Sunday, July 21, 2013

July 22, 2013: Happy Birthday everyone!



Heaveno!

I say "Happy Birthday, Everyone!" because today we celebrated 5 July birthdays at grandma's house.  It was another wonderful party at grandmas, eating way too much food, and watching the four grandkids just get bigger and cuter every time they are together.



Ali and her cousin Wilson...

Happy birthday especially to my beautiful wife Angelique, whose birthday was Thursday!  She had to work a half day, so me and the kids picked her up from work and took her to Laguna Beach for an afternoon in the sand and in the waves.  Julian did NOT dig the beach so much... while yes he was content enough to fill and empty his bucket with dry sand repeatedly (what a little Zen Master), he did NOT like walking on the sand, and had NO interest in the waves.  That's a bit understandable, because of the shape of the beach, the waves break RIGHT on the shore, so it's a little intense for a little guy.

Then, Ang picked out a fun restaurant in downtown Laguna Beach, so we walked to our car, dropped our beach gear, and strolled straight to dinner!  Even though Laguna is a haven for art, when we got home, there were two custom paintings waiting for Angelique from her own kids waiting for her on the dining room table as birthday gifts.  They spent the morning making them.  Ali made a card for her as well.  Ali is funny.  She is a creativity machine, but electronic screens are her kryptonite.  Try to get that girl to do ANYTHING if a TV, computer, ipad, or phone is on/open nearby... forget about it.  I call the TV "The Great Lobotomizer."  Does it fry your kid's brain, too?  Oh well.  All I know is that, screen off = creative art and role playing flourishes, screen on = rotten attitude within minutes.  Sooo.... screen stays off when she's hangin' with me as much as possible!



The other funny thing I've learned playing with Ali is that there are definite rules of engagement in play.  If I am asked to build a whole city out of blocks for her, we are not technically playing.  That is just the set-up.  "Playing" doesn't actually begin until we are ROLE playing.  In other words, until I hold a small figurine in my hand and start talking in falsetto, we are not actually playing.  This confounds me, because when I was growing up, I spent more time setting up grand scenes than actually acting them out, and that was just fine with me.  With Ali, it's all in the acting.  I ran into this yesterday, and just laughed at the difference in what the word "play" means to both of us.

In other news, you'll notice a new logo on the right.  PUCK is hosting its first golf tournament in Orange County, CA this fall!  It is Monday October 28 in celebration of EB Awareness Week, and it will be at Tustin Ranch Golf Club in Tustin, CA.  A good friend of mine who works in the golf industry is helping me put this tournament on, and boy, is it A LOT of moving parts.  IF you live in SoCal, email me at Timothy@puckfund.org if you'd like to participate in any of the following ways:

1)  sponsor
2)  player
3)  volunteer
4)  silent auction donor

I'll share more via email with you!

Changing topics yet again, remember how I told you I gave up using credit?  That has been going pretty well.  What a challenge, though!  I have relied on credit to bail me out for 22 years now.  Taking it away from myself has been like taking away my binky!  LOL.  It's been my security blanket, but more than that, it has been my 'aloof' blanket, because the clarity in which I think about, plan, and monitor my money now is so much more refined than at ANY time prior.  I still have a lot to learn, but my little baby cash-only muscles are being developed daily!

This month has been a humbling lesson in just how little I understand cash flow!  Until this month, I would just put what income came in this month and what expenses went out all under one column.. "July".  What I learned this month is that this is not enough.  I am having the best month probably ever, BUT the lion's share of my income won't actually land in my lap till the last day of the month.  That makes A BIG DIFFERENCE! LOL...  That may seem so obvious, but it shows just how disconnected I was with relationship to money, when it is due, and when I can expect it.  I never needed to manage cash flow because I would putt as many of my recurring bills as possible on my card so I only had one due date to manage.  Humbling and scary, but I don't have to do it alone.  Each day, I practice new habits, and I do my best to turn the results over to God.  He and I are getting along better these days as I have begun meditating daily in the mornings and this morning, we basically got back to the relationship we had while we were in Minnesota.  I'm happy about that, because he's a pretty great friend.  It's nice to have him back.  Of course, all it took was the willingness on my part to listen (again).  Ever struggle with that one? ;-)  You're not alone.

God night.

3 comments:

  1. Good job on the financial journey, bro. :-) One thing I did when we gave up credit was start a financial calendar. I keep a printed calendar with all our regular bills written on it and update it every month. That way, at any given time I can just glance at the calendar and say "Yes, we can afford that extra thing this week" or "No, we need to wait until after these bills". It's been great for my brain. I have it color coded too. I like using colorful pens. :-) It may seem simple but it's made all the difference for us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Speaking on reinvesting in your relationship(s) with God: When my Mom died in 2011 my 27 yr old brother and I (33yr old) went in completely opposite directions in our relationships with God; I pulled closer to God and my brother pulled away drastically.
    It was just in this last week that he has found that he isn't digging that God sized hole in his life anymore and is working on repairing that relationship. Of course...the only "repairing" that has to be done is on our side of things, God's side of the mirror never changed :o)
    Glad you are getting back there again!!!
    Have a great week!
    Kelley from MO

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tim, and family!!
    things are hectic around here with the kids, and I have been very bad at writting comments! I do read your posts though, and I am always inspired by you!
    love
    christiana cyprus

    ReplyDelete