Budget budget who's got the budget?

One of the rewards of being married is finding solutions to problems or situations. Budgeting has been a thorn in our sides only because its been hard to find a tool to use that fits what we need. We've tried some of the popular tools and have found them to be restrictive and useless. Most software out there appears to merely be accounting software and doesn't really help you budget...just keep track. We kept searching and we have finally found something that fits us and is working well for us. Budgeting is now fun and exciting and liberating and we love it.

I have always been drawn to the idea of the envelope method of budgeting. This is where you put a specified amount of money in separate envelopes each month. Each envelope has a different purpose. When you spend money on a certain thing, you use the money from that specific envelope. In today's world we don't work with cash so we wanted to find some software that would keep virtual envelopes for us.

We found several options and finally settled on NeoBudget. Its cheap and does what we need it to do. Plus its online so we both can access it anytime we need to. We LOVE it! As I've talked to friends, many have shared our frustrations with budgeting. Thats why I decided to post this blog. We love this program because it puts money into the envelopes we create so its like we have several little savings accounts within our budget. Plus its super cheap. Its only $2.50 a month and less than that if you buy a 6 month or 1 year subscription.

Since using the program we've started doing things we've never done before when it comes to money like sticking to a limit with grocery shopping. This week we went grocery shopping, had a limit in mind, AND used a calculator to help us as we loaded up our cart. It was AWESOME. We actually had to make some decisions and prioritize if we were gonna stay below our limit. We put things back, weighed our produce, and made some trade offs for less expensive options. In the end we got everything we needed AND were $25 under budget. Now that $25 stays in our grocery "envelope" and can be used for other things next time or maybe even a splurge since the money will be there. We were VERY proud of ourselves and excited for the possibilities to come.

Here's a referral link if you're interested. Yes we do get rewards for referring friends but the main purpose of this post is just to share our successes in the hopes that someone else may benefit! Happy budgeting!!!

http://www.neobudget.com/r.Suzanne897

Shannon

A year ago today I lost my sweet sister Shannon to a battle with Cystic Fibrosis. The year has flown by in so many ways yet it seems like I haven't seen her in so long. I haven't heard her laugh or heard her angelic voice sing praises or listened as she so naturally plays a song on the piano for over a year. Its hard to believe.

I love pictures of her from her wedding day because she looks so beautiful and angelic. I feel like it gives just a glimpse of how beautiful she must be now.

Today as I drove to work I listened to a cd that Suzanne bought me for our anniversary. Its a cd I fell in love with in Hawaii. Really I fell in love with all Hawaiian music but this cd was a special one for us. He sings a rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that is unlike any other I've heard before. Maybe its just because she's on my mind right now but tears welled up in my eyes and I thought of Shannon throughout the song. From now I'll always think of Shannon when I hear this song. She's our angel now and hopefully she's watching us from on high with all of the twinkling stars!

Some of the pics in this video are cheezy but its the song I wanted to share!

One Glorious Year

A year ago today I was sealed for time and all eternity to my beautiful wife Suzanne. It was a wonderful day and a beautiful celebration with family and close friends. I was so happy yet so unprepared for the happiness I would experience in the coming year. I'm so thankful for my Suzanne. You make me a better man and I can't wait to spend many many more years with you here on earth and forever with you after that! Thank you for loving me despite all my shortcomings. I love you and Happy Anniversary!

Forgive Us, Dear Readers

Hello dear friends and family,

Please forgive Boyce and I for our "extended absence" from our blog. There are no good excuses or reasons for our tardiness, except to say that life is unbelievably busy. I know, I know, we don't have children, but despite that fact, we keep ourselves pretty preoccupied. So I am going to give you a glimpse into the day-to-day affairs of our lives, so that when we aren't blogging regularly, you will have a pretty good idea what we're doing.

Below is an example of a typical Monday in the life of Boyce and I.

5:45 AM - The alarm goes off.

• Suzanne: WHAT? How can it already be the morning? I loved my dream.
• Boyce: I can't remember my dream. Are you going to get up? Because otherwise I had to endure the awful sound of your alarm for no reason.
• Suzanne: It depends (Sometimes I get up and go exercise. And sometimes, I don't. Being a Monday, the odds are pretty good).

7:15 AM - Boyce leaves for work, but not before a glaring look from Bailey, our dog.

8:00 AM - Suzanne puts Bailey in his crate.

• Suzanne: Bailey, kennel up (No movement from Bailey).
• Suzanne: Seriously Bailey, kennel up (Still no movement). Suzanne spends at least three minutes fishing for a dog treat Bailey will respond to and waving it in front of him, until finally, he decides to be obedient.

8:03 AM - Suzanne leaves for work (Well, I TRY to leave at 8 AM, but sometimes it's 8:10, or 8:20).

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM - Suzanne tries to think very cleverly about how to communicate with the media about the company she works for, and avoids being lulled by the candy bowl at Cheryl's cubicle, evil thing that it is.

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Boyce is changing the world - much more philanthropically than Suzanne is - in the public school system.

6:00 PM - Boyce and Suzanne fix dinner.

• Boyce: What are we having for dinner?
• Suzanne: I have no idea - I pulled some Dream Dinner out of the freezer last night. I think it's chicken-something.

6:30 PM - Boyce and Suzanne eat dinner. Bailey is at Boyce's feet, day dreaming that a piece of food will fall from his plate, which actually happens quite frequently.

Boyce begins telling Suzanne about a friend he saw at the store today.

• Suzanne: Oh, do I know this person?
• Boyce: YES! You met them a few weeks ago at Costco.
• Suzanne: Oh, right. (Pause)
• Boyce: You don't remember, do you?
• Suzanne: No. Not at all. You have a billion friends. How can I keep them all straight?

Fits of giggles last for a few minutes.

7:00 PM - Our attempt at FHE.

• Suzanne: I found a conference talk I thought we could read. It's called "Celestial Marriage."
• Boyce: Seriously?
• Suzanne: Yes - what's wrong with that talk? Do you not want to learn about "Celestial Marriage." Hello, it's important!
• Boyce: Oh no, I do. Which is why we read that talk last week for FHE.
• Suzanne: WHAT? We did not.
• Boyce: Yes, we did.
• Suzanne: Bummer, I was really looking forward to that talk.

So we find another conference talk to read.

8:00 PM - We walk the dog.

• Boyce: Do you want to come with me to walk Bailey?
• Suzanne: Do I have to?
• Boyce: No, but I want you to.
• Suzanne: But I'm tired. And you always talk to EVERYONE we see, so it takes us forever.
• Boyce: I won't talk to everyone. Come on, it will only be like twenty minutes.
• Suzanne: But if I go, I'll miss "Cake Boss."
• Boyce: We can TIVO "Cake Boss."
• Suzanne: Okay, fine. I'll come.

PS - It doesn't take us twenty minutes. It takes us an hour. Good thing we TIVOed "Cake Boss." But despite my lack of enthusiasm, it was fun.

9:00 PM - "Cake Boss!" Yay! Boyce gets bored after five minutes and hops on Facebook, where he spends the next hour.

10:00 PM - Bedtime number 1. At least this is my target bed time. It never happens because Boyce is a night owl, so we end up talking or watching the news or distracting ourselves for at least a half hour.

10:30 PM - Bedtime number 2 - Suzanne's bedtime anyway. Boyce continues distracting himself.

11:00 PM - Bedtime number 3. Boyce's bedtime.

2:00 AM - Wake up call from Bailey. I look at Boyce pleadingly and try to send telepathic messages begging him to take out the dog. No response from Boyce. I take Bailey outside.

4:30 AM - Wake up call from Bailey. No response from Suzanne. Boyce takes Bailey outside.

Hope you enjoyed spending the day with us! :)

Look to the rainbow

A couple of Sundays ago, I was eating breakfast with Suz and we had the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's weekly broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on the TV.  We were enjoying our breakfast and Sunday morning chat with the beautiful background music when all of a sudden I recognized a tune they were singing that immediately brought such a surge of emotions that I could hardly contain them.  I ran down to the family room and sat close to the TV as the choir sang "Look to the Rainbow" and did one of the best renditions I've heard.  

Now let me tell you what makes this song so special.  My sisters loved watching movies over and over and over growing up.  The movie Finian's Rainbow became a popular repeat in our home mostly because we LOVED the songs.  "Look to the Rainbow" was a favorite of my sister Shannon who passed away last October.  We have a home video of her when she was very young, just belting it out in her proudest voice with her best Irish accent and making up words she doesn't know!  

As the choir sang the lovely tune, I just sat and cried with my sweet wife next to me, holding me and comforting me.  This phrase was very fitting and rang true with me "Tis a rhyme for your lips, and a song for your heart, to sing it whenever the world falls apart."  

As I listened to them sing I became overwhelmed with gratitude that I have such great memories because of my sister.  Without Shannon, I wouldn't love that song and it wouldn't tug at my heartstrings.  It was almost like she was giving me a message through her memory...thats there a lots of places I can turn "when the world falls apart" even to a song from a silly childhood movie.  Although I miss her like crazy, I am so thankful she's my sister and for the role she played in my life!  

Various members of my family are participating in the Salt Lake Marathon on April 18.  Some are running the marathon, some the 5k, some the half marathon (me).  We're doing this to raise money and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis Research.  Please click HERE to donate whatever you can!  $1, $5, $10, all amounts are welcome.  Just give whatever you can in memory of my sweet sister Shannon and to help others like my sister Lindy to live fuller, healthier lives.  

Click here for the song clip from the movie in the opening credits.  The Motab version is better but this gives an idea of the song and the movie (for some reason the movie isn't as good as when I was little, but I still love the songs).  Hopefully the choir will record their song for all of us to enjoy!  

Goblin Valley

So a few weeks ago, Suz went to visit her sister in Oregon and I was left all by myself. It was going to be ok because family was coming into town but their plans changed. I didn't want to spend the whole weekend by myself and the weather was warming up a bit so I decided it might be a good time to head south and do some camping with my dog!

After perusing possible sites on the internet, I decided on Goblin Valley State Park. I'd never been there but had heard great things and it was south so the weather forecast looked promising. After packing up for Bailey and I, we made the 3 hour drive down to Goblin Valley. I LOVE this part of Utah just because of its unique beauty.

I was glad to see very few people when we arrived. We found a spot away from any people mostly because I didn't want Bailey to bother anyone and I wanted to leash him up as little as possible. We set up camp and went off to explore. We hiked crescent canyon and then returned back to camp for dinner. By this time I was sorry to see the campground was getting more popular but still not too bad. I built a fire, cooked up some fajitas, had some hot chocolate and then snuggled into bed with some movies I had rented. (What else are you to do when you're camping alone?)

During the night I heard some noise in our campsite and knew a critter must have been exploring. Bailey growled a bit and his hair stood up but I wouldn't let him out because I didn't want him to get in a fight with a rabid raccoon or something. I did not sleep well. It was freezing and I kept hearing things and Bailey would occasionally crawl over to my sleeping bag and lick my face just to be sure I was alive!

Morning finally arrived and I was shocked with what I found outside our tent. The "critter" had eaten all of Bailey's dog food and his water and had pooped in both dishes as if to spite us. He also took the additional baggies of dog food with him...bag and all since they were nowhere to be found. The most puzzling was that he left all my food alone. Didn't touch my steak from the fajitas or my granola bars....he only wanted the dog food.

With no food for Bailey I didn't want to do anything too strenuous so I altered our morning hike plans. First I had some eggs and bacon and shared that with Bailey as well as some beef jerky. Then we hiked over to Goblin Valley via a scenic view trail that led us up to a bench above the valley before we took another trail and dropped down. Bailey LOVES to hike. I let him off the leash unless people were nearby and he loved to explore and always stayed nearby. He even helped scout the trail a few times. We headed back to camp via the entrada canyon trail which was a fun little canyon trail with no scenic view but lots of cool formations.

We cleaned up camp and headed for home. It was good to be home and the camping was fun...but next time I'd rather be with my wife!

Sisters

If you know me at all then you know how much I love my family! Lately two of my sisters have occupied a lot of memories: Shannon, because she passed away last October and I am constantly remembering her and Lindy because she has Cystic Fibrosis as well and the thought of losing her too soon in this life really tugs at my heart strings.

My brother Jerel and Shannon's husband Paul are running the Salt Lake Marathon on April 18 in memory of Shannon and to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis research so that people with CF like my sister Lindy can be cured! We are participating as a family in various ways with some running the marathon, the half marathon and the 5k. We'll all be wearing t-shirts to help draw attention to the cause.

I'm asking any and all who read my blog to take a moment to donate whatever amount you can to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/BoyceCampbell6264. Every $1 helps!

If you didn't know my sister, you can click here to read other posts about her and memories of her. If you don't know my sister Lindy then you're missing out! She's one amazing spitfire of a sister and I love her like crazy!

This was taken the last night I got to see Shannon. (top left) She passed a few days later while we were on our honeymoon.

Thanks for reading! Donate what you can and if you're in the area, come join us at the marathon and ask me how to order a tshirt you can wear at the event to raise awareness! Here's to many more years with Lindy!