kapachino

Author: Kathleen

  • how i spent my personal money: jan & feb

    Inspired by Brooke, I thought it would be fun to share how I spend the money I have budgeted for personal spending (ie: “fun money”) every so often. Paying off debt is a big goal of ours, so it will also help to keep me accountable.

    Usually I budget $80 per month for my own use. In January, I wasn’t supposed to spend anything, but I ended up going over. In February, I budgeted higher because it was my birthday.

    January

    $50 – Domain renewal for this website (unexpected expense)

    $10 – Jesus tree felt pattern

    $34 – Blessed Is She Lent devotional

    Total: $94

    February

    $38 – Felt from Benzie Design to make Jesus tree ornaments

    $26 – Jet Pens sampler

    $9 – Extra that I put towards buying a felt letterboard from Amazon (along with a gift card I had)

    $6 – Photo album from Hobby Lobby intended for a week in the life project

    $2 – Ribbon from Michael’s for the Jesus tree ornaments

    $14 – Two books from Half Price Books: Confessions by St. Augustine and No Greater Love by Mother Theresa

    $7 – Postcards from a shop in Austin

    $19 – A book from Bookpeople in Austin: Breathing Underwater by Richard Rohr

    Total: $121

    In order to stay on track with my budget, I would ideally like to keep my personal spending around $25 in March. We’ll see how it goes. :)

  • february recap and march goals

    Another really busy month is finished and I’m behind on writing this post. In February:

    • I turned 36
    • Lent began, and I celebrated the Rites of Sending & Election with the Catholic Church
    • My parked car was hit on the street and spent two weeks in the shop
    • We threw a birthday party for our two cats
    • I had a friend visit from Norway (who I had never met in person) and we went to Austin for a girls’ weekend
    • David got a CPAP for his sleep apnea and his life was changed

    Much of the above I wish I could dedicate entire posts to, but this will have to suffice since I am just now getting caught up with life.

    And here is a recap of my February goals:

    • Renew RN license – Done!
    • Renew driver’s license – Done!
    • Pantry challenge with Jess – Yes, and I stayed under my goal of $400.
    • Go on a date – Yes! We went out to eat and saw a movie, plus we had the kids spend the night at my in-laws’ house so we had extra time together.
    • Go to Al-Anon – Once again, I didn’t do this. Apparently it’s not a priority? Even though I know it would be good for me and David, it’s really hard to find the time. Dropping it from my list for now and will rethink it.
    • Birthday list – Mostly done! A few things had to be rescheduled to March due to coordinating with a friend.
    • Prep for Ranveig’s visit and Austin trip – Prepared, went, and enjoyed thoroughly!

    march goals

    March is shaping up to be a lot calmer than the last two months. I will have a friend in town for spring break, Lent is in full swing, and Holy Week is the last week of the month. Other than that, it should be normal life, so I should have time to devote to personal things.

    • Read a spiritual or recovery book
    • Celebrate first confession
    • Complete Jesus Tree ornaments
    • Go on a date
    • No sweets
    • Try a bedtime read-aloud with the kids
    • Minimal personal spending

  • ah, february

    Everyone everywhere is over February, and I get it. I’m done with the weather too, but in all other respects I have had a lovely start to the month. For starters, it was my birthday. The day itself was delightfully normal. A standard work day when everything went right. But over the weekend David and I got a date night – we got steak and finally saw The Last Jedi – and the kids spent the night with his parents. This was our first date in months! The next day we had a family dinner to celebrate several adult birthdays, and I got some lovely and perfect gifts for me, and have been eating very well. Lots of chocolate has been consumed. I am also working through my birthday list which feels good.

    It’s almost like I’m pregnant, with the amount of nesting I’ve been doing lately. Maybe it’s just pre-spring fever. Regardless, the house is quite clean and organized, and I’ve been steadily chipping away at small maintenance tasks that have been nagging at me. Next week I have a friend coming to stay for a week, and before then I’m going to totally fix up the guest room, which is where our old baby supplies are currently stored. It’s time to send those on their way.

    I’m preoccupied with Lent starting in just a couple of days! My first as an almost-Catholic. The process of conversion is really stepping into high gear. Fasting and ashes on Wednesday, meatless Fridays, I’m giving up sweets (hold me), day of prayer on Saturday, two masses on Sunday for two different Rites, and soon I have to go to confession (hold me again). In addition to that I’ve got a devotional I’d like to follow, plus I started a somewhat ambitious felt needlepoint craft which is supposed to be for Lent. One ornament for each day, going through the life of Jesus as in the gospel of Matthew. I’m trying to remember that the point is the spirit of sacrifice and penance, not the letter of the law. It’s hard to keep all this new stuff in my  mind.

    The kids are just being darling and so much fun lately. I took Liam to the doctor last week for a check-up and as we waited, he as usual played with a pair of disposable gloves. We ended up bringing them home and then he asked me to fill one up with water. At first I said no, but then I remembered clearly that when I was young I used to fill up plastic snack bags with water, close them with a rubber band, and call them my pet waters. I’d carry my pet around with me and talk to it. So I filled up the glove for Liam, told him about my pet waters, and he promptly named his “Schniff” and started talking to it. He carried it around with him all day.

    I also remember that my dad told me not to bring my pet water inside, but I brought it into the bathroom to leave it overnight. It worried me to think about it outside in the dark without me. He found my pet water and he popped it because I had disobeyed, and I cried. Well, after one day Liam popped Schniff himself. I made him another one, and he popped it too. So apparently he didn’t bond with his pet water in the same way I did.

  • thoughts on blogging and social media

    Hi! Today I’m going to get a little meta and blog about blogging. These are just my thoughts about how I want to proceed with it.

    I took almost a year off posting, and it was absolutely what I needed. I missed it for various reasons, so I’ve been posting sporadically in the past half year. Right now I want to figure out how and if I am going to continue with it.

    What I love about blogging: writing helps me process things (and doing it for an audience helps me to be precise in what I want to say and therefore clarifies my thoughts), it spurs on my creativity, I enjoy connecting with others through this medium, and I have an urge to share things that I love.

    The drawbacks: I seem to run out of time and/or mental energy to actually get it done, adding decent quality photos is kind of hard for me (mostly because of the availability of natural light when I’m at home), sometimes I get a vulnerability hangover, and I have an all-or-nothing personality that tends to put internal pressure on myself to do things very well or not at all.

    As for social media, it’s really not my thing. I’m hardly on Facebook anymore (I unfollowed everyone and only check my group notifications every few days) and Twitter not at all. I do check Instagram daily but get notifications on accounts I don’t want to miss updates from. I love stories but can’t keep up. I’m fine with this and I actually feel like I’m in a healthy place with it.

    Overall, I’m still really interested in blogging more. I think I’m finally to the point where I can let go of the pressure to blog in a certain way. I don’t think getting photos will be too hard if I make a bit of an effort, especially if I see it as an exercise in creativity. I can choose not to overshare. Availability of time and energy is still a deterrent, but we will see how it goes. This year one of my goals is to prioritize recreation and creativity, so this fits.

    Going forward, I’m going to make an effort to make blogging more a part of my life. I want to see how I feel when I do this, and if it’s even possible. I want to keep writing about my goals and my faith, but I also just want to do more life updates with photos. Two of my favorite blogs (this one and this one) are like that, and it’s delightfully old school. I also want to share craft and home projects as well as things I love. I want this to be a happy place.

    I’m not going to be posting my blog updates anywhere except maybe Instagram stories (and occasionally my main feed), but if you want to get new posts I recommend subscribing with email, which you can do in the right sidebar. You will probably need to find the confirmation in your spam folder at least the first time. (A note: if you used to subscribe to my blog via a feed reader, you will need to re-subscribe because the address has changed.)

    And if you’re reading, I’d absolutely love it if you’d leave a comment to say hi!

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  • 8 things i’m doing for myself on my birthday

    Today I turn 36! This year I made a list of things to do for myself during my birthday month. I decided to spread them out through the month because most of them cost money and we are still recovering financially. Some of them are treats, some are things that will improve my life, and some are just necessary. Regardless, it will feel good to get them done!

    Here is my list, along with some ideas on how you could adapt it:

    1 – Make a fun playlist. Although I’m not a huge music person (I usually enjoy silence or podcasts more), sometimes it is just what I need. I recently got Spotify premium, and I’d like to make a playlist of some of my all-time favorite happy songs.

    2 – Do a phone refresh. First, I need to get my cracked screen repaired. I also got a new case, and next I want to declutter my apps, reorganize them, and change out my background. (Other ideas: organize digital photos, clean up your computer files so it runs faster.)

    3 – Renew my driver’s license. Unfortunately I need to go in person for this and get a new photo, so I figured I might as well try and look nice, bring a book for a potential wait, and just enjoy the alone time.

    4 – Get my nails done. This is a splurge that always makes me feel great about myself. (Other ideas: get a massage, facial, try a new skincare routine or makeup, get a haircut or blowout, set aside time to take a luxurious bath and then fully groom yourself. Hmm I might have to add some of those ideas to my list!)

    5 – Have my jeans tailored. I finally got a really nice pair of black jeans that I love and wear all the time, but they are just a little too long to be perfect. I think it’ll make me feel great to do this simple fix. (If you don’t yet have a nice pair of jeans, your birthday is a great time to get one!)

    6 – Try a Jet Pens sampler. A nice pen is something I use all the time and is a simple pleasure. The sample packs from Jet Pens are a great deal and will help me find my perfect pen. (Other ideas: sign up for a fun subscription box, get yourself some nice stationery or notecards, buy a new journal.)

    7 – Visit the Catholic bookstore. I haven’t yet been to the big one downtown which I’ve heard a lot about. I probably won’t buy much (maybe a couple of books) but just browsing is something I love to do. (Other ideas: visit a regular bookstore and get a fancy coffee,

    8 – Crafting session with a friend. My best friend and I are trying to start a birthday tradition of doing something special together around our birthdays since they are only two weeks apart. This year we have been talking about crafting together for an afternoon and having dessert. (Other ideas: pick a new craft and shop for the supplies, take a class, meet a friend for shopping or a movie.)

    I would love to hear how you celebrate your birthday!