Saturday, February 28, 2009

How We Spend Our Saturday Nights

After being inspired by a particular YouTube video, Natalie and I decided to make a Poorman's Meal. It was actually really good. We added a salad and green beans to the side. Natalie also made some sweet tea and it was delicious.


So, to have a name like a Poorman's Meal, it would obviously have to be pretty cheap. Let's see how it stacks up:
  • 1 onion, $.31
  • 2 russett potatoes, $1.76
  • 1 package summer sausage, $2.99
  • two tablespoons spaghetti sauce, $.15?
  • two tablespoons olive oil, $.20?
That comes to a grand total of $5.41. I'd say it would feed about 4 people pretty well, since we ate too much and have quite a bit of leftovers. Not bad! (P.S. the lettuce was $1.59, and we already had the green beans.)

Then we had some after-dinner entertainment provided by, well... ourselves, but also our dogs, Maeby and Reelee!



Reelee is 4 months old now and finally able to pay attention pretty well (with the help of some dog food). Handler is Graham Pocta.



Maeby (we think) is 3 years old and I don't think she's as smart as Reelee, but we still like her alright. Handler is Natalie Pocta.

Then I transferred some money over to our savings account titled "House Down Payment" and we are officially at $12,948.58! SWEET! We are so excited that 1) we didn't buy a house last year (because we'd be miserable) and 2) the Lord provides so abundantly.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Natalie never posted this?












What a long, exhausting weekend. It was good, but tiring. Friday we went to Justin's Communication Design Senior Show, which was great, the process in getting there wasn't so great. I got lost in Fair Park and instead of asking for help, I just cried. Haha. You know at the State Fair where the poultry building is and where all the animals are? Well, I drove down that road on the fair grounds. Then I got stuck in the Starplex (superpages.com) Stadium's parking lot. I was a mess. In the end, I found it and I wasn't too late.

Saturday was Graham's and Justin's (which I don't think his Grandmother realized, she sent Graham graduation money but not Justin...) graduation, lunch with his parents and brothers (at Babe's, mmm), and a wedding. Graduation was long and boring which it always is, lunch was good, and the drive home was interesting. It was hot and humid and we spent a good hour on the side of the road in Sanger off of 35, both in Grahams car and on the service road waiting for a tow truck. It was eventful. I think for people driving by, they got a kick out of Graham carrying me in a skirt piggy back through the tall grass, down a hill to the service road. Then I jumped a cattle fence in a skirt to stand in the shade. It was rather ridiculous, but I was never mad, which is unlike me. We didn't have any place to be at that particular time and I just enjoyed laughing with my husband. It was miserably hot and my legs were sticking together, but besides that I was totally fine. We got the car towed, talked to the tow truck man, who had the longest hairs growing out of his ears I have ever seen, and then Justin picked us up from Tommy's and took us home. I showered again and we headed to Kyle and Leah's wedding. It was beautiful, Christ-centered, and fun!

Sunday, we went home and saw my family, went to church, and then went to Hanger night. Pretty uneventful, but relaxing.

We have also been cleaning out apartment and packing (kind of) for our move. =( I finally got all my high school and middle school pictures in order. I have started putting them in albums, but that is going to be a task in itself. I bought two albums and filled them both (400 pictures) and I still have two and a half stacks of pictures to go.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Take it easy...

1. I will write in this more. I promise. But I'll start with little posts.

2. Natalie and I have been debt-free since July and are now considering buying a house toward the end of this summer. We will have enough cash to put 20% down and should also get the $8000 tax credit at the end of the year.

We are doing this because interest rates are so dang good right now that our house payment would scarcely be larger than our 1/1 700 sq. ft. apartment rent. Then we should have the house paid off in a couple of years after that. Hurrah for responsible money management!

We are looking for houses in several areas: Farmers Branch (probably, since our church owns property at Royal/Midway and will be building there soon), Addison (open to the idea), Richardson (not quite as likely), or Lake Highlands (unlikely unless we find a really good deal). Hopefully (for us) the real estate market will actually tank in Dallas by then and we can get a good price along with good rates on the mortgage. We'll see! It's nice to be able to look without pressure like when we were moving from Denton-- our apartment complex, unless I remember incorrectly, will allow us to rent month-to-month for a slightly higher rate, so we can look without being rushed.

I'm always looking for more advice about this subject, so if you have any pointers, throw them my way.

3. I'm really awkward sometimes. Natalie reminds me of this sometimes, other times I just realize by myself. Example: tonight, I took the puppy downstairs to pee and was about to carry him back up the stairs when our neighbor's friend was walking down the stairs. We made eye contact and smiled and she said about the puppy, "He's cute!"

I just froze. I knew what she meant, but... how exactly do you respond to something like that? I can't really say "thanks!" because that would be a little presumptuous of my dog-raising skills, right? I could have said something along the lines of "totally!" or "I know, right!" but I'm not a 14-year-old girl.

So what did I said? After she had already walked by, I just stood there after a pause where you'd expect a snappy one-liner, and said "I know." "I know," not even with a hint of sarcasm or enthusiasm, as if to suggest that there weren't any other conclusion to seeing my dog. I must have looked like such a tool.

4. We are joining Providence Presbyterian this Sunday. Yay Poctas!

Saturday, February 21, 2009


I left Facebook tonight. It didn't feel like the end of an era, and I wasn't very emotional about it. It was actually a little hard to get my account officially deleted. Then they tried to guilt trip me into staying! Sheesh.

I'm sure you'll be able to find me if you really want to talk to me, since I'm easily findable on Google.

Annnnyway, this will probably mean that I will post on this blog more, since I haven't in quite a long time. So, keep an eye open.