Zip Line Through The Tree Tops

Yesterday, John and I went for a tour from North Georgia Canopy Tours in Lula, Ga. It was fantastic! The best fun I've had in a long while! We got to zip along 12 different lines, cross two sky bridges (they were the scariest parts) and rappel down a tower! What a blast!

Here I am getting ready for our first line: And away I go: John and me in full zip gear: John coming in for a landing:
Looking back from where we just zipped from: John zipping down: He arrived safely!:
Me zipping over:

Me again:

Me getting unhooked from the line:

Again, it is I:

Here's John:

And me getting ready to go:

Off I go- this line was one of three that went through an open area and over a pond:

Off the rappel tower- the scariest part was going over the edge. Once I was dangling, it was ok:
Almost to the bottom:
The final line- a double zip across the Hilltop Pond:

It was such a blast and super easy! If you ever want a fun time outside, try it!

Money and Dryers

As many of you know, John and I have been working on Dave Ramsey's financial plan for the last year and a half or so. It has been so amazing to see God working in our finances. The first thing that amazed me was how much further our money seemed to go. Even though we were making the same amount of money, under Dave's (really God's plan), it was like we had more money at the end of the month than what we had in previous months. It was wonderful! We have also seen God move in ways that we would not have imagined! He has miraculously shortened the time line for our savings goal by months! We are actually looking at hitting our goal by next month! John and I have been so excited about this and have been looking forward to this time next month for what feels like an eternity. Just over a year ago, it felt like it wouldn't come and it's almost here!

As a boost to myself, I've picked up and began re-reading Dave's book Total Money Makeover. It's been great to re-read the stories of people just like us making their financial dreams come true on this plan. I was having a relaxing afternoon reading the book while I was working on our laundry today (it's such a fast read I'm already halfway through it and I just picked it back up a couple of days ago). Then tragedy struck. The dryer broke. Enter anxiety. I had just finished reading a part of the book that says when an emergency happens and you tap into your emergency fund, quit working on the step that you're on and go back to replenish your emergency fund and about how "Murphy" of Murphy's law typically leaves town when you've got more money in the bank (apparently he only likes broke people). A broken dryer apparently is an emergency, and it seems only fitting that Murphy would try to stop in for a visit when we are so close to our goal.

Thankfully, I have a resourceful husband. :) We quickly got on the web to try to diagnose the problem. With a little bit of research, he was able to determine that the thermal fuse blew out. We've got another one ordered and on it's way. It should be here before we need to do laundry next week. Hopefully, it will fix our problem and we can get some more mileage out of our current washer and dryer. After spending some time revisiting the principals of our financial plan, I really don't want to spend the money to buy a new dryer (even the beautiful front loaders in blue that I want, with the pedestals to hide all our laundry accessories). For now, I will hold out hope that the dryer is fixable. I feel like that we are just too close to our goal to have to deal with some major expenses like that.

Yoga and Other Goings On

I can hardly believe that another week is almost gone! Time has flown for sure!

I've been doing a bunch of research in the last week on yoga certification and through much prayer to God and consideration from John think that we have a plan in place. The only factor now is how much it will cost, so it's still kind of up in the air. I can't wait to have a hard fast decision in place. I also can't wait to get my new yoga mat. Heather ordered it for me a few days ago and I'm itching to try it out. It's a Jade Yoga mat. It's super thick, made of natural rubber and it has a lot more anti-slip stuff than my current mat (yay- no more sliding around in down-dog for me!). Plus, it will be my-sized: 74" of wonderful, super squishy-grippy, yogalicious space to spread out (in olive green, of course)! The way I see it, I shouldn't ever need to buy another mat again for the rest of my life. If you want to see one for yourself check them out at: http://www.jadeyoga.com/store/home.php