When unexpected things happen...

When unexpected things happen in my life, I tend to freak out a little bit. As I have told you before, I am a planner. I plan special events for United Way, I plan for my family's future, I plan for our future children, I am a planner! :)

So naturally I freaked out when Brad and I decided to officially start our Total Money Makeover as our New Year's Resolution, and SEVERAL unexpected things happened. Here's how everything panned out...

We bought our Dave Ramsey book and started talking about our hopes about our plan.

The next day, my car was hit somewhere between Wal-Mart, McAlister's, and a Junior League meeting. And no one was there to take the blame....it wasn't a bad hit, but someone most likely backed into (someone with a trailer hitch!).

Brad and I were a little disheartened when we learned that we would have to pay a $500 deductible OR pay the $250 for the part, plus labor (around $90 per hour).

Next morning we wake up to a freezing cold house. I go to see what the thermostat is on, and the thermostat is completely off, and it's not coming back on. A call to "Heater Danny," and we learn that the compressor (please don't ask what a compressor does because I have no idea) is BAD. Although the compressor is under warranty (cue the angels), we still have to pay for labor - which is an ALL DAY job and will most likely cost us $500 or more (Debbie Downer music).

Well, so this may set us a little behind on our start date for the plan, but it's all the more motivation to set up an EMERGENCY fund! In two days, we are already needing close to $1,000!!!!

Does it end here???

Don't think so!

Our precious dog, Turner, who is a lab mix has had several skin problems - along with others. Well, Turner has recently had the skin issue pop up again. We took him to the vet this morning and were told that the problem has gotten worse, and he is going to need to go through a series of dips and treatments to the tune of $172!!!! We will have to have him dipped every other week, which will cost around $70 for each dip! Turner is my baby, and I just want him to get better!

So, the lesson for the week is to NOT GIVE UP. Although Brad and I are discouraged at this set-back, we WILL get through this. I think my fabulous numbers-loving husband has actually figured out a way for us to take care of everything and still start our plan on February 1!!!! We wanted to start this week, but we'll deal! Anyways, I'm trying not to freak out, and I'm doing A LOT of praying :)

Have any of you gone through things like this before??

Blessings!

Things going on in my life right now....

I feel like I have left y'all out on a lot of things that have been going on in my life for the past couple of weeks since I have been sharing my story - so here's a recap of the FABULOUS things that are taking place in the Warnock household.

1.) In order to prepare for our future family (and to relieve future stress), Brad and I will start our Total Money Makeover this week. It seems like along with getting healthy and losing weight, many people make resolutions to be more financially healthy. Anyways, Brad and I have toyed with the idea for a while, and for the past couple of weeks, my husband (who LOVES numbers) has come up with a FANTASTIC plan to have us debt free (besides our house) within a few years! While I was in college, my other three siblings were also in college or getting ready to start college. Therefore, my parents were not able to pay for my tuition, thus the need for the dreaded STUDENT LOANS!!! So, that's a part of our debt, as well as one car payment. It was really exciting to watch (on paper) how quickly we could become debt-free! I even made us little notebooks with our plan to keep us motivated! Our biggest motivation for all of this is our want to start a family. So, to prepare y'all (and Marcia and Ron (Brad's parents) who are AVID readers) - our plan is to start trying to have a baby in the Spring of 2009, which means we could have our baby two years from now! I know some of you are thinking - "Lena, you are for real planning all of this out." Well, as some of you know, I'm an event planner by trade, so I plan EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong, there has been a lot of prayer that has gone into this already and has been for the past year or two. I know that with the Lord on our side, we will get through all of this! We so excited about the possibility of becoming parents, and we are excited to have plenty of time to prepare our lives for our little one! You have no idea what a motivation this is to Brad and myself - and even though we are going to have to make some BIG sacrifices (no more spontaneous shopping), I know that in the end, it will be TOTALLY worth it! I get so excited about this that I tell everyone - makes me feel a little bit like I'm already expecting! Ha!

2.) Okay, MORE good news...as some of you may or may not know, Brad and I had a beautiful, Southern wedding in May of this past year. Well, even more beautiful than the wedding, were the wedding pictures! We had the absolute best photographer in the Southeast, and I don't lie :) His name was Chuck Arlund, and everything he did was truly magical. I still hear about my wedding pictures from people, and I'm so glad that we had Chuck along to document everything. When I got engaged, I said I didn't care about the cake, or the food, or the music, I just wanted a fabulous photographer so I could always look back on my beautiful day. Chuck does a lot of fashion stuff as well as weddings and portraits, so I felt just like a model everytime he was around. Well, one of my biggest dreams came true this past week - are you ready???

OUR WEDDING IS IN A MAGAZINE!!!!

Yes, you heard it right. The Warnock wedding was featured in the Spring 2008 issue of Enchanted Brides. And y'all, it's beautiful! There is a two-page spread with a FULL PAGE picture from one of my bridal portraits! You have no idea how giddy I was when I opened it up and saw the beauty on those pages. It took me right back to that glorious day when I became Mrs. Warnock. If you know of someone who is getting married, PLEASE tell them about my photographer - I believe your photographer is the most important thing you pay for! And if you would like to check out some of Chuck's work, visit http://www.arlundimagery.com/.

Here's a picture of the two pages in the magazine...

Here's a close up of the first page - LOVE the title, Southern Charm :)

Here's a close-up of my bridal portrait that FOR SURE took up a whole page! Can you tell why I'm so excited???

3.) Last night, I was trying to find a particular dish towel, and I was unsuccessful. After about 30 minutes of searching, I got frustrated and completely organized every closet, basket, drawer, desk, dresser, table - ANYTHING I could get my hands on! I started around 7 p.m. and did not stop until after 12:30 a.m.!!! Brad was working at Hastings, so I had time to go through all of his stuff (he leaves stuff everywhere - no joke!) and organize everything! I'm a neat freak and an organizer, so I had fun going through his piles of stuff! I wish I had before and after pictures for y'all, but I'd almost be too embarassed to show you the before pictures! I'm hoping to get some baskets and label everything in the basket so it's easy to find! My next stop is the attic/garage, but I'm going to need Brad to even begin to tackle that one! Have you ever just gone through everything like I did last night?

4.) I have TWO dinner dates this weekend that I'm excited about...tomorrow night, I get to eat with my little sister, Kayla for her birthday, and on Wednesday night, I'm eating at Pei Wei (YUM!) with my ADPi Big, Melanie, and I CANNOT wait! Melanie was one of the main reasons I joined ADPi, and I love her dearly! Melanie is a wonderful writer, and she has her own blog HERE, so go check it out :)

5.) My parents are coming to my office this afternoon to help me move around my office, and I CANNOT tell you how excited I am! My window shines on my computer, so I feel like I'm squinting all day long, so it'll be a nice change!

-I have LOTS of more fabulous (and not-so-fabulous - but that's for a later post) things that happened last week, but I think that covers it for me! I hope y'all are having a beautiful Monday :)

Blessings!