13

People always say that 13 is an unlucky number. I, in fact, have always thought the opposite since I was born on the 13th of June and I turned out great. And, as I may have mentioned before, I live a charmed life. I can't help it.

Well, today is January thirteenth. It marks a couple things. One, I am now officially 5 months away from my 30th birthday. Zoiks! And even sooner, I am 4 months away from my estimated due date! Sounds like a long time, but after teaching for 8 years, I know that the spring semester always seems to fly by.

I spent most of the day on my feet helping helpless 8th graders (my 7th graders weren't so needy, interestingly enough) follow pre-printed directions, which I pain-stakingly put together so that they wouldn't ask so many questions (why do I even bother?) as they worked on the computers. Really. I was tired of 8th graders today. And at the end of the day, I thought, gee, I haven't felt her move yet today (she still doesn't have a name, so she only gets feminine pronouns). But, as soon as I got home from school and tutoring and sat still for one moment, there she was... She's very perceptive, I can tell. Or maybe she was moving all along, but I was just too harried to notice.

Tutoring tonight was pretty awful. The textbook that MW is using tells theories and basics on how to work the trig problems, but doesn't give nearly enough opportunity to PRACTICE applying the theorems and solving sample problems. It drives me crazy! I'm about to go out and buy another trig book just to figure out what the heck is going on (I bought the same one MW has so that I can help her muddle through the madness). Today, I felt like trig was a foreign language. I wasn't very much help, but to my credit, neither was the book, or her semester-long substitute teacher (per MW). I'm thinking I may not accept payment for the disaster that was today.

In other news, I'm about two or three chapters away from finishing this book that I got from Mom, The Saving Graces, by Patricia Gaffney. I've muddled through it, but the story line is depressing. Talk about an existentialist, dreary storyline. I guess it doesn't help that it's about middle-aged women in the midst of life crises. I will say, however, that it was more readable than Little Women, which is why I still haven't finished that book. I know! I really need to finish that classic just to get it over with and quit complaining.

Well, happy four months until Baby Beaver is due. She'll probably come late. Or early. But probably not on the 13th. I'd settle for any day, but preferably a prime number. :)

Isms

In Sunday School, the women are watching a series by RC Sproul called "Christian Worldview." It's left over from the 80's (he mentions that this year's Best Picture was Chariots of Fire) but the information is still valid.

Theidea is that we are missionaries in our own land. Missionaries spend months, even years, studying the culture they are entering before they ever set foot on foreign soil. We're in our own mission field already, and probably don't know much about our culture. That's an understatement. We live in a Christian-ized culture, but not a Christian nation.

Last week, we started off with an excellent discussion of secularism, which was the overview for the whole 10 weeks. This weeks we talked specifically about existentialism and how it has manifested itself in popular culture. I can't imagine what life would be like if I didn't think that my existence mattered, that there was no purpose to my life, and that I was accountable to nothing and no one in the long term. What despair, emptiness I might feel!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this story. In the future we are going to be exploring humanist, pluralism, relativism, hedonism, a few other -isms, and then art, science, and literature. I'm especially looking forward to those last three.

Account Closed

It was a giant step for me, but when I realized I haven't used the account since last February--12 months--I decided to call and close my Discover card account.

It was in February 2008 that Eli and I started Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU) at our church in Tuscaloosa. It was in February that I put that card in a bag full of water in the freezer to see if I needed it. I thawed it when we graduated FPU and did "plastic surgery" in front of everyone at class. But... It was emotional, and I couldn't close the account just in case. After all, I had some sort of sentimental value attached to it. It was my first card. And now, a year later, I haven't needed it. But, more importantly, I don't want it. They sent me a new card right after we moved here, but I never activated it.

When I called customer service, he gave me a hard time. Started talking to me about my FICO score and how closing an account that I've had for 11 years would adversely affect my future credit. But here's the thing...I don't want future credit. From anyone. My goal is to be debt free. Eli and I are going to work to pay off our student loans and save up for a house. Not a down payment. A house. And yes, that may take us until this baby is in kindergarten, but that's the plan. And if, on the off chance that we find a house that costs more than we save up, we'll only get a mortgage for the amount we need. Our "down payment" will be greater than 60% and we won't have to borrow much, which means we won't need to have that much credit extended to us, which means that Discover can eat it. I don't need no stinkin' credit cards.

I'm eligible for my free credit report in a month or so, and I hope to go through that and make sure that I've closed all my inactive accounts--I'm pretty sure I have. And those wouldn't make a difference anyway since they were/are probably store accounts with only $100 credit limit or something. I was 18-22 when they were opened (haven't opened any since college, except for the Rooms To Go account 3 years ago, which we paid in full in a couple of months) and so they have long since been forgotten/closed/unused.

I will also have to go through Eli's credit report. He cut up a couple of credit cards in front of our FPU class (I did, admittedly shed a tear when the Tiffany & Co. card met the shears) but I don't think he closed any of the accounts. That is, obviously, his prerogative, but I do want to talk to him about it.

And yes, I'm a hypocrite of sorts, because I still have my USAA credit card. I'm not ready to be a 100% Dave Disciple yet, but I foresee that that card (another 11-year commitment) will go away within the next year as I pay it off. And Eli's Citi card will go away, too. We'll be debt free except for student loans. But, not, as I had hoped, consumer-debt free by the time I turn 30 (Eli will be by the time he's 30, though!).

Now onto something totally related, but different topic:

I've already decided that I will fight to become immune to baby-itis--the need to buy all new things for Baby Beaver--and have already accepted many second-hand items, including strollers and clothing. I know there are a few things that will need to be new and will purchase those accordingly (car seat, specifically), but for everything else, I'm going to stay strong. The baby won't know the difference. And I already have tons of children's books and games, so I won't be spending much money on entertainment for the baby. Simple toys. Nature. Imagination. Books. These are the things I want for my child to experience.

Shoot--I had a charmed childhood, and I don't remember having much. We played outside; we built forts with blankets; we did crafts (loved the Childcraft encyclopedia volume Make and Do); we pretended the bunk bed was a ship, a limo, a castle, a hospital; we made goodies (chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies...mmm...I need that recipe, again); we invented our own games; we played kickball with the neighborhood kids; we ran around the playground; we did science experiments (again, thanks, Childcraft); we played board games and card games; we went camping as a family; and went to watch the 4th of July fireworks as a treat.

Yes, we had toys, but thankfully we didn't have everything we ever wanted. I had some My Little Ponies and a great imagination. I had two Cabbage Patch Kids. I played with my sister's Barbie dolls (when she would let me) and with my friends' Barbies (when she wouldn't). I had a bike that I rode it everywhere. The greatest treat for me was being able to get a book from the Scholastic book order. As I said, I had a charmed childhood. I think that's one of the greatest gifts a parent can give.

Run along, now

Yesterday was a looooong day. We got up late--Eli jumped out of bed, took the quickest shower on record, and sped off to Bible Study, where he was 30 minutes late. I left at the same time to get to school and was there all day, followed by an away game for basketball/cheerleading, followed by the Young Women's Bible Study for church. We were there until almost 9 o'clock just chatting up a storm. And when came home, Eli had our friends over watching the BCS championship game, so it would have been rude to go to bed, so I stayed up and watched the second half of the game and didn't make it to bed until 11. Loooooong day.

I'm excited that tonight we are going to a gymnastics meet. The three years we lived in Tuscaloosa, I somehow never made it to a meet. Bama is one of the top ranked gymnastics programs in the nation. Well, tonight, Bama is competing at Auburn, the Iron Bowl of gymnastics, if you will, and it's the breast cancer awareness night (known as the "Pink Meet") so Eli got us tickets to go see two stellar gymnastics teams--his idea, no kidding. And he's going to wear his pink shirt. :)

Before that happens, though, Eli is going running. Yes, I said running. He HATES running just to run (running for soccer is another story) and I pretty much stopped running when my running partners graduated/moved away and Eli wouldn't run with me. I don't know if I'm miffed about this or not. Part of me is a little ruffled because I can't go run with them in my present condition, not even considering the fact that I'm out of running shape. So, after we have the baby, he probably will be sick of this renewed hobby, and again, won't run with me. Gah.

He's running with his friend Colin, who pretty much ran the Azalea Trail Run 10k with him last March. Colin is training for a half marathon. I'm jealous. Both of his ability to run (and a half marathon at that), but of his ability to get my husband to run with him. Oh, well.

Bah! Technology

Yesterday, the computer just wouldn't turn on. Not at all. Thus, breaking my streak of posts. Oh, well. C'est la vie. There are more important things in life. You know, like catching up on ALL the missed episodes of NCIS. I realized on Monday that we get the channel ION and that they show old NCIS episodes from 7-10. Well! That was good news, indeed, because USA shows old episodes of NCIS from 4-7. I can easily catch up with the missing links.

Now for something less pathetic. We went to the doctor today for our 22 week appointment. The nurse tried to get the heartbeat, but the baby was moving all over the place and she couldn't get a really good read. I mean, I heard the heartbeat loud and clear, but not for long, because then the little one moved. She would find it, then the baby would move again. It was actually quite amusing.

Anyway, the doctor wanted to know what questions we had. We had none. That part was weird, but mostly awkward. Next time I go I get to take the glucose test. Woohoo. I hear it tastes great (and I'm being sarcastic).

Okay, so, if I fall off the grid again, you'll know that it's because the computer is still having problems.