Musings on life, parenting, Jesus, and more...

I started with nothing. My parents were poor, I dropped out of high school. I was living on my own by age 17. But I realized early on that I did not want to work a minimum wage job for the rest of my life. I went to cosmetology school at age 16 1/2, graduated at 17 before the rest of my former classmates had even graduated high school. That didn’t last, but I still keep my Idaho cosmetology license for $20 a year so I can shop at the wholesale beauty supply stores. My vision has always been bigger. Bigger than a 9 to 5 job, bigger than simply working for myself. I want to grow a successful business and help you to do the same. I want to own more real estate and build more equity and help you do the same. And of course, I want to continue helping you save money on your taxes, and understand the best tax structure for your business or businesses. It is so important for your business to hire a confident and proficient bookkeeper. I have a few excellent referrals from our local community i...

I know club sports can kind of get a bad wrap these days. It’s expensive, time consuming, and it makes me sad that some high school sports have become so competitive that if you don’t play club in the off-season, you're probably not going to make a high school team.  It also makes me sad that the cost prevents a lot of families from even having the option to participate. Yes, there are scholarships, but as far as I know, they only pay a portion, maybe half of the club dues so even at the less expensive clubs, on a local team, you would probably still be looking at at least $1,000 in dues.  But I like to focus on the positive and that is what today’s post is about. I love watching my girls play volleyball. I love seeing them gain confidence and bond with their teammates. I love watching their skills improve week after week with their coaches help. And I love getting to know other families that also show up week after week to cheer our girls on, to love and support them, to feed...

When I was 21 I moved to Oregon. I had only met these people once or twice in my life but Karen was my grandmas baby sister and her and her husband Al took me in as family when I moved here, let me live in their home for free with my dog Kylo, establish residency using their address so I could get in state tuition at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!), and included me in family events and get together like I had been part of their family my whole life.  They were so welcoming and accepting. It was a little foreign to me as my own family and upbringing had been filled with dysfunction. Their home reminded me of my grandparents home though and I am so appreciative of their willingness to adopt me for a season. After I got married and started a family of my own, I didn’t visit as often as I could have and I regret that. It was hard for me to feel welcome and accepted because of my own insecurities, not because of anything they ever said or did. When my dad passed a year and a half a...

Last night was so much fun! Six of us ladies cleaned out our closets, bagged up the stuff we no longer wanted and got together for a fun night of free shopping in the comfort of my living room. I don’t know about you, but I personally am not a fan of shopping. I don’t like getting all sweaty in department store fitting rooms, and with inflation at record levels, spending money on clothes seems a little frivolous.  But it’s still fun to freshen up our wardrobes and have some fun new items to wear, especially as seasons change.  Cue the clothing exchange! We use to do these many years ago, and I think it’s time to bring back the tradition. Not only is it an excuse to clean out our closets and a way to get a little wardrobe refresh, but it is also a fun excuse to get a group of ladies together for a night of fellowship and laughter. My recommendation: stick to your size range so you’re not having to go through clothes that won’t fit you. Six seemed like the perfect amount of peop...

My kids are growing up. My oldest just turned 16 and got her drivers license. She’s in the process of getting her first official job, and this morning she had an early morning appointment to fill out new hire paperwork. We had an interesting interaction that I wanted to share because I think it really emphasizes this transition that is occurring in how I parent my older children.  This is crazy to think about, but when I was her age, I was living on my own, working and paying rent, and getting my GED. So I’m fully aware that she is capable of doing life on her own, however, I’m so thankful that she doesn’t have to. I didn’t realize it in the moment while I was living that out, having to be on my own independently so young had some very traumatic pieces and has definitely impacted my development and how I see the world. This stage of parenting I’m in, it’s not so much about telling her what to do anymore. It’s about advising her and guiding her and being there for her as a listening...

I have a confession to make. I guess I’m kind of hoping that if I speak this out loud, it will help me let go and not continue to feel this way. I am so jealous of people who have large, loving families that hang out together, vacation together, and just do life along side eachother. Yes, I just got back from a big family gathering in Southern California and I am so incredibly blessed to have amazing aunts and uncles and cousins. My grandparents, my dad‘s parents, who have since passed years ago, raised five pretty incredible kids who have gone on to have families of their own and I truly feel so fortunate to be a part of that Casler clan. However, I didn’t grow up close to any of them so besides a holiday visit or a summer vacation here and there I never spent much time with them. My own family, mom, dad and little sister, lived remotely in North Idaho for the first 12 years of my life. Then my mom decided to move to Missouri and I followed less than a year later.  Now in adulthoo...