Makin' Bacon

I don't know about you, but I'm terrible at managing money. I'm bringing home the bacon, but that's about as far as I'm getting with it. I need to figure out how to track my spending in order to be more responsible with my money.

To change that, I'm trying the "envelope method", which my grandparents used successfully their whole life together. According to your paycheck, you budget an amount for the things you will need -- for example, gas money. Then you take that money and put it in an envelope to carry with you, one envelope per category. The rest goes into savings. When the envelope is empty, that's your limit! It's a hard and fast way to curb wasteful spending.

For me, the thing I'm most excited about is making an envelope specifically for giving back to my chapter of Intervarsity and to my home church. I know that God will use my money to bless other people and that I'll be even more blessed than I already am! (Hope you don't think I sound hoity-toity, I really earnestly want to give back.) I've been inspired by recently finishing Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. He has some great insights on money and how to handle it in regards to your faith.

What about you? Are you a money master or are you failing at reconciling your checkbook like I am? (I don't even know how to reconcile a checkbook. Oops.)

Well Written

When trawling through the posts at one my regular reading spots (you can find my list to your right and also with descriptions in this post) I came upon a post by Jenny over at Geek in Heels sharing a fun and intruiging writer's toy.

The "I Write Like" site will analyze a sample of your writing and tell you which great writer your writing most resembles. Obviously, I couldn't resist, and like Jenny, wanted to test several samples before taking one name as the writer I was most like.

My results?

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I write like
Dan Brown

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I decided to list both of these results, because they both came up repeatedly. However, I am ashamed to say I have never even read a page of David Foster Wallace. Any reading suggestions of his? I have read the DaVinci Code, but not Angels and Demons, so I suppose we'll have to wait and see on that one.

Interestingly, I also got the results of Nobokov, Arthur Conan Doyle and James Joyce - each once. These were all using samples from different posts on this blog.

Ready to test your writing? Tell me what you get or link back here so I can see it!

Regular Reading

As an English major (who recently made the Dean's List! Sorry, gotta toot your own horn once in a while) I am most definitely a reader. Books, magazines, and with the advent of blogs, I'm hooked. In that case, I thought I would share my (recently organized) list of regular reading links.

So, I'll drop a link here, and then give you a quick blurb about why it's a good read. They are sort of ranked by frequency of posting. You may notice I also updated my links on the right there, so you can click them even after this post is long gone. Here goes nothin'!

Young House Love: John and Sherry's blog is very well written, gives great money saving ideas and tips on home decorating that you can use even if you are living in a dorm. Plus, their new baby is ADORABLE.

Melissa Jill Photography: I'm a lover of great photography, and I came upon this blogger while trolling the 'net for some beauties. Not only is she a fantastic photographer (and a great writer), but she uses her blog as a platform to aid in Autism research and awareness.

Geek In Heels: Probably the funniest blog on my list. Jenny writes with a smart hand and enough sarcasm and wit (and geeky content!) to make anyone laugh. I love the writing, and especially her honesty and willingness to share her faith.

Steph Barber: The blog of a friend from school, Steph is a talented and improving photographer. I love reading about her recent shoots, and especially her posts of recent design projects, like invitations and other paper products.

In Color Order: Though this blog is a recent find, I'm sure it will stay on the list. Covered in delicious photos of quilts and pretty pyrex, I love the hands on approach to crafting here.

A Cup of Jo: Certainly well known in the blog world, Joanna Goddard's blog is always full of handy links to some of the neatest things on the internet, plus she's just adorable.

Stephanie Fay Blog: Another photography blogger (now you believe me that I'm obsessed!) who repeatedly posts images of people who just glow. Quite the writer, too!

Well, that about covers it. Minus the random blog I get sucked into about once a week.
Am I the only person who feels compelled to read EVERY POST the person has ever written when you find a good blog? Hm.