107%

*Update: I apologize if you read an earlier version of this that had some pretty funny typos. I may have learned my lesson to proof-read before posting these. I have now edited those typos. Enjoy!

Guess who made it to her goal? That's right, this girl! I did my budget tonight because tomorrow is the first of the month and I officially have 107% of the money needed to live in Chile! During the early spring months I was seriously doubting if I would make it all, but these past few months I've kicked my budget's butt! Praise the Lord!


And it's really good that I'm going to have excess because I might need it. One thing is I'm going to need $130-$260 extra to renew my passport while in Chile. Another thing is that this money I'm saving should last me for 9 months in Chile. However I would really like to be able to stay for 12 months. So any extra money means I could stay longer. Lastly, it's nice knowing I have extra cushioning in case an emergency happens. Emergency funds make me feel safe and secure. Yay for emergency funds!


And for more good news, it seems like plane ticket prices have gone down! They're still pretty expensive (around $1500) but about $200-$300 less than a few weeks ago. Buying my plane ticket is my next priority- hopefully I'll be able to purchase it in the next couple of days!


Finally I'll leave you with how my funds grew 14% this month. Unfortunately, I don't have any really good tips. Mostly it's because I don't have to pay rent next month and having that extra $500 in the budget makes a big difference. The other way I grew this fund is through my second job working in the snack shop at the golf shop. I don't make a big hourly wage but the money seriously helps. If you know about Dave Ramsey at all, he says to do anything you can to get out of debt, including working an extra job or two. I can see now how that really works. If I wasn't going to Chile, this would be $5,000 extra dollars a year I would be able to pay on my student loans. Now, I'm not sure if Dave Ramsey would advocate my going to Chile before paying off my loans, but that's going to take years and love trumps money! I think he can be happy that I'm not going into more debt by moving to Chile.

What I like to call...The Itchies

Andres and I were videochatting last night and he told me to hang on because he had to put his newly-washed sheets on his bed. And that reminded me... of the itchies! Let me tell you, the itchies are NOT fun. Unfortunately, it seems like the itchies are only something that this gringa gets.


You may be asking yourself: what the heck is she talking about?! What are the itchies?! Oh my goodness, the itchies are these red spots that I get when I go to Chile that itch like crazy! I've gotten them the past two times when staying at Andres' house and there are two thoughts of where they come from. The first and more comforting thought is that they are allergies, and possibly allergies to the laundry detergent (which would be on the sheets and why I was reminded of this). The second thought is that they're fleas. That's right, you read it- FLEAS! Please don't think I'm dirty because I might have had fleas. According to other gringas, how they itch and the pattern of the spots look like fleas. But because they go away when I come back to the U.S. and the fact that no one else in his family gets them (I'm the only lucky one) would make it seem like they're not fleas.


The first time I got them, it wasn't so bad. It was only a couple of spots and I could deal with that. But the second time I was in Chile for three weeks, so I had to deal with many spots all over my body itching like crazy for three weeks! I was applying menthol, anti-itch cream and taking benadryl. It didn't really help. And now that I've been reminded of them, what am I going to do if I get them for nine months?! They might drive me crazy. Andres assures me though that we can go to a doctor and figure out what kind of allergy it is (he's convinced it's allergies). That doesn't exactly thrill me however because what if they have to poke me with all those allergens to find out? What's worse: itching all the time or getting poked a bunch?


I guess I'll find out soon enough...

What's in a Name? Part II

In my very second post, I wrote about why I chose to name my blog "Contenta con la Vida." Tonight I would like to share with you the meaning behind "TTM" and why the blogs are signed by "TammyTTM" and the web address is "tammyttm.blogspot.com."

TTM stands for Totus Tuus Maria which is Latin for "totally yours Mary" en ingles or "totalmente tuya María" en español (p.s. If you are a guy I believe you would say "totalmente tuyo María"). This phrase was the motto of Pope Blessed John Paul II. I think the story goes that when JPII was a young boy his mother died and so his father took him before an image of the Blessed Mother and told him "This is your mother now." From that time on Our Lady had a very special place in his heart and he even made this the motto of his pontificate and put it on his papal flag.

I came to learn about this phrase and the meaning behind it when I went to college. I think I talked about this a little bit before when I went back to visit Franciscan University, but my college was very special in that it had something called households. A household is kind of like a fraternity or sorority- but so much more! You have different prayer commitments each week with your household (usually about 2-4 per week) and usually you live with those girls, share meals with them and they are some of your closest friends on campus. What mostly unites you to your household is the shared charism with the sisters (or brothers if you're a male). Each household has it's own charism or devotion. My household is named Totus Tuus Maria and has a great devotion to Mary (under the name Our Lady of the Streets) and all of us sisters make a total consecration to Jesus through Mary as we enter household.

There are many different ways and prayers to consecrate yourself to Mary. The way or method that I have done is total consecration to Jesus through Mary according to St. Louis Marie de Montfort. St. Louis Marie writes that total consecration "consists in surrendering oneself in the manner of a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through her, and then performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary, through Mary, and for Mary." Most basically you give yourself completely to Our Lord through Our Lady- you make yourself totus tuus Maria. The theology behind this is that Jesus came to us through Our Lady and so the best way to go Him is by following His example and going back to Him through Our Lady. When I made this consecration, I gave everything that I am to her- physically and spiritually, all my merits, graces and goods- trusting that she will present me most lovingly to her Son and plead on my behalf when I am found unworthy. I put everything that I am and everything that I have in her hands. 

I cannot describe how much totus tuus Maria is a part of my life, how much belonging completely to Mary has changed me and brought me closer to her Son. For those of you who know me personally, trust me when I say that everything good about me is because of her. She is my Mother, my model, my Lady. She is helping me get to heaven so that I can spend an eternity filled with joy and love with the Trinity.This is why I include TTM after my name in this blog. I am and always will be totus tuus Maria. And I want to act totus tuus Maria, too. When I wrote about the phrase "Contenta con la Vida" I said that I want my blog name to remind me to be content and happy with the life God has given me no matter where it takes me. It's the same with signing my name TammyTTM- it reminds me that everything I do should reflect Our Lady and belonging completely to her. You may also remember from when I shared pictures of my getting my tattoo in Chile, that this is what is written permanently on my right foot. I want to constantly have within my sight that I am totus tuus Maria and to give her honor through it.

The act of consecrating yourself to Mary is a prayer that only takes a few minutes to pray. But because it means so much, St. Louis Marie recommends preparing for it. So there is a booklet that has thirty-three days of preparation prayers to get yourself ready for the first time, and then you are also supposed to renew the consecration and do the preparation prayers again once a year. I am really excited because I am renewing mine right now. I'm currently on Day 15 and I will end by renewing my consecration on July 16th which is the feast of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel (La Virgen del Carmen). This is very significant to me because la Virgen del Carmen is the patroness of Chile- so I think it's very fitting that I re-consecrate myself on that day and I pray that she watch over and guide this new chapter of my life in Chile.

Image Source

María, soy tuya y todo que tengo es tuyo.

María, soy tuya y todo que tengo es tuyo.

María, soy tuya y todo que tengo es tuyo.

Nuestra Señora de las Calles, totus tuus!

--------

I hope I do not need to say this and that you did not misunderstand this blogpost, but I want to make clear that I (and my fellow Catholics) in no way consider Mary to be God or above God. We do not worship her. BUT we do have a great respect and love for her above all others because she is the Mother of God and free from all sin.

June To Do/May Recap

So I'm a little behind on my posting my to do lists for the month since it's already June 22nd, but I figure it can't hurt to put them out there anyways. It's better late than never, right???

Here's my June To Do List. If it's crossed out that means it's already completed- yay!

1. Clean out MN bedroom (this is actually being moved to August because since I'm no longer in MN it cannot be completed)
2. Close MN saving account and add that money to checking account (again, this will now have to be done in August)
3. Go shopping for toiletries at Costco
4. Gather together recipes that I want to take to Chile
5. Buy new swimsuit
6. Buy dress pants and skirts
7. Schedule and get a physical at the doctor's (I want to make sure nothing's wrong with me before I don't have any health insurance for awhile!)
8. Get refill prescription from doctor for many months worth 
9. Trade in all my coins/change at the bank- it should be over $50!
10. Sell my quarter-board (remember all those 50 states quarters!) to mom
11. Rip my CDs to my computer
12. Buy socks
13. Buy a belt
14. Order new pair of glasses
15. Buy swimshorts
16. Buy black flats (shoes)

And here's my recap for what I got done on my May To Do List.

1. Go to the eye doctor
2. Write my resume
3. Check out resources from the library on teaching English
4. Inform my landlord I will be moving
5. Get the green light from said landlord to have a yard sale in July
6. Ask a couple of people to write letters of recommendation about my teaching skills
7. Fill out application for passport (I decided to renew my passport in Chile so I no longer need to do this)
8. Schedule dentist appointment for the beginning of June (the point was to see my dentist in MN, but he was out of town while I was there so this also will no longer be done)

I really should have gotten those last two things done in May. Two months from today I should already be in Chile! I'm starting to realize I need to get my butt in gear. This week I've been having to get up by 6:30am (normally it's about 7:30- sometimes later!) and so when I come home from work I don't feel like doing anything. I'll allow it this week but next week that's going to change. There will be no TV and no book reading until close to bedtime. Instead I will start deep-cleaning my apartment and even packing so I don't leave it all for the last minute. Well, that's all for now. Have a good night and God bless.

92%

Good news first: I grew 22% from last month! That might be my all time high! I have 92% of the $5,000 I need to live in Chile and in the next month in a half I need to get $475 more. That should be doable with working at the golf course each weekend and a dogsitting job. It's amazing that I was able to save this much plus go to visit my family in MN and this is how I did it:

• Worked two weekends at the golf course which got me about $200 plus tips (I don't remember how much in tips because that was the cash I spent on vacation).
• I had $1500 saved to pay back the parish for my first trip to Chile for Spanish Immersion School. $500 was set to come off that amount August 15th (that amount comes off for every year I work at the parish) and they moved that date up to August 1st when I'm moving. THEN they forgave another $500. That meant I wrote them a check for $475 and I am so thankful for their generosity and support! So that's $1,025 I got to add.

More good news: While I was in MN my boss called me and said that they had filled my position! Yay! That's one less thing to be anxious about. Andres says I'm the only person he knows who is happy about being replaced. I don't care- it's true! I love my parish and the parishioners and I feel so much better knowing someone is coming who will care for their spiritual needs.

The bad news: The brakes on my car crapped on me today. And when I only need my car to act nice for another month and a half this happens. Boo! The brake light went on and then the brakes started not working so well. I kept praying Hail Mary's in Spanish that I wouldn't hit somebody. But I made it home and walked to buy some brake fluid so I should be able to drive it to the mechanic tomorrow. But this also means that it's going to eat some of my savings. This is what we call Murphy's Law- when you need money or just when you come into it, that's when an emergency will happen to take it away! Actually, my dad says it's my brake line and that it should cost around $120 to replace... let's hope that's true and it will only bring me down to 90%ish. 

Up North!

Just so you know, I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth. I ended up leaving a day early for Minnesota last weekend and ever since I've arrived I've mostly been going non-stop. We're currently up north at the lovely Brookside Resort and enjoying the beautiful weather. I spent ALL-DAY outside... it's probably been years since I've done that. I'll take some pictures to post later but don't expect anything for probably another week. I'll soak up some sun for you!