my prince did come... his name is TRAVIS

Happy 3rd Anniversary to us! What a great ride it has been so far! Some days it seems like we have always just been and other days it seems like we're just a few days in... Here's to many more as great as the first 3 have been!

Announcing...

Sew Make a Difference! Thanks to all of you who voted for the name of my new company; my heart was really leaning toward the name "Sew Make a Difference", so thankfully I didn't have to disappoint too many of you when I went ahead and picked it as the name of my company going forward! I am overwhelmed at the support I have received so far, it is going to be a long process that may not seem to move but just a few inches at a time, but I am grateful for the positive feedback I have received thus far. I expected the negative comments, but I wasn't prepared for the tears I have already cried, because of the love and desire to help I have felt from many of you!

Please join me at www.sewmakeadifference.blogspot.com/

... Sewing Paper ...

Does anyone know how to sew paper with a sewing machine? I've seen it a few times and found a few a few instructional vidieos, but I was wondering if any of you have ever tried it...
I received my instructions for my 2 Dimensional Design final project and I immediately knew what I wanted, but now I have just over a week to get the pieces pulled together and submitted!

...a NEW me...

Some days I feel "BROKEN" ... I feel like I have a wealth of knowledge, experience, and talents provided to me by a loving Father in Heaven & even a little work on my part; but I lack MOTIVATION, PASSION, TIME and EMOTION (all things I have control of... GREAT ... there goes the out of blaming someone or something for my current stuck in the mud feeling ; )

~Warning... this is not a pity party for me or a post by which I am begging for your compliments and ego boosting comments!

I just feel a need to chronicle this very important event!

... TODAY ... 11/13/08 ... tHURSDAy ...
I give up many of the THINGS that have been holding me back from using the KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, TALENTS & POWER I have been BLESSED with and I (with Travis's LOVING support) CHOOSE to no longer hold myself back, but empower myself with the Spirit and the support of many of you!

Here's what I/we have done so far: the cable box was returned, we have decided not to buy the much too big/expensive home we were set to purchase in January & have opted to rent or buy a much smaller place using no more than 30% of our total income as of today ( it's only a place to keep our stuff and sleep and frankly I'm tired of spending so much on a place I rarely see) and be happy with it, instead of wishing for more, I am going to stop worrying about getting pregnant and just enjoy everyday that I have with our without kids, "THINGS" & "STUFF" are no longer on my priority list, they are being replaced with PEOPLE and MOMENTS that matter, but the biggest of all so far is how I will be spending many more of the hours that I am awake...
I am starting a new company and I need some input and a ton of support from you all... first of all your tasks is to see the right side of my blog and help me choose the name of my new company ( I know you were all just getting five minutes of peace after casting your votes last week, but please take a few minutes and know that it is much appreciated) & secondly I am going to give you a brief overview of my business plan & goals and then I would love to hear what you think and if there are other avenues that need to be explored. Thank you in advance for your input! I know that this will be the hardest, most difficult task I have ever undertaken, but because of each of you I know I will never find a better support system under which I can accomplish this.

I have a sincere desire to affect change in the world around me and the world at large. I also know that it is possible to change what the world sees as important; I believe change can happen and it starts by losing judgemental or preconceived ideas about people and their situations and focusing on SERVICE. I am starting a Non-Profit Company aimed at helping those in need, by providing items that can be sewn out of LOVE through the use of donated materials, fabrics & time. Items include blankets to be given out to shelters and the homeless, knitted hats, scarves and mittens for children and adults, bedding for area shelters and burial gowns to be donated to Children's Hospitals. I'm sure the list will lengthen, but these are the immediate needs I see and want to focus on. My aim is to harness the POWER of many who want to help, but are not sure where, how and who to help. I want men and women, children and teens, from expert sewers to beginners, anyone whose heart would like to make a difference is invited to help me move this cause forward!

*~*Tagged by Wendi*~*

6 Quirks of Mine

~As a girl I used to take weekend trips to Caldwell, Idaho from our home in Moscow, Idaho (about a 6 hour drive) with my Grandma to visit my Great-Grandma. Those trips began when I was just starting grade school and as a school teacher my Grandma would take those opportunities we had to teach me lots of things like math facts and the Counties and their Seats for the entire state; many things I have now pushed to the depths of my brain. But there is one thing I learned that I will never forget and that is how to spell the word CONSTRUCTION. There was always a ton of construction on Hwy 95, so needles to say I saw that word a lot. Even to this day if I need to write or type the word CONSTRUCTION I spell it out in my head, just to prove that I know how...

~I really enjoy perusing the dictionary; vocabulary has always been one of my strongest subjects and I have always enjoyed learning new words and using them in my daily language.

~I get totally irritated when I find the toilet lid left up; we're not even talking about the seat folks, the lid is enough to make me crazy. ***I am only this critical and irrational at my house, so don't feel like I am going to go crazy at your house***

~I've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again... I almost always sort my french fries by length before eating them. I group them according to length, because it makes for even, less messy dipping - especially on that not so kosher double dip that I do if the sauce has my name written all over it!

~I love love love IKEA, which if you have ever been to my house and know IKEA you would figure out right away. Twice a year I am allowed to go to IKEA with a decent chunk of change and purchase items that Travis and I pick out together for the rooms that need the most work. This works because it forces me to think outside the box and really use what we get and make odd things work to create the best house on a less than you would think budget. That twice a year does a lot for me, but then there are 363 IKEALESS days left for me to suffer through; so to get me by I came up with this game... I am allowed to go to IKEA anytime as long as I follow the rule of the day. That rule must be communicated to Travis beforehand and approved by him. The rule of the day changes based on our budget & my mood, but here are some rules I have used: $25.00 limit & no single item can cost more than $5.00, $20.00 limit & you can only purchase items that begin with whatever letter you pick, $50.00 limit & you can only buy things that are a specific color...

~My name is Alicia and I'm an Excel Spreadsheet Junkie... If it can be organized via spreadsheet, it has been at my house. Our movies, food storage, cleaning supplies, addresses and many more items have fallen victim to my irrational organization.

...Tagged by Jen...

~8 Things I am passionate about: family, religion, friends, work, creativity, service, education & dreams

~8 Words or phrases that I say often: "Are you kidding me?", "Travis would love to help you with that", "Travis will you get me ...", "I really should be doing homework...", "Mom, do you know how to ...?", "Good Morning/Afternoon, Allan Hutchison's Office", "Amen" & "Thank You"

~8 Things I want to do before I die: be a mom, write a book, create something that affects change for the good, make a difference in the communities where I live, go on a hot air balloon ride, go on a cruise, go on a mission with my sweet husbando & LIVE!!

~8 Things I have learned: some adults still don't wash their hands, you don't always get dealt the best of hands, but with a little workand faith that hand can always be played, asking mom usually helps, duct tape really can fix just about anything...even my mood, Travis has a very beautiful wife, POOP spelled backwards is still poop & anyway you look at it it's still what it is, so clean it up and move on, kids learn a lot when you know they are watching you, but even more when you don't realize they are watching you & staying in love takes time; everyday you have to choose to show that person how much you love them

~8 Places I would love to go or see: Turkey, Greece, Spain, a warm beach, Australia, New Zealand, Scottland & Ireland

~8 Things I currently need or want: more sleep, more creativity, lunch, more motivation to do the things I don't really want to do, coupons/sales, a date with my husband, a bigger craft room & the dining room table I'm going to build

~Tagged by Laina~

*8 Favorite TV Shows... House, NCIS, Project Runway, Ace of Cakes, Veronica Mars, Criminal Minds, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition & What Not To Wear
*8 Things I did Yesterday... went to work, had a grilled cheese & apple for lunch, cooked dinner, watched HULK, thought about doing homework, ate dinner, talked to Trav's Mom about Thanksgiving & picked up Travis from work
*8 Things I Look Forward To... Travis graduating, Logan coming home from his mission, the weekend, a trip to Idaho, the launch of my business When the Dust Settles, LLC in November, the NFL Draft, the next Harry Potter movie & the organization of the GARAGE
*8 Favorite Restaurants... PITA PIT, Chino Bandito, Panda Express, Qdoba, Chick-fil-a,
In-N-Out, Ted's Burgers & New Garden
*8 Things on My Wish List... Vinyl Plotter, Jigsaw, something other than carpet in our home (preferably carbonized bamboo), new closet organization system, walk-in shower with a bench, Honda Element, a massage & new shoes

A Twilight Stroll, Perhaps?

Happy Monday! I have been totally slacking on my blog responsibilities!! Today is the day where I choose to become more involved in my life outside of school, work and all other things tied to being a responsible adult!

I owe tags to at least four of my faithful readers... put your glasses on ladies, 'cause there's about to be something to read... (I will post all four tags, by 11:59pm MST on Tuesday, October 28th). I might have implied that what I would be writing would be worth reading & believe me I make no such claim.

In other earth shattering news, I purchased Twilight & New Moon; I have not as of yet convinced myself to start reading them, however. I am assuming I will like them as I tend to be a fairly forgiving & easily entertained reader. I jumped into it two feet first, but it had to be on my terms; no one shoving them down my throat as "the best reads ever" or just so I could get all the inside jokes and flair slogans on facebook. I'll keep you posted on my progress, so I can try to avoid any spoilers...

This one really fits...

Independent and adventurous. You don't want much; just to break out of the guilded cage society has put you in and experience life to the fullest. Following orders isn't really one of your strong points, and you would rather live a life of poverty than being forced into something that you hate.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Let me know which princess you are!

Tag, Tag, Tag

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Moscow, Idaho
2. Mesa, Arizona
3. Tempe, Arizona
4. Phoenix, Arizona

Four Favorite Books:
1. Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
2. All the Harry Potter books
3. Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life: A Kick-butt Approach to a Better Life by Larry Winget
4. The Divine Center by Stephen R. Covey

Four Favorite Movies:
1. Night at the Museum
2. Dan in Real Life
3. The Ultimate Gift
4. Last Holiday

Four Embarrassing Facts About Me:
1. I love to sing the "Free Credit Report.com" songs anytime, anywhere.
2. When I'm really tired I make up nonsense songs to try to put my mind to rest; did I mention I cannot sing well & my sweet husband endures this quite often like a little champ.
3. I got food poisoning on a date and puked in the hallway of my dates parents house while trying to get to the bathroom. Thank goodness for tile flooring & at least I didn't puke on him. He even asked me out a few more times...
4. I came home from third grade one day & announced that I had made a new friend at school & that she was from a different country... upon being asked what country I exclaimed "Oklahoma". I will never live that down... great thing I didn't pick Geography as my new major...

Four Dreams of Mine:
1. Working hard enough to use my full potential
2. Saving money to benefit the lives of others
3. Paying off our house
4. Having what we NEED, but a bit of what we WANT too

Four Pet Peeves
1. Unattended children
2. People who think their lives are more important and busier than yours could ever be, therefore, you had better get out of their way.
3. Store associates who are less than helpful; usually found having some sort of inappropriate conversation about the previous nights events, instead of helping the customer by whom their paycheck is generated.
4. People who spit their gum in areas where people walk

Four things that make me Really Happy:
1. My family
2. The little notes that Travis leaves me!
3. Friends ... Phase 10 ... Lemon bars (trust me, they definitely go hand in hand)
4. Enough extra money in our budget to have "Cookie Minster" ice cream from ColdStone

People I tag: Debra, Elise, Shalene & Amy

it feels...

I am meeting with my advisor tomorrow morning at 7:30 am (Friday), at which time I will be backed into a corner of decision... school starts Monday and Andy (my advisor) wants a decision as to what my "OFFICIAL MAJOR" will be and where I'm headed if climbing the "Corporate Ladder" is no longer my chosen path...

drum roll please... "IT'S ONLY THURSDAY MORNING, NOT THE USUAL 13TH HOUR OF WHEN MOST OF MY DECISIONS ARE MADE AND I HAVE MADE A DECISION"...applause

insert...sounds of shock...gasp...

My road to self discovery is lined with people who have made this decision process challenging, eye-opening, and totally amazing, so thanks to you all for helping me figure out who/what I really want to be!

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for...

I'm going to be an ARTIST when I grow up... that's right, I'm going to leave behind the suits and schedule for comfy clothes (see future nominee for "what not to wear") and a life that is mine to do with how I choose. I'm thinking that my accounting background, will take the "starving" part out of the equation...

I registered myself for an Art History class and a 2 Dimensional Design class which will begin next week, so I'll keep you posted on how my new path is twisting & turning.

...so good to know where I'm headed & to feel peace about heading there...

Am I having a "quarter-life" crisis?

If I live to be 100, a quarter of my life has come and gone & while I have plenty to show for it I also realize I am still basically a toddler where this "grown-up" thing is concerned. I enjoyed my first 25 years without a care in the world. I have been successful at most everything I have attempted... At 27 I have had some great opportunities placed before me. I have had atleast 20 jobs since I started working at 13, and a couple have been jobs I could have built a career around, as I was making a good living; but there is always this snag in the plan... I get BORED... As I round the corner into my 30s I need a challenge; plain and simple... nothing has ever challenged me enough to stick with it. I am not saying that I have mastered everything I have tried to this point; I lose interest long before the point of mastery is even in sight. What is wrong with me? I have been so blessed by knowing that I could accomplish anything and everything I try, but that is also my biggest "skeleton in the closet". At what point do you just pick a career and do whatever it takes to be successful toward that end? As frustrated as I am currently about my lack of decision in this sea of endless possibility, I hope to never settle for a career or LIFE for that matter that is just that "a settlement", when I could have achieved so much more had I just continued the path of challenge and uncertainty toward the "unnamed goal". I would like to name this aforementioned "unnamed goal", but for now it will have to remain nameless. I'm open to suggestions at this point...

Tag # 1

5 things on my to do list 1. organizing our closet 2. organizing our garage 3. painting my toes 4. cutting trav's hair 5. passing my math class!! 5 snacks I enjoy 1. pretzels & peanut butter 2. celery & peanut butter 3. peanut butter m&ms 4. cookie minster ice cream from coldstone 5. raw almonds 5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire 1. pay more taxes... 2. pay off our student loans, house & car 3. buy a resturant franchise for our kids to run, so they can learn the value of money & work (i really do plan to do this when we have teenagers; Pita-Pit would be my choice) 4. see my mommy & daddy all the time 5. travel 5 places I have lived 1. Moscow, Idaho 2. Mesa, AZ 3. Moscow, Idaho 4. Phoenix, AZ 5. Mesa, AZ 5 Jobs I have had 1. Ted's Burger Express 2. High School Basketball Ref 3. Boys & Girls Club Athletic Director 4. Paradise Valley Comm. College Cashier's Office 5. Accounting Assistant 5 things most people don't know about me 1. I went to beauty school 2. I group all my french fries by length before I eat them 3. I make Travis kiss me in even numbers, so 1 kiss is actually 2 and so on... 4. I love to organize and clean5. my little sister and I have the same birthday 7 years apart; I was 1 1/2 months overdue & kaleigh was 3 weeks early 5 bad habits 1. cutting my own hair 2. going to bed too late & sleeping until the last possible minute 3. starting too many projects at once; multi-tasking is one thing... 4. procrastinating the most important to-dos, so I can do things that didn't even make the list 5. eating all the no preparation needed foods in the house, so I don't have to cook (yogurt, fruit, cereal, etc.) people I tag...Shalene & Anna

Merry Christmas to us...a little early...

We got an EXCELLENT deal on this Sony camera. I've been wanting this camera for so long, and finally we decided that it has been through sufficient upgrades since its original release about 5 years ago. We gave up two nights in a hideaway suite on the Oregon coast in two weeks for pictures of our lovely tent. At least this way I'll have a sore back and pictures, so I guess that's better than just a sore back from the hotel bed any day. Pictures of anything and everyone I can get to hold still coming soon!

A Little Less Bright...

I hope that this blog background doesn't do damage to your eyes as I realized the last one may have done. I have been playing around making my own backgrounds and using my new obsession of blue and red color schemes to decorate my world. Hope you enjoy this new background!

A Little Like Home...

We are officially moved into our new house!! While we still have some unpacking to do, it's beginning to feel like our home. Normally when we move there are not many options as to where stuff should go, but this house is quite the opposite, there is enough room that I am having a hard time deciding where stuff should go. I felt like I had every inch of wall space covered I could in our old home, and this house's walls seem quite bare. We hope you are all doing well, and we can't wait for you to come visit!

I've been tagged...

Just in case you were wondering...

Joys:
1.) Brooks and Dunn said it best " proud of the house we built, stronger than sticks, stones or steel" it hasn't always come wrapped up nice with pretty pink bows, but we've accomplished a lot in 2 1/2 years.
2.) everything "crafty"
3.) going to the beach with the family

Fears:
1.) I almost always hold the hand rail when on stairs, because I often dream that I fall down the stairs and knock out my teeth... I might have issues
2.) "I hope you have 10 children just like you" which followed "what goes around comes around" ... THANKS MOMMY!!
3.) The snakes that live around our office... our office in Fountain Hills is super nice, but the suites are all individual buildings surrounded by desert landscape and SNAKES. Although not far, we do have to go to another building to use the restroom and that is where the snakes love to hang out too (like their own little breakroom)... who do you call when you are afraid to come out of the bathroom because of a snake?

Goals:
1.) getting the new house unpacked in less than 1 week!!
2.) using my Saturdays to better prepare for the new week (cutting veggies and packing lunches)
3.) save a little play money for some time away before we start trying to have a baby again!!

Obsessions:
1.) if it can be organized by an excel spreadsheet, it is at my house and at work
2.) I'm paranoid about running out of laundry soap, so we usually have a years supply or more...
3.) staples in the carpet... I try to be extra careful around the office when throwing away staples, some, however, are not and when I am barefoot my feet are drawn to them like magnets... some may say that keeping my shoes on at work would resolve this issue, but I like to be barefoot when no clients are in the office.

Random Facts:
1.) I would give just about anything to have a "Harry Potter Wand"!
2.) In high school I was a nationally ranked bowler & # 2 in the state of Idaho (I only bowl via Wii these days)
3.) I got a 34 out of 36 on my ACTs

Tag you're it... Shalene, April & Noelle P.S. It's snowing in Idaho a ton right now...

Moving day is June 12th

We just received word that our new house will have its certificate of occupancy by the end of next week, which means moving day will be here 2 weeks sooner than we were planning.

Our New Pad

For those of you who have been following our house hunt, we are happy to announce that we will not be living in a "van down by the river" or under any freeways, but that we will be living in a real home.
Our new house is actually the brown one on the left side of this picture.








The front of our house is slightly different (I will take a picture of it soon), but the floor plan and kitchen are almost identical.
There are still 7 homes in the development that are being finished and once they are all complete we will have the option to purchase our home. Moving day is June 25th!

Priceless

Some of you may be wondering what has come of the aforementioned house we were trying to buy... So here is a brief overview of what we found as we went to inspect the home before finalizing an offer... As you can see from the listing picture it is a cute little house with what we thought to have quite a bit of "curb appeal"... Once inside it was immediately obvious why this reasonably priced home was still without an owner; the first clue should have been that the home had no light fixtures installed... Without lights the home appeared to be a real gem... lol... With a little light from our cell phones we tried to see if there was anything worth coming back to see in the daylight; and then we saw it... the home had been completely redone by some local artists... The kitchen window had been turned into quite the "glass sculpture" and many of the walls had been painted with each artists personal touch. I suppose everything that had been damaged in the break-in could have been repaired, but I just could not get over the creepy feeling that I got when I knew random strangers had been in the house doing whatever they wanted. So there you have it, and so our search continues for our new home.

Maybe this will be ours...

We are hoping to purchase this house if everything works out! It is currently owned by the bank and being sold "AS IS", which is the banks way of saying we will only accept full price offers and you will pay for any inspections or costs. It will end up being a GREAT deal if all the inspections don't turn up too many problems.

Finally Figured Out How To Add Music!

I [Travis] have finally figured out how to add some music to our blog. It took me about an hour to do it. Some of the songs that I put on the blog are about how I feel about Alicia and others are about some of the things that I have gone through with every thing that my family has gone through and the others are just some songs that I really like to listen to. Most of the songs are (yes, country) that is who I am and if it was up to me that is what I would be doing for a career, but it takes alot of money and it is a gamble whether you make money or you lose money. Some days it would be alot of fun sitting on a tractor plowing a field or rounding up cattle with a horse. That is pretty much the life that I had as a youngster on my grandpa's farm, other than rounding up the cattle on with a horse. My life is so much fun being married to Alicia and going to school to become a CPA. It has only taken me almost three years to figure out that is what I really want to do. Any ways, I hope you enjoy the music that I have added as you view our blog and I am sure Alicia will be adding some songs that she likes.

I'm LAME...

The Goldman family has so much to be grateful for since my last two posts... what we thought was impending doom with both cars out of commission has turned out to be a bright spot with a small shadow called car payments... that being said I do have a ton of stuff to post but no good brain cells left to do the posting with... I will try to do much better once April 15th passes us by!

Did I Say BORING...

So maybe I asked for it... Just minutes after publicly announcing what a boring lot we are, we had both of our cars break down. Our poor '97 Jetta has lived long beyond it's expected expiration date, but we were hoping it would last just a little longer. We took it to the car guy in hopes that it would be something relatively inexpensive to fix. Our best judgement told us that it was going to be expensive, but we hoped for the best. Travis has been trying to convince me to get rid of it, but my stubborn, scared of car payments brain said "no, we own a car free and clear and we need to be grateful for it". FYI... when the car guy calls and the first thing he says is we have a really nice car we would sell you for $5000, don't ask how much it's going to be to fix your car. Alas, I did ask and here is what I heard... $4000 to $6000 dollars. Just for perspective... I paid $6000 for the Jetta 7 years ago and it's only worth about $3500 at this point, needless to say we are hoping we get a few hundred bucks on the trade-in.
Car # 2 ... December 2006 we purchased a '84 Volvo from the original owner who is a Volvo mechanic as a just in case car and a little project for Travis; we haven't driven it a lot, but in times of need it has been there for us. On Monday while the Jetta was being prepaired for burial we decided that we had a real emergency on our hands... we had not done our civic duty and voted. The police station where we had to go was about 15 minutes from the house, so we set off to do our duty. Why will a car start at home every time, but when you get to your destination it won't? Needless to say we were stuck, 2 cars in one day; if you've got a record to beat us, we'd love to hear from you. We were rescued by our friends who pulled in just as we were hoping to leave. We were so grateful to be rescued!

I wish I could go back to our AWESOME boring little life.

BORING

Let me fist start by pointing out that every time I say "WE", it's usually just me with a supportive Travis in the background letting me know that whatever I write is fine with him.

And now the story begins... "WE" thought in relation to a myspace page that this would be a better venue for our record to be kept on...Thank you Laina... "WE" thought each of you might want to know how we are doing and what we are up to. And then it came crashing down... "WE" are BORING! Not a single one of you would enjoy reading about what "WE" do each day... but "WE" are going to write it anyway.

DISCLAIMER!!!! "WE" are in no way responsible for any therapy or evaluations that you might have to endure after reading about our life.