For Thanksgiving, we watched the Macy’s parade on TV and then the dog show afterward, while munching on cinnamon rolls Shane so kindly popped into the oven. After he took a bath and I took a nap, we started making our quick and convenient dinner of ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and rolls. Everything came together and tasted yummy. I don’t regret taking the easy way out.

On Friday, we did manage to do some shopping, though we didn’t head out until the late afternoon. We went to Joann fabrics and Target, and Target again the next day. Minimal crowds and lines. It was nice.

We have just about all of our Christmas shopping done (all that’s left are presents for each other!) and we’ve bought just about everything I hoped to have on hand before the baby is born. This week, I’ll order a sling and I’ll head to the mall and get a nursing bra or two to get me started. Other than that, I think we’re pretty much set.

Not long ago, Shane was lounging on our futon, and the crazy thing broke. Part of the frame snapped, and the only way to fix it would be to weld it back together. Considering we sort of hated the futon anyway, and picked it up for $40 used, we didn’t feel all that bad about parting with it.

Shane disassembled it and we carried the thing to the dumpster. Bye! At first, we thought we wanted to get a couch to put in its place. But now, we think that we’ll just use the furniture we have and get a couch some other time. Maybe when we move to a bigger place?

For starters, our living room isn’t huge. It feels a bit cramped with a couch in it, and now we’ll have more floor space for the baby to crawl about.

Plus, we don’t have a truck and we don’t know anyone with a truck. Getting a couch to our apartment (and to the third floor) would be more hassle than it’s worth.

So for now, we have a recliner and the Price is Right chair with ottoman in our living room. That’s one chair each — and if we have people over, we can also use our dining chairs, exercise ball and even some floor pillows if we wanted.

This weekend, we rented a Rug Doctor and cleaned all the carpets and our recliner. It didn’t take too long and it wasn’t difficult. The machine rental was about $30 and we paid about $18 for the cleaner and anti-foam. It’s taking awhile for everything to dry, but I can already tell that it looks so much better. I’m glad we finally did that. Who knows when they were last cleaned? I don’t.

In the baby’s room, we set up a shelf for books and I finished organizing the closet. Just a few more bits of organizing, and it’ll be ready to go!

We hope to get our Christmas tree set up early this week and get a few more things organized. I’ll feel a lot better about things if we can get these little projects finished.

We’re really making progress and I want to keep the momentum going while we still can.

I was a bit worried about the effect daylight saving time would have on my body, but so far, so good.

I’m being more strict with forcing myself to go to bed by 10:30ish, and it’s really helping. I’m automatically waking up around 6 a.m. or a little sooner, but as far as I know, I’m sleeping through the night.

I’ve been doing a short exercise routine during the day, and I hope to add to that. I think even a 15-minute ab workout is helping me.

Finally, the biggest thing: I stopped worrying about sleep. I had read some literature suggesting that if you’re worried you’ll never get a good night’s sleep, you’re probably right. It’s better to have a positive attitude about it instead.

So, after implementing those things in my life (and praying hard about it!) I feel like I’m on the path to great sleep every night.

It’s nice to know that there’s probably not anything physically wrong with me that caused my sleep issues!

I’m trying to get back on a normal-person schedule. For one, I don’t feel productive when I’m up all night and sleep during the day. Two, it’s not good for your health.

I’ve been working hard to wake up and actually get up during the morning, and go to sleep before midnight. It’s been a struggle.

I’ve imposed a new rule on myself: No computer or TV past 8 p.m. I think those devices just keep me wired, and make it hard to shut my brain off at night. Plus, I get distracted and carried away, and the next thing I know…it’s really late.

Second, no caffeine. I haven’t been drinking coffee or colas lately anyway, but when I do drink coffee, it’s decaf.

For the last two nights, I’ve gone to bed at 10 p.m. That’s unreal at how early that is for me, especially when 2 a.m. or later was a previous bedtime.

I’ve fallen asleep OK, surprisingly, but I’m now waking up during the night. Last night, I woke at 1:30, and went back to sleep. I woke again at 4. I went to the bathroom and tried to sleep, but I don’t know how deep of a sleep that was. I finally got up at 5:15 and had breakfast. I was wide awake at that point, though still tired.

I hope to stay productive all day. I might end up taking a nap later on, though I’ll try not to since I tend to take long naps, rather than the suggested 20-30 minute one.

If I can get on this routine, I think I’ll get a lot more done and feel a lot better.

The next step: Adding exercise to my day.

Yesterday, I went to my new Bible study. It was great! I liked the leader and the topics we’re covering. Yesterday, one topic we discussed was being homesick. Whoa. When I saw that written on the handout, I almost started to cry. “Homesick” has been how I’ve felt off and on since June.

Things are getting better, though.

My husband and I are starting to think we might be in Pittsburgh for awhile–at least longer than we originally thought (12-18 months). It might be better for his career if he stayed in the Pittsburgh office, as opposed to being transferred to another location.

While we would like to live closer to family, it might not be the best option for our little family of two.

For one, we’d have to start all over in a new city–knowing no one, likely. Two, we don’t know if he’d like his job there, and we don’t know if we’d like the new location. Nothing is definite–we could end up moving this year, or our children could be born here (I’m not pregnant.)

So, we’re going to try to plant some roots in Pittsburgh. If we’re going to be here awhile, it’s probably for the best that we become Pittsburghers, you know? While I wish that we were closer than a 7-9 hour drive from our parents, I’m glad that at least we are able to make that drive.

We’ve found a potential church home. As I mentioned earlier, I joined a women’s Bible study. I met some great gals yesterday, and two of them will be meeting me for lunch today. Hooray! They each moved to Pittsburgh from other parts of the country a few years back, and know exactly what I’m going through. What a relief to know I’m not entirely alone.

Did you see this story in Time?  I hope the day wasn’t horrible for everyone. That’s pretty bad–when the entire nation has a bad day. Ya know?

My day was good. The sun was shining most of the day, I got a decent amount of stuff done, and made a little money. I had a hot cooked dinner. My husband and I have our health. We don’t have any major worries. Life is good.

Here’s to a great week! Hope you’re well, reader in bloggyland.

Here’s an update on things:

I’ve been doing my Bible reading plan (see previous post) for a week now. It is going really well–it doesn’t take much time, but I really spending time reading and thinking about the Bible.

We went to a new church last Sunday and will likely return this weekend. It’s called Orchard Hill  and is a non-denominational community Christian church. It’s huge! I’m used to churches of like 150 memebers or so–this one has so many that it needs parking lot helpers. Whoa.

We haven’t been to a non-denominational church before, but I chose it because it has many opportunities for women’s Bible study and other times for fellowship.

I hope that through church, I can gain some friends in Pittsburgh. So far, I don’t really have any here.

Anyway, we enjoyed the sermon and though the music was not what I’m used to in church (it was a rock band), it was a good experience. The band is actually really good, and they did a rendition of the song from like the ’80s, called “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister. It was impressive.

So … that’s how my spiritual life is going.

On the homefront, things are going well. Being married is so incredibly wonderful–way better than I could have imagined.

I’ve made it through Genesis many times, only to get sidetracked. I’ve read bits and pieces of the Bible, but I want to read it in its entirety.

I found a Bible-in-a-year plan that I think will work well for me.

The Victory Bible reading plan is designed to be completed in 365 days. I started it today, with the hopes of finishing it by the end of 2008.

The plan has you read some from the Old Testament, some from the New Testament, and a Psalm or Proverb each day. I think that will keep me on track, and will get me through the muddy geneology and things that have been roadblocks for me in the past.

Also, I’ll read through the gospels twice in this plan. Gotta love that.

Have you read the Bible through in a year (or ever)? How’d it go?

When I look through it by month, I’m just amazed at all that’s happened this year. I am not the same person I was 12 months ago–not even close. I didn’t even have the same name!

There were some rough patches (father-in-law’s hospitalization, being painfully homesick and lonely) but overall, this has been a good year for me.

So many things have happened–I was responsible for a newsroom of 200 employees, I planned a wedding, graduated from college, got married, went on a fabulous honeymoon, moved 400 miles from home, had a summer internship, and started to work from home.

January 2007

I can’t remember how I celebrated New Year’s Eve, but I think I was asleep. I was recently engaged (On Dec. 21, 2006) and just beginning my last semester of college. I also began my one-semester tenure as editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper. What a thrill! What intensity.

February 2007

I kept chugging along, taking my one class (hah), working at the newspaper, and planning my wedding. My then-fiance, his family and I celebrated his 22nd birthday that month. Actually, we celebrated several birthdays: His, his twin brother’s, and their father’s are all on the same day. Their mother’s is just a few days before.

March 2007

Spring break! My last spring break of college. Meep. I was fortunate to spend it in New York City at a journalism conference. We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel just blocks from Times Square. I got to tour the New York Times newsroom, wander about the city, and visit with some alumni. I also may have been on MTV 3. Who knows–I don’t. I don’t even know anyone who has that channel.

My last class of college (Sociology 101, lolz) was completed by this point. It was an 8-week class, after all. I ended up walking out of it an hour early. I opted to pass/fail my grade, and I definitely passed. I had to get back to the newsroom for a big story.

April 2007

More of the same–wedding planning and newspaper editing. Such a rush, and such a wonderful time of my life. I miss my newspaper friends a lot. Also, we visited Pittsburgh and found our apartment.

May 2007

The biggest month of my life to date. May 5-graduated from college (although, I didn’t actually go to commencement). May 19-got married! Woo! May 21-a moving truck pulled up to my apartment, and loaded up all of my belongings. May 23-boarded a plane bound for Seattle for our honeymoon–a cruise to Alaska. We took a 7-night cruise and everything about it was amazing.

We flew back to Indiana, visited with our families for one last hurrah, and then boarded a plane to Pittsburgh. By then, it was the first part of June, which I’ll get to in a second.

Our wedding and honeymoon was definitely the highlight of the year. However, the week beforehand was uncertain and scary. My father-in-law was in the hospital–deathly ill. We were really close to losing him, actually. Thankfully, he recovered, and was even able to attend our wedding.

June 2007

We arrived in Pittsburgh on the first Monday of the month.

The next day, I started my internship. Ugh. Looking back, I should have tried to negotiate a later start date–I had no idea how to get around this city, and if you’ve ever been to Pittsburgh, you know that it’s hard to find your way around.

My husband started his new job on Wednesday, and it has gone really well for him.

On the 9th, I turned 22. It was just an OK birthday. I was grateful for my husband, but kind of mopey since my family and friends were so far away. I was overwhelmed by all of the recent life events that were happening. I can’t remember how I spent that day, but I was glad it was a Saturday and I didn’t have to work. I hope my 23rd birthday will be more fun.

July

Nothing remarkable. We spent too much money and I was exhausted at the end of every day. Weekends were spent catching up on chores. It wasn’t the funnest, so I’m glad I don’t remember much of it.

August

My parents and sister came to visit during the first weekend of the month. They were here during their 23rd wedding anniversary, and while wandering around the city, we saw three wedding parties being photographed. That was neat. It was really nice seeing family. Oh, and it was the hottest weekend of the year and our air conditioning stopped working. Also, the power went out for no apparent reason. Haha.

My husband went on a business trip to Los Angeles for a week. It was a good experience for him, but we really missed each other. It was a long, lonely week.

At the end of the month, my internship was over. That’s all I have to say about that.

September

Partly due to being homesick, and partly due to eating horrible food at a restaurant and being extremely upset about it, we made a last-minute decision to drive to Indiana for Labor Day. We headed out at about 7 p.m. that Friday and got to town by 2 a.m. or so. We surprised my husband’s mom, and they were really happy to see us. It felt so good to be there!

The next week, I drove back to Indiana again, this time, by myself. I stayed with my little sister while my parents went to Florida. It was certainly an adventure.

When I returned to Pittsburgh during the middle of the month or so, I became a full-time homemaker. I’m not sure how long this will last, but we made the decision for a few reasons. One, we don’t expect to be in this city for much longer. It wouldn’t be worthwhile to have a career-type job to only leave it a few months later. Two, we both see value in having someone maintain the home. I’ve received quite a bit of criticism for not holding an outside job, and that hurts. Still, it’s what’s working best for my husband and me, and that’s what matters most.

That month, I discovered The Tightwad Gazette and the frugal lifestyle. I made it my goal to reduce our spending so that I wouldn’t need to have an outside job. So far, by me not working, we’re spending thousands less than we did when I was. We’re money ahead. Isn’t that weird how that works?

I started my blog, Sense to Save, on Blogger at the end of September.

October

I continued building my blog and learning more ways to be frugal. It was a lovely month. October is one of my favorites, actually. The weather is fantastic, the leaves are beautiful, and it’s the month I met my husband. That October marked four years of us being together.

My husband’s parents came for a quick visit, and we took them all over the city. We all had a grand time.

Thanks to a friend, I started a regular freelance writing gig, which I am still doing. I earn decent money, and it’s helping us establish an emergency fund.

November

I migrated my blog to its own URL with the help of my savvy husband.

We took another trip to Indiana for Thanksgiving, spending it with my husband’s family and then seeing my family in the time after.

I was able to swing by my college newsroom to say hello to a few people. It was great to see them–the newspaper looked fantastic. It also provided some much-needed closure for me. That chapter of my life is over, and it’s time to move on.

December

It seems as soon as we got back to town, it was time to head back to Indiana for Christmas. Actually, it was just about three weeks later–so soon!

We spent time with my husband’s family for awhile. His mother broke her leg, and we tried to help with chores and errands. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my side of the family this year, and drove back on Christmas Day since my husband had to work on the 26th.

What a year of big change. Here’s to 2008!

I’m glad to be making my home a haven along with other bloggers. Strength in numbers, ya know?

Click over here to see what’s mentioned in her challenge for today. Here’s my responses:

1. The Psalm I flipped to today was 113. Here’s a verse from it:

He raises the poor out of the dust,  And lifts the needy out of the ash heap. – Psalm 113:7

Even millionaires can be poor, and everyone is needy at different points in their lives.

2. A morning routine. Hmm. This would be good for me to establish.

First, I’d like to get up at about the same time every day. I think that would really help my terrible sleeping situation. My goal is to be up and moving by 8 a.m. every day. So far, that’s not happening.

After using the bathroom, I’ll make the bed, fix breakfast, and eat it. That’s simple enough–and I think I can do it.

3. The third step of the day is to spend 5-15 minutes decluttering the front part of the home. I’m going to need to spend more time doing that today–it’s a mess. But, you’ve got to start somewhere, so why not start with the first 15 minutes of a task? I’m going to get started right now.