Raise your hand if you like to read! Awesome. I love meeting new bookworms. 

At the first of the year, I decided my "theme" for this year would be books and reading. I always read, but since my kids were born I haven't really set any reading challenges or added to my book collection. 

​I have some good reasons for making this the year of books (and knowledge). Also the year of building up my home library.

If you have a blog, then you've probably said, or thought or read the words "a blog is like my baby".

​Like anything we create (artwork, handcrafts, books, actual babies) we love our blogs and only want what's best for them. 

​(And we want them to make us proud of all the sacrifices we endured, the little free-loaders.)  ​Over the last couple of years, I stopped being a "strict" blog parent. And some amazing stuff happened.

​In my last post​ I mentioned buying two bullet journals to organize "my life" this year.

  I bought them because I thought they would be the perfect marriage of practicality and creativity. 

All those little dots just promising me I could make a custom DIY planner bursting with artwork and personality.

​​I am an artist. I am an organizer. I could whip out bullet journal spreads that would make Instagram fall to it's knees and weep with joy. 

   Fresh Start: Budgets, Bujos, Blogging, and Books, Part 1

The times they are a-changin...

And sometimes that is a good thing! Especially when there is good news about personal finances involved, right? 

For the first time since I started writing about money matters, I DO have some good updates (and a few positive lessons I've learned too!).