Many people assume that JAGs (Judge Advocate Generals or military lawyers) get their schooling paid for and receive bonus pay like pilots and doctors. NOT TRUE!
The military does not pay off student loans for attorneys.
However, they are allowed two continuation pay bonuses. After they serve as a JAG for four years, if they extend for another two, then they can get a small bonus. After those two years, if they agree to do another four years, then they can get a little more. (Which, of course, they take taxes out of so a person has to wait until next year's tax return to get the rest of the bonus.)
That's it.
Period.
Well, today Todd got one of those bonuses. We've been working on paying off debt for awhile and today we were able to completely pay off one student loan and a little extra on other debt. Yay!!
We were going to apply for a program where the government would pay off the remainder of a person's student loans if they work in some sort of government/public service for 10 years. While that would be wonderful (it would save us quite a bit), we hate having Todd's other student loan hanging around that long, so we're just going to bite the bullet and pay it off. So we could be debt free, except the house, in two more years, EXCEPT that Todd wants to pay off the 2nd mortgage first.
Now, I'm a Dave Ramsey girl. I think the way he tells people to do things makes sense and I like it. He has seven baby steps and they are:
1- $1,000 emergency fund
2- Debt Snowball (pay off debt except for house)
3- 3-6 months emergency fund
4- Invest 15% of income towards retirement
5- College funding for children
6- Pay off home early
7- Build wealth & give
As you can see, paying off the home early is #6, so I planned on paying off the 2nd mortgage AFTER we finished paying off all other debt, funding our emergency fund, etc. So tackling it now is hard for me because it means pushing back our 'debt free' date. Now I know that it's basically all in my head and paying it off now or later doesn't make us any less or more in overall debt, but it's that's just the way my brain works. But it's ok. Besides, Dave Ramsey does say that if your 2nd mortgage is less than 1/2 of your income to add it to babystep 2, and if it's more than 1/2 to stick it in babystep 6. Ours is less, so I guess we should do it this way anyway. Although it's still hard to be ok with it. It's like saying "I'm going to lose 20 lbs this year" and then changing it to "I'm going to lose 60 lbs in 3 years." The satisfaction of reaching your goal doesn't come as early.
So, now we have another four years (UGH!) before being debt free besides the house, although hopefully we'll sell the house by then and be COMPLETELY debt free. I can't wait! But for now, at least we're a little closer.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
New Year's resolution
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Meatballs
I think this is another recipe we got while living in Germany. I don't know how many times I've been asked for this recipe. These meatballs are super simple and make a perfect potluck dish. (This is a double recipe, but if using for your own family, just cut it in half.) Again, this is one I always have memorized (it only has three ingredients), but it is a favorite.
2 pkg frozen meatballs (home style, original or any other flavor you'd like to try)
2 small bottles of BBQ sauce
1 large jar of grape jelly
Yes, you read that right--grape jelly. Sounds weird, but just try it.
Add all ingredients to a large crock pot, stir to mix, and cook on high for 3 hours.
That's it.
I'm sure you could also use homemade meatballs, but as I'm too
With the bags I use, (smaller size meatballs, not the large ones) it usually ends up making about 140 meatballs.
Broccoli & Cheese Soup
This is a recipe that I don't really need to write down since it's very easy to remember, but it is one of our family's favorites. We've been making this soup for the last 11 years. I got this from a Sister in our ward when we lived in Germany. It's not so much of a 'recipe' as it is just adding things to a soup mix to make it better and stretch it, but it is still very yummy.
I always double these amounts for my family.
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Chicken
1 pkg frozen chopped Broccoli (cooked)
2 C Cheddar Cheese
Make the Bear Creek soup mix as directed on package. Add cream of chicken soup and whisk. Then add remaining ingredients. Cook & stir until cheese is melted. Serve. The regular soup mix makes 8 servings, but when you add the other items, it will make more than that.
You can also use other mixes besides Bear Creek. That's what I normally use, but sometimes I grab whatever soup mix is cheaper.
The nice thing about this is that you pretty much just stick in whatever you want.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
My Favorite Recipes
(I know it's been a while since my last post, but hey, I'm here now. Don't judge me.) :)
I have family coming into town this weekend and I started thinking about the menu for when they come. I've kind of been in a rut and tend to make the same few things when guests come, but I usually don't have the same people returning very often, so I can get away with serving the same few things. Lame, I know, but there you have it. I wanted to make sure I didn't make the same things I did last time, so I've been looking at other recipes, searching for some online, etc. That led me to finally do something that I've talked about doing for years--organize my recipes.
I was telling my sisters over Christmas how I need to put together my own recipe book with just the recipes that MY family enjoys. I have plenty of recipe books, I'm sure you do, too. I have some family ones, some church ones, 'regular' ones from the store, but I hate having to track down the one or two recipes that I might like in each book . . . so I rarely do. Also, I have my recipe box and various emails with recipes that I like or think that some day I'll try.
While this isn't a book, I thought I could start keeping track of the recipes that I really like here on my blog. I'll have to find some way of keeping track and organizing them (I'm not used to tagging or anything fancy, so we'll see what I figure out), but at least I'll have them all in one place.
And if any of you have a REALLY good recipe that you would like to share, pass it on and it may make it on here. . . eventually. :)
**Disclaimer- For those of you who read this blog (all 2 of you), I make no claim that any of the food posted on this site is meant to be healthy. Some of it may be, much of it probably won't be. That is the risk you take if you decide to try one of the recipes.
**Disclaimer #2- The first disclaimer, and this one as well, could sound much more legal and official if Todd helped me come up with something, but I'm really not that motivated to make it sound really clever.
I have family coming into town this weekend and I started thinking about the menu for when they come. I've kind of been in a rut and tend to make the same few things when guests come, but I usually don't have the same people returning very often, so I can get away with serving the same few things. Lame, I know, but there you have it. I wanted to make sure I didn't make the same things I did last time, so I've been looking at other recipes, searching for some online, etc. That led me to finally do something that I've talked about doing for years--organize my recipes.
I was telling my sisters over Christmas how I need to put together my own recipe book with just the recipes that MY family enjoys. I have plenty of recipe books, I'm sure you do, too. I have some family ones, some church ones, 'regular' ones from the store, but I hate having to track down the one or two recipes that I might like in each book . . . so I rarely do. Also, I have my recipe box and various emails with recipes that I like or think that some day I'll try.
While this isn't a book, I thought I could start keeping track of the recipes that I really like here on my blog. I'll have to find some way of keeping track and organizing them (I'm not used to tagging or anything fancy, so we'll see what I figure out), but at least I'll have them all in one place.
And if any of you have a REALLY good recipe that you would like to share, pass it on and it may make it on here. . . eventually. :)
**Disclaimer- For those of you who read this blog (all 2 of you), I make no claim that any of the food posted on this site is meant to be healthy. Some of it may be, much of it probably won't be. That is the risk you take if you decide to try one of the recipes.
**Disclaimer #2- The first disclaimer, and this one as well, could sound much more legal and official if Todd helped me come up with something, but I'm really not that motivated to make it sound really clever.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Starting again
Last Saturday I decided to buckle down and really watch what I'm eating and start making myself exercise . . . and it has paid off. I've lost 4 1/2 lbs. in 8 days! (That's a small bag of flour!) 
Obviously that's not going to be my normal rate of weight loss, but it's a nice jump start to my diet. My goal was to lose 12 lbs. by July 1st, so now I only have 7 1/2 to go, and with almost 5 weeks left, that shouldn't be too bad. Just a little over 1 1/2 lbs/week.
Obviously that's not going to be my normal rate of weight loss, but it's a nice jump start to my diet. My goal was to lose 12 lbs. by July 1st, so now I only have 7 1/2 to go, and with almost 5 weeks left, that shouldn't be too bad. Just a little over 1 1/2 lbs/week.Since Todd is gone, I know it's going to be a little harder to stick with it, but hopefully I can keep it up.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
My Narrative Essay
I feel like an endangered animal, bordering on extinction. But unlike other endangered animals, there is no one trying to save me. I am unique, but not in the right way it seems. Like an animal in the zoo that is gawked at, I feel increasingly alone while surrounded by the masses. Caged into my own separate area--accepted, but not completely understood. With the answer to one seemingly simple question, there are looks and words of amazement, curiosity, and also of reproach and disdain. Not knowing which reaction will come, I tense every time I reveal the truth of who I am. I am a mother of seven.
The answer is surprising to most and immediately the questions start. The questions tend to go in the same order, with little variation. The first question is always "are they all yours?" "Yes." The surprise is evident in their eyes. The first thought is that I must have a blended family because no one would choose to have that many children. When that question is answered incorrectly, the next logical reason for having so many children leads people to ask "are any of them twins?" "No." Again, my answer is incorrect. My answers seem to baffle the listener.
The next question is the one that hurts the most. "Were they all planned?" "Yes." I love my children and wanted and planned each one of them, and the presumption that some of my children must be "mistakes" hurts. "Do you plan to have any more?" Somewhere between the last two questions is usually where I sense a change in some people. Sometimes it leads people to ask, "Don't you know what birth control is?" Often times it is said jokingly, but the meaning is still clear. I am obviously one of "those" people who have more children than they can care for. This is when I try to let slip the fact that my husband is an attorney, so that I can fix the misguided perception that they have formed of me.
This encounter happened with a bagger from the grocery store just in the minute or two that it took to walk to my vehicle and unload my groceries, but similar encounters happen everywhere. I was never going to see this person again, yet the fact that I had a large family seemed to override the normal societal rules that would keep a person from asking such personal questions. Normally, I do not mind. I know that most people do not mean anything by the questions; they are just curious. But to me, it seems like with every encounter, society is trying to remind me that I do not belong.
Surprisingly, most of the whispers, piercing looks and negative comments come from other women. I feel like they are harder on me, because to them I am a step backwards for women. Women have worked hard to have the right to be what they want to be, but I sometimes feel that that does not apply if a woman wants to fulfill the traditional role of motherhood. By choosing to stay home and have a large family, some women view me as not smart, motivated, or capable enough of doing anything else. If I were smarter, then I would be "doing" something with my life. I believe I am. I believe having and raising a family is one of the most important things I will ever do. I am a woman, but I am looked down on by other women for not making the "right" choice.
Society judges people on what they do and accomplish, and unfortunately, motherhood does not afford many opportunities for outward validation. In a society where fewer women stay home and have large families, what does that say about the women who do? I grew up in a family with eight children and large families were uncommon then. Now they seem to have disappeared to the point where the only large families people know of are the ones where parents are "uneducated," "irresponsible," or had "mistakes."
I recently went back to school, and interestingly enough, while I still get the surprise for the number of children that I have, "doing" something with my life seems to have made being a mother of seven more acceptable. I always wanted to be a mom and have a large family, and I am happy with my choice. I only wish I did not have to justify my choice to everyone I meet.
The answer is surprising to most and immediately the questions start. The questions tend to go in the same order, with little variation. The first question is always "are they all yours?" "Yes." The surprise is evident in their eyes. The first thought is that I must have a blended family because no one would choose to have that many children. When that question is answered incorrectly, the next logical reason for having so many children leads people to ask "are any of them twins?" "No." Again, my answer is incorrect. My answers seem to baffle the listener.
The next question is the one that hurts the most. "Were they all planned?" "Yes." I love my children and wanted and planned each one of them, and the presumption that some of my children must be "mistakes" hurts. "Do you plan to have any more?" Somewhere between the last two questions is usually where I sense a change in some people. Sometimes it leads people to ask, "Don't you know what birth control is?" Often times it is said jokingly, but the meaning is still clear. I am obviously one of "those" people who have more children than they can care for. This is when I try to let slip the fact that my husband is an attorney, so that I can fix the misguided perception that they have formed of me.
This encounter happened with a bagger from the grocery store just in the minute or two that it took to walk to my vehicle and unload my groceries, but similar encounters happen everywhere. I was never going to see this person again, yet the fact that I had a large family seemed to override the normal societal rules that would keep a person from asking such personal questions. Normally, I do not mind. I know that most people do not mean anything by the questions; they are just curious. But to me, it seems like with every encounter, society is trying to remind me that I do not belong.
Surprisingly, most of the whispers, piercing looks and negative comments come from other women. I feel like they are harder on me, because to them I am a step backwards for women. Women have worked hard to have the right to be what they want to be, but I sometimes feel that that does not apply if a woman wants to fulfill the traditional role of motherhood. By choosing to stay home and have a large family, some women view me as not smart, motivated, or capable enough of doing anything else. If I were smarter, then I would be "doing" something with my life. I believe I am. I believe having and raising a family is one of the most important things I will ever do. I am a woman, but I am looked down on by other women for not making the "right" choice.
Society judges people on what they do and accomplish, and unfortunately, motherhood does not afford many opportunities for outward validation. In a society where fewer women stay home and have large families, what does that say about the women who do? I grew up in a family with eight children and large families were uncommon then. Now they seem to have disappeared to the point where the only large families people know of are the ones where parents are "uneducated," "irresponsible," or had "mistakes."
I recently went back to school, and interestingly enough, while I still get the surprise for the number of children that I have, "doing" something with my life seems to have made being a mother of seven more acceptable. I always wanted to be a mom and have a large family, and I am happy with my choice. I only wish I did not have to justify my choice to everyone I meet.
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