...and the winner is...

Thank you to all who entered my giveaway! It was fun to read all of the comments - thanks for all of the encouragement. I know 30 will be great!

The winner of the awesome 13 going on 30 DVD is shannonjason who said:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!My 30th wasn't so bad...still hanging onto it until Nov 30th when I'll be 31.Best Wishes and thanks for the great giveaway!

Congratulations! I will be contacting you by e-mail shortly.

Here are some of my thoughts about turning 30 that I shared on my family blog earlier today (with a few modifications):

Why I loved my 20's -

I finally figured out who I am and what I want out of life. I feel like I really gained my testimony in my early 20's.

I met and married Nathan Wall. Looking back at that experience, I am so grateful for Heavenly Father who guided us to each other. We honestly barely knew each other when we got married, but we are so compatible it is ridiculous. He is my best friend - and isn't he gorgeous!?

I landed a great job that ended up being a huge blessing for our family and a great career for me. I know that Heavenly Father had a hand in this as well.

I was blessed with two BEAUTIFUL children. I am so grateful for the privilege of being a mother to these two special spirits. I love them so much!

We purchased our first home. We still love it!

Why I will love my 30's -

I will be able to live life and make decisions with the wisdom/mistakes of my 20's. Hallelujah!

My kids will not be teenagers yet! Owen will turn 13 about 3 months before my 40th birthday!

My kids will start to grow up and participate in things. Scouting, soccer, basketball, piano, dance, etc. They will also both be baptized in the next 10 years.

We will (hopefully) have more children. Our plan is for at least one more.

Nate and I will have our 10th and 15th wedding anniversaries. Some exciting milestones!

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Hmmm...after careful consideration...I think my 30's are going to be okay!

Who are you?...and why should I read your blog?

I have started to get a little bit more traffic on my blog (YAY!) so for those of you who are reading this (thank you)...you may just wonder who I am. I personally love to read the personal stuff about others whose blogs I like to read. So here we are...




...and here is a little about me and my family. I am a wife to a wonderful husband of 8 years and a mother to two beautiful children - a son 3 years old and a daughter 11 months. I have been working full time at a credit union for the past 9 years and I have loved it, but I had felt like my family was suffering. After I had my daughter in September I knew that I could not keep up my home, family, and 2 kids - it was just too much. My husband and I prayed and discussed what we could do and finally just made the decision for me to work part time. Unfortunately due to poor past financial choices, it is not possible for me to stay home full time (sigh). But we set a date, made some plans, paid off certain debts, and I was finally able to go part time on July 1st, 2008. We have felt so good about this decision and everything has fallen into place for us. I work part time (2 days per week) for the credit union and I love it. It seems to be the perfect balance of family time and work time with a job I enjoy. After working full time so long 2 days are like a breath of fresh air! I love all my "free" time that I have now filled with spending more time with my kids, keeping my house clean, working on projects around the house, and of course - blogging!



Soon after I went part time in July I discovered the frugal blogging community and have never looked back. I have always been interested in frugality and have generally made frugal decisions my whole life. These last few months, though, I have been amazed at all the creative ways that others use to save money on everything and I have loved joining the bandwagon (not to mention all the money I have saved so far)! I know that our newfound frugal lifestyle will help us accomplish our ultimate goals...get out of debt, stay home for good, plan for retirement, etc...etc...etc...



Thanks for coming along for the ride!