You are Cordially Invited...

I finally figured out why my church parking lot is jam packed every Thursday morning.  Yep, Thursday morning, in addition to Sunday.

It's called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and it has revolutionized my life.

Think I'm being overly dramatic?  Nope.

It really has been inspiring for me to dedicate my Thursday mornings to a time of thought provoking discussion, inspirational teaching and disciplined study of the Bible.

My preschool aged kids have benefited too.  They get their own version of the same lesson, complete with play time, music time, Bible lesson, quiet time and rhythm time.  Anyone can attend at no cost and the amazing study notes and reading resources are provided, free for the taking.

Is there a catch?  Um....... yes.....  I'm not going to lie.  If you are looking for a coffee klatch and zero homework, this gig is not for you.  If you're looking for a "feel good, whatever works for you" approach to reading the Bible, that leaves you stumbling around and wondering if anything really makes any sense, you won't get that here either.

But if you are willing to entertain the idea that there is a group of people out there that have developed a systematic way to study the Bible that inspires, invigorates you and changes how you live your life, the homework is a small price to pay.

I'll be honest, it's been my first year (they run on a school calendar schedule) and I have not been a stellar student.  I've had to sit and be quiet because I didn't answer the study questions ahead of time.  My kids have often missed playtime as I struggled to make it before my group started on the third question.  There's been a fair share of kicking (by my kids) and screaming (by me) to load up the van and hustle up to get there.  While I'm working to improve in those areas, I've been encouraged, knowing that it's not my perfection that I seek, but God's perfection.  I'm learning about His wisdom through His Word.

When I leave BSF, I am encouraged, challenged and renewed to face the daily struggles of life with grace.

And guess what?  You don't have to go to my church, or any church, for that matter, to get in on the action.  So I'm inviting you to an Introduction Class.  Test drive it for yourself and see what you think.  Because it is an Introduction, they will not have childcare available for you for that first class.  The kids have to be preregistered, but you can sign them up when you attend the first class.  If Thursday mornings don't work, they have other classes for women, men, young adults and kids around the world.  You can check out their class offerings here.

I hope you'll join me.

Sleeping In Saves Lives

While I hate to be melodramatic, there are two indisputable facts right in my community of Anne Arundel County, MD:

1) Anne Arundel County has the earliest public school start time of any school district in the state of Maryland, 7:17a.m.

2) In Anne Arundel County, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10 to 17, second after unintentional injuries, according to a September 2010 report issued by the Anne Arundel County Department of Health.

Coincidence?  No.  Not when you consider that sleep deprived people often have feelings of depression and hopelessness if they continue to not get enough sleep.
An out of state petition signer (#3149) even stated as such, commenting: "Being tired every day is, I think, one of the reasons behind my suicidal impulses."

And yet, even a small change to start schools later will improve mood and lift depression almost instantly.  This is in addition to the preventable accidents that occur with student pedestrians standing in the dark and sleepy teens driving to school.

For now, if you or someone you know is feeling hopeless, has mood swings and is withdrawing from their normal daily activities, visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or call 1-800-273-TALK anytime day or night to speak to someone who cares.  Here in Severna Park, we also have Building Life, a local community of people that can help pave the way out of darkness.

Start School Later plans to go to Washington, DC on the week of March 5, in honor of Sleep Awareness Week, to present our national petition.  But, if we don't have at least 5,000 signatures, our plea to give kids what they need will fall on deaf ears.

We also plan to bring the local Anne Arundel County petition, which is in dire need of signatures to accurately represent this problem in our county.  Every person aged 13 years or older, with a valid email address, is eligible to sign both the local and national petitions.

With only two weeks left, there is no time to lose.  The most effective way to get more signatures is to forward this blog post to five family, friends and associates.

Another simple, but effective way to increase signatures is to invite five Facebook friends to sign our petitions.  Simply share the national (http://bit.ly/tWa4dS) and Anne Arundel petition links (http://chn.ge/xO0DYf) and tag a few of your friends on your Wall's posting.  They will be able to see the link(s), learn about our petitions and click the appropriate links to add their signature.  (To "tag" a friend in Facebook, simply type @ followed by the first few letters of their name.  Facebook will then recognize and suggest your friends to include on the post).

If you are still not convinced that school start times are a problem, take a look at this YouTube video.  Filmed right here at a Blue Ribbon school in Anne Arundel County, the film is a disturbing look at what really goes on in classrooms early in the morning.

We hope you will sign both our petitions and spread the word.  Your support could be a life saver, and it could very well be one of our own.

Maribel Ibrahim, The Frugal Writer, created www.StartSchoolLater.net and is a Co-Founder of Start School Later, a grassroots coalition dedicated to ensuring that the health, safety and equity of children are protected when determining school schedules.  To get involved with Start School Later, sign the national petition and the Anne Arundel County petition to ensure that children do not start school before 8 a.m.

My Dirty Little Secret

I have a confession to make.  Since I'm putting my personal self out there for you, I feel the need to make it right.

While I'm busy encouraging schools to start later, putting my kids to bed at a consistent hour every night and fighting to make high schoolers sleep needs a scheduling priority, I have not been practicing what I preach.  I am guilty of burning the midnight oil.  Well past midnight, I might add.

Maybe it's the New Year calling.  Perhaps it's the extra awareness I have of the sleep needs of others.  Falling asleep at red lights and losing patience with my kids is another sure sign that this situation must be remedied.  In any case, I don't want to cheapen this effort as a "resolution", but it is a personal declaration.  It is, in fact, a personal curfew.

If it's good enough for my kids and keeps them less cranky and much healthier, it's good enough for me.  So, for the last two weeks, I have given myself an official "lights out" at 11:30pm.  That is the absolute latest that I am allowed to stay up.

Unlike the old me, you will not find me on Facebook, checking email, completing writing assignments, folding laundry, using my computer or anything else after 11:30pm because I'll be asleep.  And that is the LATEST I'm allowed to stay up.  (I actually wrote this blog post the day after I planned to because I went to bed at 9:30pm!)

Perhaps the challenges of writing deadlines, a house full of young kids, school and extracurricular activities will force me to stay up as it did in the past.  However, perhaps by enforcing this curfew, I will be forced to reprioritize what really has to be done during the day instead of leaving it for the night and sacrificing my own sleep needs.

After seven consecutive years of dealing with a nursing baby or pregnancy (or both!), my kids are all older and they all sleep through the night.  So, the time is right for me to exercise that right as well.  Yes, contrary to popular belief, sleep is not a priviledge, but a necessity.
It has only been two weeks and I'm noticing things, even as my laundry pile grows and the paper monster attempts to bury my desk.

• The sore throat I had for two weeks went away.
• I find it very easy to say "no" to requests and prioritize what is important.
• I crave less carbs and sugary snacks and I'm losing weight.
• While I cook dinner, I can run a load of laundry, make a phone call, coach through homework assignments, keep the little ones entertained with arts and crafts and dance with my kids. 

I may be scrambling to get things done as I work them into a new routine and things certainly are not perfect (my kids have gotten clean clothes from the dryer and the dried out Christmas tree is still up), but now that sleep is a priority, I don't dread staying up past 1am to "get it all done".  Frankly, I'm inefficient at that time and only able to operate at 50% anyway.

My curfew is like an important appointment that I set for myself.  Just like a dental cleaning or a doctor's appointment, sleep is easy to put off, but hard to ignore in the long run.

This is another reason why www.StartSchoolLater.net has become such an important cause for me.  Sleep needs can no longer be ignored or dismissed as a luxury.

Who's with me?  Who wants to make sleep a priority this year?  Post your thoughts below and share your insights.  Just don't expect me to answer anything if it's past 11:30pm.

Start School Later

I'll admit, I've been busy with a new gig to post much on my blog.  However, I thought I'd summarize my involvement with StartSchoolLater.net, which is a passion that has sucked up all my "free" time.

I'm attaching my recent post on my blog on Severna Park Patch:

I have enjoyed being a Patch contributor for over a year. Now, Patch has graciously allowed me the space to air information topics that are near and dear to my heart.

I have seen first hand how a reader post from Severna Park Patch has blossomed into a widespread national campaign. From Temecula, CA, communities large and small have the ability to inspire, connect and engage a readership. These communities because of Patch Power.

I was so inspired by Terra Snider's original post and quest to petition the White House about starting school times later that local advocacy group, www.StartSchoolLater.net

Terra and I meet for coffee every other week and we plan and dream about a vision that is daunting. For the first time in years, unite across the country, effective change may be within our grasp. This kind of change would never be possible if small, disparate to fend for themselves. That's Patch Power!

Severna Park Patch was the first site to scoop this story. As a result, the issue of school start times will not be easily dismissed least considering the health, safety and equality of school age children.

With a blog comes certain freedoms. I get to post opinions and musings. I will continue to contribute objective local reporting space is a little more personal. And, trust me, it won't be too serious all the time. I'll be posting other things, like parenting strategies and things that I hope inspire you the way they inspire me. You get a chance to share the journey with me and suggest your ideas as well. Come along for the ride!
Frugally Yours,
Maribel Ibrahim
www.TheFrugalWriter.com

Why You Need a Budget (YNAB)

I'll be honest, while I'm a mom first and blogger second, this opportunity is too good to pass up, so I had to post this today.

Another confessional I have is that I have not reconciled my bank accounts since last October because I refused to be bullied into buying the next generation version of Quicken.  Frankly, it is not an upgrade if the prior version WILL NOT FUNCTION.  I paid for it, and I'm OK with not getting support for it, but think about it.  Would you continue business with your phone store if if the sales clerk dropped your phone in the toilet, then suggested an upgrade?  That's what Quicken is doing with their "upgrades".  They can stick their upgrades where the sun don't shine, dang it!

While I disagree with their business practices, they really had me because I've been using Quicken for 10 years.  I refused to give them any more of my money, but I did not find an adequate replacement.  That is, until now.  Allow me to introduce you to my Quicken Replacement, YNAB (You Need A Budget).

I am not getting paid to write this and they are not giving me anything for it.  But, when I did their 7 Day trial in September and we had that power outage, they generously gave me a 30 day extension, just because I asked for another week!  Amazing customer service.

I was already planning on buying the software, because it did everything Quicken did for me faster and easier.  And, you will never be forced to get a stinkin' upgrade if you don't want one.  The interface is fluid and easy to understand.  You can import online transactions and your prior financial files if you want.  They will give you a phone tutorial and a web conference to show you all the neat features.

It is November and I still hadn't purchased it yet.  Why?  Because they generously gave me another extension that would last until Dec 7th.  (They knew I'd be busy with Back to School stuff and traveling and eating for Thanksgiving....)  That's another thing, the free trial is not a limited version of the real thing.  It IS the real thing, in all it's glory.  You will know exactly what you are getting and you get to try it out before you buy it.

As a Cyberdeal, YNAB has offered a 35% discount to current users to share with their friends.  They then extended it to folks like yours truly, who are still using their trial license.  However, the deal expires TODAY, November 30, 2011.  Which is why I put off everything else to post this now!

If you already know that you will not be upgrading Quicken, but you need to find a replacement fast, YNAB is the answer.  Trust me, I've been looking around.  This software gets the full endorsement from The Frugal Writer because it will save you money, is a good one-time investment and will help anyone take charge of their finances.

The software retails for $60.  I was going to take my lumps and pay the full monty because it would pay for itself quickly since I would never need to upgrade.  However, you can get it for $39 (35% off) if you buy it here:  http://ynab.me/cybertuesday

Try it...  If you are not happy, they will give you your money back.  Oh, and tell them The Frugal Writer sent you.  I've already purchased the software, but hey, it never hurts to mention your friends.

UPDATE April 30, 2013:  YNAB no longer offers a refund.  This is because they now give you a 34 day trial and once you activate the software, there is no way to ensure that it is uninstalled or unused after purchase.  Still, 34 days with the full size version of the software is more than enough time to decide if you like YNAB.  Also, this blog post was written before the release of YNAB 4, which is a great improvement to already good software, so it is still worth the investment.  Also, there is no limit on how many computers or devices you can install the software on, so everyone in your house can access the budget on their own machine. 

Cashing in with Coupons at BJ's

Saving Money is Hard Work!

I did it again.  I went to the BJ's without my coupon book.  Granted, I'm not much for cutting out a lot of coupons, but the monthly membership book can really save you money, especially if you are going to buy the items in the book anyway.  Just buying a big box of diapers, paper towels, baby wipes and juice boxes with the right coupons can easily net you $15 in savings, just from the members coupon book.  Not too shabby with hardly any effort.

My unsuccessful trip turned into an fascinating lesson in BJ's couponing.

Savings Scenario #1:  Get an Extra Coupon Book at the store

Go to the Membership Desk and ask for a Members book.  The lady in front of me did this.  It was early in the month and she simply asked if the member books had been mailed out yet since she did not receive her copy.  The associate said yes and asked for her membership card.  The customer was given a pristine copy of the BJ's Journal and the Member's coupon book for the month.  Genius!!

Obviously, you can't just grab a ton of these books and you should use the book you received in the mail.  But, if you really did forget your book, why not ask for an extra that is just sitting at Member Services anyway?  So, I did.  (I was actually in line to return the second pack of paper towels that I mistook for toilet paper).  Even though I finished my transaction and wasn't going to use these coupons now, I went ahead and asked for the coupon book.  Cha-ching!

Next time I forget my coupon book, I'll ask for a book before I start shopping!

Savings Scenario #2:  Return Coupons instead of Merchandise

Yes, I looked through the book to see if there were any coupon opportunities I missed.  Sure enough, there was a $5 coupon for the diapers that I had just purchased and loaded in the van.  It was naptime, so I made a plan to come back solo after dinner to return the diapers and buy another box of diapers with the coupon.  You could argue that the time spent returning to the store might not be worth $5, but the thrill of saving money was enticing.

Now, here's where my return trip was indeed profitable.  I mentioned to the Member Services associate that I was only returning the merchandise so I could go back and buy another one using the coupon.  Would I be able to just return and repurchase it here with the coupon and save us both some time?  She did me one better when she said, "You don't even have to bring the merchandise next time.  Just bring in your member card, your receipt and the coupon and we'll redeem it for you."  She promptly completed the transaction and handed me $5.  Sweet!!!

This means that anytime I find a coupon for items that I purchased while the coupon is valid, I can still redeem the coupon AFTER the purchase.  Better yet, I don't have to lug in the merchandise and "return" it.  They'll just scan the receipt.

I found my BJ's Journal when I checked the mail and sure enough, there was a $3 coupon for the toilet tissue I just bought.  No worries.  Next time I'm at or near BJ's in the next two weeks, a quick trip to Member Services with my coupon and my receipt will net me an easy $3.

And, yes, you can stack manufacturer coupons for even more savings.  Happy $hopping!

Boo Who?

This post may draw some fire, but I think it's worth taking a chance.  As a child, I have pleasant memories of Halloween - trick or treating, swapping candy with my siblings and cousins and watching scary movies.  However, as a grown-up, I've struggled with a holiday that glorifies gore and evil.  As a Christian, I have wavered on whether I should take part in Halloween celebrations, ignore them or somehow modify them to be unscary but still fun.

I live in an ugly, violent world and Halloween could be a way to glorify all this.  While it's tempting to hide away and isolate myself from all the spookiness, I have found something worth trying.  Getting Booed....

The concept is simple, go to www.BeenBooed.com, print out the "You've Been BOO-ed" poem and graphic and leave it with a sweet treat on some unsuspecting neighbor's front door.  There's no ulterior motive.  There's no plea to join a church.  There's no position one way or the other of whether I'm promoting Satan's work on the most sacreligious of holidays.  But there is something....

For the first time in a while, I am seriously contemplating leaving a secret treat to unsuspecting neighbors that I have never taken the time to connect with.  I am expanding my horizons and looking at who in my community I could "BOO" since it's totally anonymous.  It certainly is not evangelism, but who's to stop me from praying for my neighbor as I leave their treat? Who's to stop me from doing something kind?  What can stop me from giving something fun and joyful to a complete stranger with no strings attached?

Check it out for yourself.  There's no loaded message.  But there is a way that I can pass on joy, kindness and to be a blessing during a holiday that already knows too much salty, scary, gory, ugliness.