2010 Resolution Wrap-Up

I know I've been missing for about 4 months from this blog. I guess life caught up with me. The new job is still going great, but I am having a hard time balancing work, working out (which is pretty much non-existent at this point), cooking dinner and home life. I am going to make a greater effort to become better at these things in 2011. I thought I would go over last year's resolutions and see how I fared. I'll post new resolutions after this. Hopefully I still have some readers out there!!

These goals are simply for my own health and quality of life.

For my health:

• Continue to work on my strength training. My personal goal is to do shoulder presses using 20lb dumbbells! I got to this point, but have lost all my strength. I quit working out completely about two months ago. I got too caught up in my new work schedule.
• Work on my endurance through gym classes, cardio and running. Bonus: run a 5K.Make a conscious effort to reduce my sugar intake through sweets and processed foods. (Thank goodness the Christmas cookies are gone!) I did pretty good with the sugar for about half the year. I lost it all in the last part of this year. I tend to eat more sweets when I get stressed. No 5K for me, but I was good about the gym classes until I started this job. The times conflicted with my schedule so I have been lost as to what to do next.
• Plant an organic summer vegetable garden again. We planted, but it was late in the summer. We didn't plan this one out as well as we should have.
• Get a physical so I know my exact health statistics! Didn't do it!

The financial health goals are absolutely necessary and essential. These are more "musts" than goals.

For my financial health:

• Jason & I must both get jobs Bingo! We nailed this one! I started at a temporary place in March, then found a permanent job in August. Jason started a permanent job in August, but it turned out to be a bad fit for him. We are thankful that it got us through a rough year, though. Luckily, he found a new place to work and will start his new job on January 3. We are both excited about this opportunity!
• Once we are both employed, live off of Jason's salary. Put all of my earnings into our savings account to rebuild and start to pay down my student loans and mortgage. I'm paving the way to get those monkeys off my back! We have done surprisingly well with this one. While we are not living completely off of Jason's salary, we're close. We have a monthly goal to save and are doing it fairly well.
• Continue to prioritize the things that we deem important enough to spend our hard-earned money on. No blowing money unless we deem that purchase important. We more than aced this one! We are misers when we need to be. Our year of unemployment opened up my eyes to all the unnecessary things in life. It really helped us distinguish between the wants and needs.

Getting to the home health & fun goals will completely depend on the financial goals. Provided they are met, we can continue down the line to those below.

For my home health: These were put off most of the year because we were unemployed.

• The Massive Living Room Project will include: a ton of paint, the wood flooring we have already bought but needs installing, building a hearth for our fireplace, replacing the ugly tile with slate tile on our fireplace and hang up some darn pictures! Bonus = Buying more furniture. Didn't even come close to getting to this one done.
• The Kitchen: paint, deep clean the tile. Bonus = painting the cabinets We started this one. We got the kitchen painted and will stain the grout on the floor next. I am still undecided on what color to paint the cabinets.
• The Master Bedroom: paint and hang photographs Nope
• Bonus: Formulating a plan for the Master Bath Nope
• Extra Bonus: Attempting some landscaping Big nope!

For fun:

• Plan - and go on - another ski trip! Not a chance
• Go to a live concert that Jason & I really want to see (not including Texas artists since we've seen them a million times) Nope!
• Visit our friends more often! We tried, but avoided any functions that involved spending money for obvious reasons.

I know that most of my resolutions were a bust, but I'm not going to feel bad about it. Jason & I had a rough year together financially and we were able to pull ourselves out of it without any negative repercussions. I still have my husband, my family and my home so I have much to be thankful for in 2010 and much to look forward to in 2011!

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Dance!!!

Oh my gosh, I just saw this video on Dooce and just had to share! If this doesn't put you in a good mood, then nothing will! Also, just like Dooce, I would love to be born with a little rhythm. Enjoy!!!

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By request, an update

Hello all!

I have totally lost track of this blog in the last week. My new job is going great so far. My new boss is absolutely wonderful and so easy to work with. This job is such a change from the stress I had before at my last position. Sure, there's a LOT to do and a LOT of things to catch up on, but it's not stressful in the same way. Going from commission to salary took quite a weight off of my shoulders. Now I know what I will make each month without freaking out about how much I am selling. This morning I will start my second week and.......I'm actually excited!

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Happy Friday Peeps!

I realize today is Friday the 13th, but I have no suspicions today! Today is the last Friday I'll ever work at my current job. Tomorrow is my last day EVER. You have no idea how ready I am. I would love to skip out on the last two days entirely, but I just feel too bad about it.

I know, I'm a wuss.

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Ten on Tuesday

Almost forgot! Here's Ten on Tuesday for y'all:

1. Do you have an innie or an outie?
Innie

2. What kind of milkshake do you order?
Chocolate....mmmmm.....it's been a long time since I've had one.

3. How often do you repeat outfits at work?
About once a week. I'm pretty low on clothes right now.
 
4. What are your feelings about thank you notes?
I like them and should probably write more of them. 
 
5. Do you like spicy food?
I LOVE spicy food!
 
6. How many toilet paper squares do you use?
I have no idea. I take enough to make a good wad. I know I'm an overuser of toilet paper, but I'm pretty crazy about being and feeling clean.
 
7. Were you in Girl Scouts?
Yes, I made it to Junior Girl Scout. I didn't go to Cadettes because I decided that sports would be more fun.
 
8. Notebooks/Journals: College ruled? Wide Ruled? No lines? Spiral Bound? Plain front? Decorative?
When it was for school, I likes spiral-bound, college-ruled notebooks. Now, I don't care what the rule it, but I still prefer spiral-bound.
 
9. Do you snack throughout the day? What do you pack for snacks?
I really like to, but it's hard with my current job. I usually do try to pack snacks; usually a granola bar, fruit or almonds. 
 
10. What is your favorite month? Why?
December, because I love all the hustle and bustle of Christmastime.

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Doing better.....

Now that Jason has completed his first week on the job and I start my new job in just a week, I have breathed a sigh of relief. On Saturday, Jason and I were cuddling and being snuggly and I something hit me: so much tension between us has been released. Although we love each other with all of our heart, financial troubles are still tough on a couple. For the past year, there was an unspoken tension between us. We were always on edge. This played out in our marriage as shortened tempers and continual stress. Neither of us could relax knowing that we were going through yet another month of no income and no job prospects. There were a few events that we argued about something insignificant, only to apologize later realizing that the argument was pointless and caused by stress. Even though our worries are far from gone, we both feel so much better. We can see an end in sight to our immediate financial issues. Later this month, as we figure out exactly how much each of us will bring home, we will work on a budget to save more money, pay off student loans quicker and give each of us a little fun money. After that point, I think we will both feel much, much better.

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Ten on Tuesday

It's time for 10 on Tuesday again!

1. What is your current favorite television show? Since it's the summer, my fave is The Closer. I've been following it since the first episode and I love it!
2. Apple juice or orange juice? Definitely apple
3. It’s Shark Week on Discover Channel. Do you watch? Why or why not? I don't watch mainly because I had no idea it was shark week. Now I choose not to watch it because I'm not interested.
4. What are the non-blog websites that you visit regularly? Some news site for Dear Abby, local news, Facebook
5. What is your favorite way to prepare green beans? Asparagus? Potatoes? Carrots? My favorite way is for someone else to prepare them! Ha! I love green bean casserole, I don't care much for asparagus, I like potatoes baked with a bit of butter and I like my carrots raw or in a soup.
6. What is your favorite flower? Roses and tulips. That's right, I picked two.
7. How do you feel about handkerchiefs? Nostalgic. I have a bag full of my great-grandma's handkerchiefs. Some of them are so beautiful. I should really figure out some way to display them.
8. If you could only shop at 3 stores for the rest of your life, what would they be? (You probably should include a grocery store.) HEB (because it's cheaper than Whole Foods), Nordstrom (it has everything) and Home Depot/Lowes (whatever is around). That way, I have food, clothes and tools and appliances.
9. If you could only use wine for one purpose for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To cook with or to drink? Drink....duh. What a dumb question. Who the hell would choose to COOK with wine rather than DRINK it?
10. What’s your bedtime? I try for 11, but don't get to bed most nights until 12.

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