year, I will be saying good-bye to 2012 and all of its woes... most precious on that list of woes was losing a few very wonderful people who are now Angels among us... that's the only way I can accept the losses.  Most ridiculous on the list, the car troubles we had... it became comical after a while.  Sami's car had a major/minor issue in July when she was almost stuck between Billings and Havre at 11:00 pm but she was able to limp it in to Havre... took about 2 weeks for some auto tech guys to get it figured out and it wasn't exorbitantly expensive - and her grandparents picked up that tab.  In the first part of August, it was our pickup... blew the transmission which was less than one year old from Hanser's - a "new" rebuilt transmission that they claimed was just fine but every time Dean picked it up and hooked the camper back up, it slipped, again and again.  Finally, after some "words," one of their techs had a conscience and the transmission was replaced again.  No problems since.  Phew!  Then, at the end of August, Brandi had a little fender bender, to the tune of $1500 + and one and a half months of driving my Jeep, which put me in the Bronco - when the weather was nice and thankfully we were fortunate enough to have the extra ride - or the pickup, which then took on a horrible habit of getting flat tires, like 3 weeks straight.  Theeeeeennnnn, the last day that Brandi would be driving my Jeep in mid-October, as her car was going to be finished the next day, the engine in my Jeep, well, died.  It blew a piston (I think it broke a LONG time ago) and then it finally got caught and destroyed the cylinder thingy.  So, I haven't actually driven my Jeep since the last weekend in August.  I miss(ED) it... until December 31st...

I got a NEW car!  Well, new to me and nearly brand new.  :)  A Chevy Captiva, just a few miles, all the bells and whistles - which I never had before and only guessed what I was missing out on.  But I LOVE it!  I will be testing it out on winter roads today... I'm expecting great things from it, not miracles, mind you, just great things as far as the remote start, the heated seats, the AWD, lol~

I have a new outlook regarding our household management.  I'm a bit of a tyrant right now, but I suppose, if I had started my tyrant ways sooner, the benefits would already be appreciated... but here goes.  Re-arranged/re-organized the entire kitchen cabinets, the refrigerator, and went completely through our craft/sewing room that looked like a hoarders heaven.  Have made a list and checked it twice of all the little projects left unfinished with a plan to complete at least one project every weekend.

I'm also trying something new with our financial management.  We will be attempting the envelope system for anything and everything that is not a "permanent" expense.  We will each make a list, can be as long as we want, then prioritize the top 5 items for each person, compare notes and prioritize the top 10 for the whole family.  Starting with a nice little chunk o' change in each envelope and using self discipline of each person to not spend what we do not NEED to spend.  Ever.  Wish us luck!

Hope you all have a Fabulous Friday!  oh, wait, per Megan Brown via that one commercial... hope you have a super sparkly day!!!  Begin Each Day With Love and Compassion~  Brooke