Sunday, February 29, 2004

2 Dieters & a Money Makeover

beach.jpgBen & I have decided to dive into the latest fad diet to attempt to be healthier. Ben went to Barnes & Noble & got pretty excited about it & convinced me to take the leap of faith. I've never seen or bought so much gross food in my life. So this month we're not just taking on one, but two huge endeavors including the Total Money Makeover & the South Beach Diet.


If we make it through this month without killing each other, we'll be able to make it through anything. 2 hrs. in the grocery store & $100 later alone made us want to duke it out. I just tried the vegetable quiche cups & it's going to be a long week!!! Wish us luck & feel free to comment on who you think will stick to the diet the longest.

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Finances 101

financial_peace.jpgTonight we had the opportunity to hear Dave Ramsey speak at a 5-hour seminar called the "Total Money Makeover." If you get the chance to hear this guy--do not pass it up, because you won't regret it. If your church has a Financial Peace University course, you better go (even though it may cost a few bucks). We can't explain it all here in this blog, so we decided to be a little less serious and give you a top seven funny things that happened tonight:


7. The only good thing about credit cards is that they keep other important cards from falling out of your wallet--we actually destroyed all of our credit cards tonight after canceling them, of course.
6. Gazelles often outrun "CHETAHS"--had to be there. (Dan and Angi and Peter and Kim will get this one)
5. It's easy to stay out of debt if you have no kids, car payments, house payments, credit card debt, and don't appreciate life.

4. When you buy a $28,000 car from a dealer, on average you will loose $16,800 of it's value in the first four years... wait, that's not funny-unless you buy used cars.
3. Never take out a 30 year mortgage on a house, only a 15 year fixed rate mortgage, but if you plan to be a pulpit preacher, you don't really have to worry about either one.
2. Tickets to the seminar: $56. The speaker's latest book: $19. A seminar that uses scenes from "What About Bob": priceless
1. The only reason Ben went was because he thought it was the "Total Money Make out Session"

Friday, February 20, 2004

Spreading the Love

heart.jpgAfter a rather uneventful Valentine's Day, I decided it would be nice to take my wife to a restaurant that night. It was late and we decided to go to Bennigans, hoping there would not be a long wait.
So, we walked into the front doors and all we heard was this guy complaining to the hostess (who is working on V-day, mind you). He was incessantly complaining about how a couple that came in after them was seated first, and the poor hostess just kept quiet, but she was visibly frustrated. I was thinking of a way to stop this guy from complaining, but Monica apparently already had a plan... and executed it to perfection! No joke, she turned to this guy, glares at him, and politely says, "It's Valentine's Day!! Can't you just give her a break? Thanks!" The guy was speechless and hopefully embarrassed in front of his girlfriend (not to mention everyone else standing around), and Monica just turned and walked out of the restaurant. I looked around for a second and then said, "Well, I guess we're going," and followed my wife, giving her a big high five in the parking lot.

If you know Monica, this story will not surprise you one bit; if you don't know Monica, and are in foodservice, you have somebody on your side! Click below to see pics from our Valentine's Day.

Ben with his present
Monica with her presents
Our romantic dinner on the couch
Cheers!

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Pac Rim reunion

pacrim00.jpgMonday night there was a special 30th Anniversary dinner for the relationship between Ibaraki Christian University & OC (another wards Pac Rim 2000 reunion '04).


We had 11 of our group show up out of 22 which is amazing considering how spread out around this globe we all are. Trent came all the way from Houston & Kate made it from Memphis. Joe, Denver, Elise, Shyla (+ fiance), Jared, Bailey & Joyce and of course me & Ben also made it to the event. After the dinner we had a few of the group over to our apt. for some Taboo, a viewing of the infamous Pac Rim video & some wonderful conversation. Denver put it best when he said that there's just a special feeling that you get when you're around our group even after all these years.
For all of you that don't know, Ben & I actually met on the Pacific Rim study abroad program in '00. Several years later we fell in love, tied the knot & here we are today w/ our very own blog. How far we've come...

Our 1st post

Hello friends, family, Oklahomans, Missourians & others,
This is Ben & my first attempt @ 'blogging' which we have wanted to do for some time now. We aren't quite as ditzy as the Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica, but we do have some quirky stories & great insight into our first year of marriage. The reason for the title of our blog being 'Raining On Sunday' is due to that being our song by Keith Urban, plus we thought it was much more original than 'Ben & Monica's blog'.