Our newest family member will arrive next week!

That's just wishful thinking on my part really. It might be the week after that. I've just dealt with the older one for so long that I'm ready to chuck her out a window. No, not Ivy. Bejunia. She's our industrial sewing machine who has some major attitude problems. I estimate that snarled thread and loopy stitches cost me at least a quarter of my work time. Let's not even begin talking about what the resultant swearing and high blood pressure are doing to me. Above is a nice picture of Ivy hammering away.

It is a shock to watch Michelle sew on her machine. It just....sews. Like, all the time. Toby told me that I handle machine mishaps more gracefully than she does, and I thought, yeah, 'cause I'm so used to it! Michelle's machine is a Juki (Japanese for sexy beast?) and it purrs like a kitten. Bejunia is a wretched knockoff (Yamata is probably Chinese for stupid Americans will buy anything) and we spend most days growling at each other.

Toby got an amazing deal on a working Juki industrial sewing machine head on Ebay, and it's headed our way. I am now patronizing Bejunia actively, since she is so soon to be replaced.

Hello again, sweet internets!

Saturday evening a mild thunderstorm knocked out our power for four hours or so, and we discovered our internet service was gone, too. Our whole income is selling corsets online, so we got antsy fast. Nothing happenend by Sunday morning, or Monday morning, so we called our company. They told Toby they couldn't send techs out in less than 24 hours. We scheduled an appointment for 8 am Tuesday.

Then we waited...until 9:30. After calling "company," Toby was told that we weren't even on the schedule. Thanks. He then explained (way more patiently than I would) how we depend on that connection for our livelihood. Especially the part that pays their bill every month. Suddenly, they could get someone out to our house this afternoon. Burnt modem, end of story.

It will be nice not to have to take a 10-minute drive to see if all our Ebay customers are becoming hysterical with no one to answer their questions.

Easters pictures of the Fam.

Really, if you haven't seen Nacho Libre yet, stay up until you're goofy tonight and watch it. Then give it some time, and hang out with people who quote it frequently. It will grow on you.

We're spending the day with my family today, and it's a cold and rainy day. We took some pictures of all the kids in their Easter finery, but had to do it inside due to the weather. The look on Maggie's face in this one is just priceless. The look on Livvie's face is due to the fact that we threatened to take away her candy if she didn't try to look normal. Notice Hollis' slicked-over hair and snazzy jacket and tie. And of course Ivy is wanting to do ANYTHING but this.
In other family news, Mom has been missing her phone for at least three weeks. They've looked everywhere, and finally got her a new SIM card to put in an older phone. Today, Dad got a call from Wal-Mart, where she works. They found her old phone in the fridge in the breakroom. Go figure.
Here's my dad. The next thing I post will probably be his birthday, since it's on Tuesday. We'll be having a barbecue to celebrate. Here is one of myself and Laural. It's getting a little harder to hang out with her, as she is suddenly spending most of her free time with her new boyfriend. Not that I'm complaining. We get to meet him for the first time on Wednesday evening.

New Dishwasher, Thanks to Dave Ramsey

We've been listening to Dave Ramsey for two years now, and trying our best to get out of debt and spend wisely and save our money. Check out his website here. Dave's plan is pretty simple, using seven steps to get you on the right track.

7 Steps:

		$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
		Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
		3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
		Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
		College funding for children
		Pay off home early
		Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

It's important not to think the steps must be done at once. He explains how each step builds on the discipline and financial breathing room from the ones that go before it. I just can't recommend Dave Ramsey enough, and I think he's really preaching something people need to hear. I keep thinking what our economy would be like if everyone didn't rely on debt and the credit industry. Consumers probably buy a bit less, but it would be with money that was their OWN.

Thanks to Dave, we had our $1000 emergency fund in place, and were in the process of paying down our debt. We have paid off our two smaller credit cards in the last six months, and now only owe Lowe's and Home Depot. I really can't think of money that gave me more joy than sending the payoff amount to a card and thinking, "Now they can kiss it!"

Anyway, yesterday our dishwasher gave up the ghost. Toby checked it out, and it could not be fixed. So last night we loaded the kids in the van, drove to Joplin, compared prices, and bought a new one. The great thing is that this was an inconvenience, but not a disaster. We'll just put all our efforts and extra cash back into the emergency fund, then go back to serious debt reduction. By the way, I know a dishwasher isn't a necessity, but we barely keep up with the dishes as it is, so it's either sew less or have a dishwasher.



I talked to my friend Lucy last night, and when I told her about the dishwasher, she reminded me how broke and unhappy we were two years ago. We've changed a lot of things since then. We now work with Michelle, making bodices full-time. Our income is better and more stable than it was when Toby worked construction. Toby and I get to spend the days together doing something that is getting our family on the right track financially. Things aren't perfect, but they are getting better. It's so awesome to see that doing the right thing pays off sometimes.

Back From Norman

The first big Renfest I've attended this year was this past weekend in Norman, Oklahoma. It's not quite like any other because it is free to anyone who wants to attend and is a bit more loose in decisions about what is to be sold there (we usually have a sock monkey booth for neighbors). We had a pretty good weekend, considering that it was COLD and on top of that, Sunday was unbelievably GRASSY. I mean, the wind blew like crazy the whole weekend, and by Sunday, all the dust and bits of dried grass were loosened enough that it looked like a blizzard out there. That kind of thing really slows down attendance, even if it's free.

Things I want to remember for next festival:

Apparently, if a pregnant woman has a lovely belly-framing corset on, with a large brass Steampunk medallion dangling over said belly, that means everyone is welcome to touch the belly. It was a cute look, since my waist currently measures nearly 43 inches. I'm just not sure I want to have an open invitation to all fondlers.

Make a cloak out of warm fabric and bring it to every show, even if I think it's spring already.

Henna the hair more than two days in advance, so that the residue doesn't make the nice motel towels orange.

Keep diapers in diaper bag, not in our renaissance clothing box, since they were NEVER where we needed them when we needed them.

Good friends and loyal customers are valuable morale-boosters on a cold, miserable, slow day. Thanks to Ron of Storm Watch Jewelry, William and his Wenches, our favorite Steampunk Girl, Acrobat Girl, and Sir William (who generously loans his cloak to freezing maidens).

And as always, SMILE and MAKE EYE CONTACT. Michelle is such a natural saleswoman, it's a joy to watch her interact with customers, and I always feel like such a cave-dweller in comparison.

Finally, I'd like to add that we will sadly miss the Barbarian. He was killed in a car wreck while traveling from show to show. The Barbarian was a good-looking bald man who dressed in furs and horns and sold really excellent foam weapons. Anyone could challenge him to single combat for their honor, and I know of only one man who bested him. All of us girls have had crushes on him for as long as we've been selling bodices at Renaissance Festivals. Here's more about him.