Thanksgiving weekend-the kick off of Christmas

There is always something to be happy about!! Even more so there is always something to be Thankful for. 

Here is my list of thanks...

1. Family and that we were all able to spend Thanksgiving with Justin and Kaitlyn

2. Ryan and how he always comes through for me 

3. Hunter and Moka because they love me unconditionally

4. my job, that although stressful at time, because the paycheck helps put food on the table, a roof over our head, gives me a car to drive, presents to buy at this time of the year and still allows me to save for our dreams

5. Christmas trees and the beauty these things add to life

6. My friends and how we can spend time with each other doing nothing and just laughing..or watching Charlie Brown on Youtube :)

7. Setting goals and keeping them. This year I am super thankful for new years resolutions

8. This year I am thankful for learning how to budget

9. The spirit of Christmas

10. my health and my family and friends Health

11. Helping those in need no matter how small

12. Being able to end my facebook addiction. No farmville this year

13. Living a "greener" life

There are so many more but these are the recent and bigger ones. I am thankful for many more things.

I am also hoping to start blogging a bit more. Maybe on Santa Claus, the meaning of Christmas and spirits!!

Frugal and Green

Yup...I have been green for a quite a few months now. I only dry 50% of our clothes in the dryer. The other 50% hang dry. I grew my own tomatoes and basil this year and today I actually made a homemade sauce. We have the cable box plugged into a power strip and turn off the power strip when not in use as to not use phantom electricity to run the time and light on the television. All of our other appliances that keep time...like the coffee maker and microwave are unplugged when not in use. That is the way to roll. 50% of the time I use reusable bags at the supermarket (50% because I need bags to empty the cat box). I also recycle like a maniac. Next year my plan is to an electric bike for Spring-fall and to save on emissions and gas. I will do it. So this being green stuff is frugal...why? A lower electric bill and a lower grocery bill. I also clip coupons to save money...not green but frugal.

I did another FRUGAL thing today. I watched an infomercial for WEN a $30.00 hair care product per month. There is a blog that teaches me how to make it from scratch saving you $400.00 a year. And when I run out of my next product I am so going to. I am going to to look great on dimes :)

I have been so good at keeping my goals this year for 2010. I cannot to build on them for 2011. My debt will be paid off by the end of this year as I had planned. Ryan and I had a talk and we are saving for a house. So the money that was spent in debt last year will be put into a new smartypig account for our down payment on a house. When I look back on this blog wow how I have matured :)

WOW! Do you know what you are worth???

When I get frustrated with my job I go on career builder and monster.com and search for other jobs that are available in my field. Last night after work was one of those nights. I stumbled upon a correlating job in my field. The starting base salary with same experience that that I have was $32,000 more than I make at my job. I am certain that I am one of the best in our industry. I decided to go on salary.com and fill out the survey for my job. I was more than honest about my education, my work history etc and I am being paid the lowest possible salary in the 10th percentile for what I do. 

So Tuesday I am pulling all of the emails that I have received with compliments from the accounts that I manage. Get a time line of goals my department has set and broken in the last year. Make a bulleted list and  give boss the job description for my position vs what I actually do. 

 I don't need to get a $32,000 raise but I am not going to take a another $.75/hour raise this year.

26 Days!

26 Days until I am credit card DEBT free. That is right. In less than a month I have paid off all 4 of my credit cards :) Well I actually have 3 of the 4 credit cards paid off. Next month I have accomplished a New Year's resolution I made January 1st :) I am pretty proud of myself.


Just a quick update: 21 days until I am credit card debt free. I have $406.00 left to pay off. It feel so good to be this close. I am over the hump. I can say looking back a couple of years ago that I could not imagine this day being here but now it is and it feels so good. I was in so much debt when I was with Brian because he didn't know how to manage his money...but now with Ryan and I on top of everything I have managed to get here.

You can have it all, just not all at Once!!!

Yesterday I am sitting at my computer, pushing the papers around my desk when an email rolls in. It is my Motivational Quote of the day... I read Oprah's words of wisdom " You can have it all, just not all at once." Wow! I read a quote that I think just changed my life. I posted the quote on face book. I printed it out and taped it to my computer monitor. Today I am making sure that I update my list of short term goals, make a list of mid range goals, and long term goals.  I can have it all but I need to build on my successes. 

My most recent yearning is for a home. I love love love my apartment but I feel like our property manager acts like my mom. She needs to do know what I am doing while I am in "the house" or in this case on the property of Cornfield. I want to have my own house where I can live by rules Ryan and I make together...not what Devcon says I must do. I want more space!!!  I am really working on my carbon foot print and I feel like I am maxed out here. I cannot use solar panels or wind mills. I cannot replace out ac with energy star air conditioners. I just feel like I am stuck in a rut!!!

AS for my short term goals...I am on track with my 2010 goals to pay off my credit cards. I will have them all paid off by September!!! I am so proud of my self. I need to be debt free by the time I buy a house!!! :) Well I don't have to but I want to :)

I am just going to keep working towards my dreams :) 

I want you all of keep working towards your "ALL"

Green, Green, Green... One small step by a lot of people makes a huge difference

I know being Green is not new! I continuously work on being more and green all of the time. Last winter Ryan and switched all of our light bulbs over, bought an energy efficient shower head, and energy saving power strips. That was last years accomplishments!! Last weekend we went to the flea market and I got a laundry drying rack. Today I have saved electricity and the air (by not pumping the chemicals out of the apartment) by only drying 2 of 5 loads of laundry today. The rest I let hang dry. It is also green to buy locally from people at the flea market. This year I am also growing my own tomatoes. 

I have also set up a bag to start recycling junk mail and other jar and jugs that I cannot return to the bottle redemption center. 

I am trying to do my part! The next step is for me to start biking or at least walking to work. It is only 4 miles one way!!!

I hope you all do your own things to be more and more green!!! If you do not have a rack for drying clothes I recommend you invest. You will save so much on your electric bill by doing this!! See below

It's So Much Better When We're Together!!!

Ryan and I went to the Jack Johnson concert last night and it was flat out awesome! If you like a relaxing surf feel this is for you! There is not ONE sad song that he sings. He closed the show with Angel and Better Together which very well be a mashup that Ryan and I will dance to as our wedding song. We swayed together and sang together!! Flat out awesome. If you have not heard Jack or have not purchased the CD yet do yourself a favor and click on this link and purchase from Amazon.


Saturday I spent the day with my other other 1/2 my sister Melissa!! We went Country store shopping! I am redoing part of the apartment. I love, love, love the stuff that I bought today.  Ryan and I have a lot of projects to get into as it starts cooling down in the fall.  I am going to distress the coffee table in our living room by basically scraping, burning, and beating the current table with a chain. See when we bought Hunter almost 2 winters ago he went and chewed on one leg while teething! Instead of trying to restain I decided to distress it because we bought a media shelf case for our dvds...so now it will match.
In September we are also buying an electric fireplace. I cannot wait for this portion of the living room to be complete. The weekend before we will be repainting the white walls in the hall way and kitchen! I want to get eclipse blinds for the living room slider to keep the heat in. Also need to redo the trim now that Hunter is done teething too. This is going to be the hardest project!!! While it is warm I am going to rope him in to building me a pergoda. He just does not know it quite yet! I want to go a candle chandelier for outside!!!


Tomorrow I am off to the flea market! What other gems can I find! Melissa, Joe, Ryan and I are then headed to the fireworks!!!