We're Debt FREEEEE!!!!

Omar and I are DEBT FREE!!! We have been working on this since we got married little by little. We have paid off over $36,000!!! So no we have not paid off the house yet, but all other consumer debt is gone. We paid off credit cards, student loan, our car, and more. We should get the title in the mail any day now, that was the last thing we paid off. This opens up a whole new world. Just not paying a car payment a month is huge for us. Now we can really work to save, save, save. Then starting plugging away on the house.

A lot of this was thanks to Dave Ramsey. We went to his Financial Peace University (FPU) when we first got married. His baby steps have helped us to keep organized.
Learn more about becoming debt free by going to www.daveramsey.com it can change your life too.

LDS Cannery

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes strongly in the importance of not only being self-sufficient, but in preparation for the future through food storage. During this economy there have been plenty of people that I know that have lived off their food storage due to job loss and financial difficulty. Omar and I have been working on our own personal food storage. We have a long way to go and I still need to learn how to really use it, but at least it is a start. Last year was the first time I was able to actually go to the cannery and it is a lot of fun. I mean who doesn't love wearing cool aprons and hair nets! 

Quotes from Latter-day Prophets of God:
"Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant." - President Heber J. Grant
"Get out of debt, pay off your mortgage and get food in your homes." - President Gordon B. Hinckley
"Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account...if you are saving and planning for some item which merely adds to your comfort or pleasure, you may need to change your priorities." - President Ezra Taft Benson

myself and Brianna's friend Amy

Bri and Amy

Cow Lick: Daytona Beach

I have no idea how I skipped over our adventure of going to Cow Lick in Daytona for ice cream. We went after BJ's for a sweet treat. Cow Lick boasts homemade ice cream. It is a pretty cool little shop with a lot of old school video games and pinball machines. Omar of course went straight to those like a little kid. I wish I would have gotten some pictures.

My dad, mom and I began looking at the ice cream. There was one ice cream holder with about 8 flavors and I asked if that was all they had. The 2 boys that were attending looked at me like I was retarded and pointed to the far corner hidden was another set of 8 flavors. I couldn't decide what I wanted so I asked if I could have a sample. I sampled 1 and then asked for another kind of shyly, but not seriously (I mean why wouldn't they give me a second sample?). I thought he was joking but he said okay like it was horrible to have more than one sample. The samples were the smallest I have ever had at an ice cream shop before.

There was one more flavor that I just wanted to try to make my decision and I asked for one more. He then said, 2 is the limit PER GROUP! He then said that I had eaten all the samples for all of us. I was like are you kidding me? Per group? I was like well we are not in the same group pointing to my parents. I mean there were 4 of us and we were going to buy our own stuff anyhow - how could they only give us 2 samples between the 4 of us? That wouldn't even allow all 4 of us to have 1 sample! I gave him a hard time and he gave me one more sample. My parents both got a sample and then Omar got a sample. When Omar got the sample and shared his little lick with me the guy got very apparently upset that he had shared it with me. I couldn't believe it.

Obviously we are all adults and are paying customers and there was nothing posted about this 2 sample max per group rule. The whole time we just laughed in the store about the 2 sample per group. The ice cream was good and the price was also cheaper than most ice cream shops. Maybe that was why they have that rule. There was a tiny chalkboard on top of the toppings bar I thought about going up there and writing on it - Only 2 samples per group!

Daytona was a laugh the whole time. It was just a place that there really is nothing to do - you go to TripAdvisor and there was like 4 items listed....so sad. I guess that is what I get for not pre-researching this little excursion. I can now check Daytona Beach off my bucket list, if it was ever on it in the first place.

Omar's 30th Birthday

Omar's birthday was this last Wednesday. I of course was working till like 8pm and so we didn't get a chance to celebrate on his big day for his 30th birthday. Omar and I are not much for giving gifts to each other. I am more of a "create a memory with me" kind of person, and he is more about "give me some good food" kind of person. Birthdays mean nothing to him but another day, whereas for me it means a whole month of celebration. So to celebrate I am going to list

30 Things About Omar

1) Omar loves meat
2) Omar loves Entemmann's butter loaf bread
3) Omar loves NFL football
4) His favorite football team is the SF 49er's
5) He is good at cleaning the house
6) He is a bbq mad man
7) He opened the Northeast FL region for his company
8) Omar loves his field of work
9) He has 2 brothers
10) He is from San Pedro Sula, Honduras
11) He became a US Citizen this year on January 11, 2011
12) He likes rollerblading
13) He has huge arm muscles
14) He is really into Japanese Anime
15) He is an amazing kisser
16) He is an uncle to 2 adorable little boys Jayden and Tage
17) He loves it to be freezing in the house
18) He takes pride in his yard work
19) He likes to take multiple showers a day if possible
20) He is very laid back
21) Loves staying at home relaxing
22) He can be considered a professional sleeper on occasion
23) He is going bald much to my disappointment
24) He is in the Elders Quorum Presidency for our ward
25) He is bilingual
26) He is always helping other people
27) He is good at fixing things
28) He does not like clutter or like to hold onto keepsakes
29) He supports me in everything
30) He is a loving and kind husband who I love greatly and feel so blessed to have in my life

I LOVE YOU OMAR SPILSBURY !!!

Breakfast with Bri

One of my only friend's Brianna told me last week that they are moving to Orlando for a job her husband Brandon got with Fidelity. I was distraught and so she took me to breakfast at this fabulous place in Jacksonville right across from the water called Metro Diner. It was SO delicious. Thanks Bri!

Their version of shrimp and grits - doesn't that look incredible?

Bri with her california style eggs benedict

We had a great time talking and then browsing over at Fresh Market. It was funny because at Fresh Market she wanted to buy some coffee for a new bath bar (soap) that she is making. That is what she does, makes soap. Well neither of us know anything about coffee since we don't drink it. We had to ask for help about what kind we should get as well as had the lady grind up the coffee because we had no clue how to do it. So funny. I think the lady thought we were crazy.

Daytona Beach

While Omar and I waited for my parents to arrive to check in we walked around on the beach. The water was perfect - it felt like how it did at South Beach. The water isn't nearly as pretty though. It after 4pm when my parents were all settled and we didn't want to get into swim suits with it being so late. I almost wish we had looking back on it, because a cold front came in and it was cold going into the water the next day.

We drove around for about an hour looking at the different houses and sites while trying to find a restaurant that my mom went to with one of her teacher conventions that she thought was really good. We finally were able to find it, "Aunt Catfish's" and it is right on the inter-coastal. We sat outside which was nice and cool and there was live music. The view was pretty too. The food was so yummy. They have this incredible salad and fixin' bar to go with it with good old southern favorites like cheesy grits, baked beans, cornbread, etc. We had a nice time here. 

We were stuffed by all the food and then we decided to go to a movie. My parents have seen pretty much everything out except the new Taylor Lautner movie that just came out called "Abduction" so we went and saw that. No one but my dad even knew what it was about. I don't think I have ever watched a movie in a theater without knowing what it was about first. It was pretty good. After that we walked around the pier area of Daytona Beach. They have carnival rides there, but it is like $5/ride. Too expensive for my blood. The pier is closed for renovations, but it was neat going to that area. 

Saturday we woke up and took a walk all the way down to the pier. 

We then went to breakfast in the morning. We went to Mike's Galley. It was SO good!!! They bake their own bread and baked goods. I think we had a little of everything. Eggs Benedict, french toast, cinnamon roll, pancakes, eggs, grits, home style potatoes, potato casserole, fish sandwich, etc. It was a place I would definitely return to. The prices were pretty good too I thought. 

After eating there we went and relaxed at the pool reading and talking.

After a few hours of that we went to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station Museum. It is home of the 2nd largest lighthouse in the country. It was really nice. They have done an incredible job restoring the place. They even have the original buildings that the lighthouse keepers used to stay in restored into a really great museum. It was very interesting learning about their lives there are Mosquito Coast (that is what Daytona Beach used to be called). 

We walked up the 203 stairs to the top of the lighthouse. Can you imagine climbing that with 40 pounds of kerosene? I can't. The view was incredible and the breeze was so nice and refreshing. It would have been really scary to be up there at night with a storm or hurricane though. The lighthouse keepers would take shifts every night of 3 watches to make sure that light would not go out and stuff. What a boring job. This was well worth the $5 we paid to enter. 

We then went and had a late lunch at BJ's on the water. It was recommended to me by a friend. It is more like a bar, and boats can dock there and you walk up to order. The food was good though. 

We went back to the hotel and hung out at the beach some more. We then had the debate to leave or stay and decided to go that evening to Buffalo Wild Wings for a late dinner and to watch the UF vs Alabama game. We stayed for the first half. That was my dad's first experience ever going to a sports bar. 

The next day dad and I went for another long walk together and then we packed up and left. Omar and I drove on the beach when we left just so I could say that I had done it. I don't think I will be coming back to Daytona in the near future. If I do, I think it would be just a day trip and I would drive my car on the beach.