Counting Pennies ~ Cooperation

When it comes to money there are generally two kinds of people. Spenders and savers. And oddly enough, it seems that most long term relationships are made up of one of each.

I have had the subject of love and money on my mind lately. Particularly, how the two affect each other and how we handle it.

My husband happens to be the spender in our marriage. He thinks nothing of dropping fifty dollars here and seventy dollars there. If he wants something and the money is readily available, he will buy it. I am the opposite. I stress out about spending twenty dollars at a time. But instead of making me want to save even more, watching him spend money like it grows on trees actually makes me resent all the things he buys for himself. In turn, I want to go out and buy the things that I really want. It just seems unfair. Why can't I buy myself nice things, too? I make money. I pay bills. But then there are two people recklessly spending money with no regard for the future.

I have thought and thought about how to address this issue. I can't tell my husband that he can't buy things for himself. He works for his money and has every right to decide where it goes. And I can't very well throw reason out the window and spend every dime I make to match his spending habits. So, my rule for cooperation......

Rule #4: Two wrongs don't make a right.

Just do what you know needs to be done. If you are the Saver of the relationship, that means that you keep your cool and continue to make responsible spending decisions, regardless of what the other party is doing. Keep on keeping on. If you are the Spender, however, maybe you could take a moment to consider how the other party feels about your spending habits. Two wrongs don't make a right. But two rights do make a left, as in money "left" over for emergencies. Corny, yes. But true.


*pic from here.

Friday Fantasy

It may only be February, but there has been a definite feeling of spring in the air. And I am craving the smell of wet dirt and frilly flowers and the sound of birds chirping. So....today's fantasy is a little bit different from the norm. Today we dream of cherry blossoms.


So delicate and beautiful. Nothing says spring quite like the frilly blossoms of a cherry tree.

I am headed to Atlanta for the weekend. Supercross at the Georgia Dome, of course. So, hopefully I will see you back here next week with another Counting Pennies post and an update on my business goals.

Much love to you all. I hope your weekend is absolutely beautiful.

*photos from here, here, here, here.

I'm a Slacker

Here it is, Wednesday already, and I haven't posted a single thing this week. I have been a little distracted lately, though, so I'm using that as my excuse.

We will be driving to Atlanta this weekend to watch the Supercross race. As I have mentioned before, traveling makes me nervous. It always does. I just can't help it. And this time around, I have a puppy that I have to leave behind. And that is really ripping my nerves up. Gus will be staying with family while we are gone. He will be in the very best of hands, no doubt about it. But it still just kills me to have to leave him.

Apart from the trip, there is a major cleaning revival going on up in this house. Gus Butt happens to be shedding his winter coat. Holy hell, people! Why did no one warn me about this?! I had no idea what kind of fur explosion we would be dealing with here! I have borrowed my mom's vacuum cleaner because my little sucker just wouldn't do the job. The Hub and I sit on the (sheet protected) couch at night and "pluck" the dead hairs out of our pup by fist-fulls. There are puppy hair tumbleweeds floating around the house. It is making me CRAZY!!!! I refuse to let anyone in my house. It's a disgrace. We have become those people who walk around covered in dog hair and acting totally oblivious. Except, I am not totally oblivious. I am beyond aware of the issue and I CAN'T WAIT for it to be over.

Now that I've got that off my chest.....

I have plenty more cleaning to do. Hopefully I will see you again before I leave for the weekend. Until then, dog hair covered hugs and sunshine to you all.

Friday Fantasy

Today's fantasy is a tiny little sampling of beauty from my new favorite tumblr, Turquoise Coconut. It's like an endless summer up in that place! Chock full of beautiful landscapes, yummy looking foods, adorably cool surfer girls and massively cute guys. I could stay there all day, just dreaming away.
If you need a shot of summer loving, go check it out.

I hope you have a great weekend. Oh! And I did happen to post two days in a row (unbelievable, right?), so don't miss yesterdays post below.

Hugs and Sunshine to you guys.
~Jo~

The New Thing.

Remember when I told you that I ordered new business cards and I promised that I would show them to you? Well, I did. And I'm here to do just that. Brand spanking new Miz. November business cards.......


I searched thousands of business cards online. Several websites. I looked at layouts until my eyes started to drift together. I finally ordered from Zazzle and I have to say that I absolutely love them. Zazzle was super quick and very affordable. I know we all wish we could have letterpress business cards, but let's face it, they cost more than I can fork over.

So, why did I order new cards, you ask? Being that I have a very unreliable amount of business in my Etsy shop? And, honestly, it seems like a futile attempt?

Well. Because I am trying a different route. It may take me a few months to get things together (it always takes longer than it should), but Miz. November is changing courses a bit. I don't want to make any promises, but I am planning on adding a generous amount of artwork to the mix. And I am narrowing down the other items to try to create a certain cohesive "look". I am trying to get rid of my current stock by placing them in a few stores. I already have several pieces in a shop in Asheville at the moment. I am going to try to not be all over the board, like I usually am. Instead, I am going to stick with a few of my favorite patterns and try to make the best products I possibly can. Do fewer things, but do them better. Get my drift?

I plan on narrowing my goals down and getting serious about accomplishing some things. So I will share those goals with you when they become more clear and you can help keep me accountable. Doesn't that sound fun!? Haha. (Just go with it.) ;)

Hugs and Sunshine
~Jo~

In Training

I read an article in my latest Yoga Journal magazine last night about karma, written by Sally Kempton. It was a great lesson in taking responsibility for your own decisions and actions. But one particular bit of advice has rang in my ears all day.

She said that instead of beating yourself up about an area where you are experiencing negativity, "...why not simply remind yourself that you're learning how to handle a part of life that's been difficult for you?" Say to yourself, "This is an area where I'm in training."

Sometimes it can feel like we make the same mistakes over and over and over again, usually because we do. But instead of getting down about it and feeling like sinking instead of swimming, we should be a little more understanding with ourselves.

In my quest to be more true to myself, I have found that there are parts of who I am that I am not happy with. There are deeply rooted habits and tendencies in all of us that we need to shed some light on instead of hoping the shadows cover them. I, personally, have a tendency to be bitter, which can lead to hurting peoples feeling or not sharing in their joy the way that I should. Being bitter shuts me off from the world and alienates the people around me. I also have a deep desire for attention. This little trait can cause all sorts of trouble, from being too flirty to feeling entitled and expecting too much.

Instead of locking myself in the house or plastering on a fake smile, I want to get to the bottom of these habits and try to genuinely change them. I don't want to sink in my own doom. I want to learn to swim against those currents and overcome those deeply rooted habits that hold me back from being the person that I am truly meant to be.

So, I invite you to do a little searching of your own self. What traits or habits would you like to work on? Being honest with yourself is the first step to change. The second step is realizing that we are all in some sort of "training". Be patient, but be diligent. We can all become better people if we truly try. And I truly want to try.


*photo from here.

Friday Fantasy

Care to join me in Italy?
Could you imagine spending a month living in this villa? Swimming in that gorgeous pool? Dining alfresco with that amazing view? I'm pretty sure that I would never want to leave.
I can only imagine what it would be like. I wonder if the people who live in places like this realize how lucky they are.

I may not ever get to stay in an Italian villa in real life, but I can fantasize. So.....dinner will be served at 7ish. We'll have tons of great food and boisterous conversation. Our skin will be sun-kissed from spending the day in the pool. And the scent of lavender will carry us off to dream when we finally retire for the day.

Hope your week has been good and that your weekend will be even better.
~Jo~

*see the rest of this villa.

And Now.....Because I Love You....

I give you color.
From here and here, respectively.

Bringing it Back.

Let me get an early start, here, to try to make up for my absence last week.

First off, let me just say "Thank You!". I know I can always count on my blog friends to come through for me with some warm words and cyber hugs. I love you guys so much. And while we're on the subject of warm words, let me say this. Sometimes you guys give me some very deep and personal advice and words of wisdom. You are so generous and thoughtful that way. I always publish those comments, even if they are of a personal nature. I figure that if they can be encouraging to me, that there is probably someone else out there who could benefit from reading them, too. I hope you don't mind.

Things are doing better with the hubby and I. And I have no more to say about that. I am tired of talking about it. Suffice it to say that marriage is hard and life can suck. Maybe I'll write a post about it sometime. But not right now.

February is here and there are a lot of ideas floating around in my head. Hopefully some of them will come to fruition. So, stay with me folks. I plan on being around more often.

Oh, yes! And those business cards I told you about? They happen to be the same color as that fabulous dress up there. Because in my world, neon never goes out of style.

Hugs and Sunshine
~Jo~


*pic from here.