A Diet Success!
Woot! Wii fit says I am down 1.8 pounds since my last weigh and that puts me at 1.3 pounds away from being under 140! I am so excited. I was going to let my diet go a bit but I am thinking maybe not. I went out for a good buffet dinner last night and will be going out with hubby tonight but I am also going grocery shopping so I will try to get healthier stuff. I think the key was having fruit to munch on during the day, a light lunch and a lot more water than I usually drink. All in all I am happy and with luck within the next week I will be below 140 for the first time in I don’t even know when.
A Marvelous Fake Friday!
Yay fake Friday! I have the rest of the week off. Unfortunately I don’t have a hubby up here to enjoy it with but I suppose there isn’t much to do about that. I still don’t have any definite plans for New Year’s yet…hell, I don’t even have a vague idea of what I am doing. Maybe hanging out with my friend and her husband? They will probably have me DD if I do go with them and I am not sure if I really want to go out on New Year’s Eve with all of the crowds and drunks and idiots to just sit back and wait for them to get drunk and then drive everyone home. I guess we will just have to see what develops tomorrow.
I got to deposit the money from my mom today and I got paid, I was very happy, it’s a money day. I paid my rent and I am waiting for them to do the paperwork so I can finally pay the pet deposit, should be tomorrow. Then I get to have my washer fixed and stop washing by hand, I am so tired of not having a washer. I also am about to re-sign my lease, I can’t believe it has been 6 months already. Time is really flying. I would get out of the apartment and into a house but I just can’t work it and I think with all that is going on it won’t be worth it yet. Instead I will stay here and pay off some debts and work on saving some money and then see what happens from there. It would be nice to get into a house, get a dog and have some extra space, especially after we get all of our crap out here, but it just wouldn’t be smart at the moment I don’t think. I also finally got out and went grocery shopping, also a very good thing, I was so very tired of living out of my pantry. It was do able but not very tasty. Tonight I made a tri tip and green beans and cous cous, it was so very good. I also got stuff for spaghetti for some point and for chicken marsala. It took two different people who work in the grocery store to find the marsala but we did it so now I am gonna make yummy stuff with it. I spent more than I intended to so I am hoping to make what I bought last two weeks to even it out. It isn’t absolutely necessary but I am trying to save money and make up for what I spent at Christmas so it doesn’t come out of the money that is supposed to go to pay off the car. I am determined that the stupid car payment will be gone with in a year and it is a reachable goal.
Happy almost Christmas Eve!
It’s almost Christmas Eve and therefor almost Christmas! I am excited though nervous, I have no idea how this whole cooking Christmas dinner is going to go, hopefully well. Tomorrow my mom is cooking tri tip and somethings for a good tasty family dinner. I am excited, I haven’t had tri tip in a while and it is one of my favorites. We went shopping today and bought all of our stuff for tomorrow’s dinner as well as Christmas dinner and I have to say it is a lot of food. The menu my mom set up for actual Christmas dinner doesn’t seem too hard, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, turkey, stuffing and cranberry stuff. Sounds tasty so hopefully it turns out just how it sounds.
Other than the Christmas stuff things are pretty good. Hung out all day with my mom which was actually pretty fun. Obviously we did the shopping but afterward we went to get our nails done and then hung out at the house and watched some TV. We didn’t fight or stress and it was nice and fun. Tomorrow I think we are hanging out again though I may have to switch that so I can go buy her some stocking stuffers. I have no idea what to get, I need cheap but still good and I just cannot think of anything. My sister has tomorrow off as well so maybe I can run off with her at some point and she can help me find stuff for both my mom and her husband. I also would love to get something for my husband but that won’t be happening. I am way too broke and technically I already got him something, I just gave it to him early. He can deal without a gift, he will probably appreciate it, he doesn’t really have money to get me anything either. Instead it will just be trying to get time together before I head up to Washington. He is staying here for another couple of weeks so he doesn’t leave people at work hanging during their vacations. After that he should be packing up and heading up to me. I am really excited, I can’t wait to get us out there and see what happens.
Stupid Wish List…
Ugh! My Amozon Wish List is causing problems! I apparently had two accounts and for some reason it kept switching me between them. Well I ended up deleting one of the wish lists I accidentally made on the wrong account and now I can’t access my real wishlist from any account. It still exists, I can search it and it is still there but I can’t add or delete anything or tinker with it. It is bugging me but whatever.
Also, my washing machine has broken. This is irritating because I can’t get it fixed because of money and my lack of it. I have less than two weeks until I go home for the holidays (I think I am down to 11 days, woot!) and a large portion of that time will be in uniform. I can make it work and hopefully by the time I come back I will have some money to put toward the problem and get it solved. It is just frustrating at the beginning of the month because rent takes a large portion of my check so I don’t have a lot for the next couple of weeks. Eventually I will have enough saved from my second check to make it easier and balance it out through the whole month but that is a cycle I have to start and haven’t had the opportunity yet. The holidays, unfortunately, are sucking away my funds. I splurge on people for gifts and though I haven’t gone out of my planned budget stupid things like the washer breaking happen and I am all sorts of messed up. Luckily it is almost January, and what happens in January? More money for me. At the start of the year is a pay raise plus I should be done with my GI Bill payments. It is supposed to be 12 months I just don’t know if they took the first month the January I started or the February after so everything could get sorted. Whatever the case, soon I will have extra money to make everything easier. Bleh, eventually I will get this whole money and budgeting thing down…hell, maybe I will even get some money into my savings account one day, that would be nice.
I want to eat real food! I think I could technically eat it now (most foods anyway), my jaw doesn’t hurt and it has been almost a week, but I still have holes. I don’t like the idea of getting food in the holes. I think I am at a point where I couldn’t get an infection but i am not positive either. I want at least a layer of gum tissue rather than just the blood clot. The holes are still getting smaller so hopefully I don’t have to wait long. It’s just odd, I was told I could eat whatever I felt comfortable with after the first 24 hours (barring straws) but I just don’t wanna…it’s too weird to me. I know tons of other people have done it so I guess it doesn’t cause that big of a problem and I just swish my mouth with water or something and that clears it all out? Meh, I will figure it out as I go. I have tried mac n cheese and that was ok but I mainly tried to chew with my front teeth (kind of irritating I must say) and just swallowed without chewing too much. I am having spaghetti O’s for lunch tomorrow so I think it will be much of the same. I guess I just keep up with the super squishy, soft, melt in your mouth and liquid foods until I just can’t take it anymore.
The Bright Side
So here I sit in a clean apartment (today is the designated cleaning day, this also applies to others I know so I wonder if it is left over from tech school?) waiting for my laundry to run through and trying to figure out what to buy at the grocery store. I am hungry and should probably eat first before I go to the store (procrastinating is simply the art of finding excuses) and then from there I will go. But I still don’t know what to buy. I only need food for about a week because after that my wisdom teeth come out and I think I will pretty much be on a liquid diet, I plan to shop for that the day before so stuff won’t go bad…or get eaten early 
I figure chicken, it is kind of my basic staple, and then I figured whatever is cheap but that isn’t exactly conducive to menu planning and budgeting. Oh well, I have this same issue every week, I just need to find recipes that look super easy and/or super tasty. It’s pretty much too late to buy crockpot stuff because I will want to be going to bed by the time it is done cooking, then again maybe pot roast again with more veggies and let it cook while I am at work? Then again I think I am a bit paranoid for that, I don’t like leaving things that cook unattended, but isn’t that the beauty of a slow cooker? Hm, maybe pot roast would be worth getting over it for.
So I am counting down, a usual I have a ton of count downs because I get bored and play with numbers. Anyway, I have my countdown to Christmas, that is the most obvious, countdown to my teeth getting pulled, that one is nerve wrecking and of course the one that is potentially the countdown on my marriage, that one is scary. I have myself set up surprisingly well. I have decided that if he does decide that he doesn’t want to stick around I will volunteer for a tour in Korea. Originally I thought that it is mostly seen as a place you don’t want to be stationed but I have done a little researching and found a lot of good stuff. It is actually kind of exciting though still not something I would be so quick to jump on if I stay married. If I do that it would be a little while off because I need at least a year here but I but the time that decision has been made it will be 5 months, almost halfway. Then thinking about from what I have read it takes about 6 months for a divorce to get finalized so by that time I am all ready to go. I would have to hope that he could find somewhere to live that would work with the cats and then he could have them. After a time in Korea I would be able to get a base of preference which means I could use that to do what I always wanted and move to Europe. I am really lucky. I have set myself in a position where a divorce, though painful, would open different but still great doors. I would rather be happily married but if I get to the point where that is not an option at this time then at least I can still have some fun and love my life instead of spending a ton of time unhappy and going through a routine and nothing else. Instead I will throw myself somewhere new and not give myself that routine to fall into. My question now, is this just a matter of I set myself up this way or is it a matter of perspective? I have seen many women fall apart when a marriage ends and rightfully so, but I have also seen those that lose themselves and just stop really living and seem to think that they don’t have anything else to do or any other options. As far as I see it (optimist in me), there is always other options and always the bright side and always potential, you just have to find it. Sometimes it is harder to find and sometimes you do need to take a bit of extra time, I am not saying just to jump into stuff and go crazy if a marriage ends, mourn it if you need to, but don’t let that end your life. Find your bright side and get to it, it can’t stay bad forever unless you let it.
Now that I have rambled, anyone have any dinner suggestions?
Happy Veteran’s Day!
Wow, I was on such a roll with the daily postings and I broke it. Oh well, I guess that just proves that I do have a life…sometimes anyway. I was actually out last night. I got off of work early which gave me just enough time to actually shower, straighten my hair, put on make up and dress up a bit. I haven’t done that for my little get togethers, nobody from work had ever even seen me in lite make up so it was interesting. My friends that I usually hang out with were surprised and asked why I didn’t do it more often (I had to respond with because they never give me enough time, just calls saying hey, we are leaving for dinner, you coming? lol). They have now decided that we will be going to dinner Friday night, or sometime on the weekend, to welcome one of the new guys at his shop and they want me dressed up again. We will see if that actually works out.
Happy Veteran’s Day! The day of free food, good sales and something that a lot of people don’t remember. How many of you out there actually know the reason for Veteran’s Day (without googling)? Obviously to honor veterans but what was the original intent? The day has branched out from its original Armistice Day, originally to commemorate the armistice between the Allies and Germany in WWI for the cessation of hostilities on the western front. That is the basics, feel free to investigate further, or go get good shopping deals, whichever
I am somewhat happy today, not entirely sure why, maybe because payday is tomorrow and I actually get my full paycheck? That could be it. Maybe because I got out last night? Maybe because I actually feel all pretty with my hair straightened out? Maybe because I finally have an appointment to get my teeth ripped out and I want to be happy in the mean time before the week(S?) of pain and recovery? I don’t really know. Whatever the case I am momentarily happy so I think I will take advantage of it. Even though my friend is hungover and can’t go out I think I will go get some free food and window shop since payday isn’t until tomorrow and I am broke until then.
Debt
Today debt is a very common and dreaded word. So many people are struggling and trying to figure out how to avoid it and recover. I fell into debt a while ago, way back when I decided to move to Texas with hubby (then boyfriend). I don’t regret moving, I absolutely loved the place and had an incredible time. I though I had things set when I moved out there and I was being at least somewhat smart. Cost of living was cheap and I moved out there with a job already. Unfortunately almost as soon as I got out there the store I transfered to wasn’t making as much money as they should have been and hours got cut, I ended up with about one 4 hour shift a week. No matter how low the cost of living was 4 hours a week, even if my pay was more than the shift leads at the shop, was not going to cut it. I went and looked for other jobs but it was right after Katrina and there was just nothing for my lack of skills. I ended up paying bills on credit card and trying to juggle the very small amount of money we had. In the end we made it back to California after I sold my car giving us just enough money for the Uhaul trip. We ended up living at my mom’s house trying to recover and that is where we spent a long time. We still had crazy money problems at my mom’s house, we still had to struggle with money and I spent a lot of time trying to balance it all and get bills paid so my credit wouldn’t get worse than it already was. It was tough but I was really proud of what I did, I could have done better I am sure but we survived. He may hate that I freaked out over $10 here or there but what he didn’t understand was how much the $10 actually meant, as bad as we were he never figured out how absolutely necessary every single penny was and honestly I still let him spend more than I should have so he could try to have fun and we could enjoy some time together, apparently it wasn’t good enough.
Anyway, I have gone off track of the intended purpose of this post which is for me to share my incredible excitement. I was crunching numbers because that is what I do when I get bored (no I will never become an accountant, my mom tried to push that, I took a class, I hate accounting and all of the BS that goes with it, I just like playing with basic numbers and straight money). So, after crunching the numbers and playing with my money on paper I discovered that if I continue paying things just as they are I will be out of debt with in 3 years (barring any emergencies or craziness). I also discovered that if I really strapped myself down tight and pushed hard I could be out within 1 to maybe 2 years. I know it sounds like a lot of time but when it has been as long as I have been struggling with it and fighting it I now have a light at the end of the tunnel and I am ecstatic. Also, I must say this is the debt from my formerly maxed out credit card (I now have it not totally maxed out but still very close unfortunately) and my car payments, I paid off my collections bill a long time ago so my debt isn’t as deep as some, not anymore. I just love being able to look and see how far I have come in such a relatively short time. I made it with almost no money and now I have money, I am getting things paid and after these next few years are over I will have a ton of money that will be able to be just for fun every month! I will finally be able to put something into savings accounts which hasn’t really happened before, I can put back into my mutual funds that I was selling off (though I am not sure how great that would be at the moment) and I can actually think about putting extra in for retirement. I can think about traveling and doing things, I can think about having fun and not having to worry. I can think about being able to afford manicure’s and pedicures and massages and snowboarding clothes and trips to the mountains, and the weekend kayaking trips and camping and getting all of the gear to do those things. I will be able to afford winter clothing and having my heat up every day if I want without worrying how high it will jack up my bill. This used to be stuff that was just a vaguely distant thing in my head, something that would be nice but wouldn’t really happen until maybe SSgt, if that? I didn’t realize that those things could potentially be within reach. I am super excited! The best of all, I may actually eventually be able to buy a house, or more what I want, an apartment building. I thought that would never happen, I couldn’t imagine ever getting to the point of having saved enough for a down payment but maybe that isn’t so impossible as I thought.
The smartest thing I ever did was join the military. It may not be for everyone but it was exactly what I needed.
A Little Help Please?
Alright people, I know I don’t have many readers here but I just need the right one. I want to try snow boarding, what do I need? I am a So Cal girl who never really made it up to the mountains and when I did I was very little and mom dressed me. It was easy, my job was simply making it down the hill. Now I have to buy the right clothes, figure out where to go, and lets not forget, pay for it all. I have been reading around online and I am discovering I am supposed to wear three layers of clothes? And I am looking at some things and pants that will cost $150…I don’t even know if this will be something I keep doing so is there a cheap option? Do I have to do all the layers? I want to be warm…and dry, I know I will be spending a lot of time on my butt, so do I have to have all the stuff? What do I do?! Has anyone snowboarded around Washington, any places you recommend? Places to stay too…once again, cheaper would be nice but as far as places to stay clean and safe are always top priorities. So, anyone, feel free to offer some assistance, I’m new.
I picked up my cats today, the entire boarding place has fallen in love with them. They dressed them up for Halloween and apparently the cats handled it pretty calmly. They said they were worried at first that they wouldn’t tolerate the other cats very well but apparently they were best buddies. All in all I am glad that it worked out so very well, I was a bit worried and now I know they will be ok when I leave them for the holidays. Now they have both re-explored my apartment, eaten my bribe of wet food for dinner (they probably didn’t hate me but I had to be sure) and are fat and sitting in my window. All is quiet on the kitty front.
Today was also the first day I turned on the heater. I am not used to cold weather, as I said above I am a So Cal girl, currently my former home is having 90 degree weather. It may not be super cold here to other people, I see people going around in short sleeved shirts and whatnot, but to me, it is freezing! I need to figure out what kind of normal cold weather clothing I am supposed to be and not just snow boarding stuff. I also need to figure out where to buy it for not so crazy expensive. Fifty bucks for a shirt is just something I won’t do unless it is an amazing shirt, I will freeze…well, layer on sweaters and curl in blankets anyway. And that is another problem, in Southern California I didn’t really need the sweaters to be super fluffy and warm so I have worn them all thin. It was ok before but now they aren’t as helpful as they could be. I started searching for clothes with basics, I looked for a pair of gloves…twenty two bucks. Really? For gloves? Things are totally different when it is your money and you have a very limited supply of it. I guess I will start slowly getting stuff to prepare for next year…
So I have been doing a lot of thinking lately but I don’t think its anything I want typed out quite yet. There is, as always lots of random thoughts running through my head and some interesting changes going on in my personality. My dreams have shifted and become quite random lately and about so many different things. Some were very personal and some were just WTF kind of dreams. I had one, most recently, that I had an added soundtrack. I google the only phrase I could remember of the song that it was and apparently it didn’t exist. I remember the song was good, good lyrics, good beat but I have never heard it before. I am writing music in my sleep! This could be good if I could actually write music or you know, even remember the full songs when I wake up but unfortunately as soon as I wake up it starts to fade. Honestly, this is the third or fourth time it has happened, it’s just the first time I have googled and confirmed it wasn’t anything I had heard before. Maybe I will start writing it all down now and in another twenty years have an entire album for someone to sing. That’s my new retirement plan! (please don’t think that was serious).
Adventures
I had adventures today. What was my adventure? I had to get two cats into their carriers and get them to the boarding place. It was interesting, I thought that my cat would be the most difficult, I was wrong. I got my cat into his carrier fairly easily, luckily it is a hard sided carrier so I didn’t have to do much work. The other cat? He was having none of it and his was a soft sided carrier. I basically had to tackle him and lay on him while squishing either his head or his butt into the carrier (he was either trying to bolt forward or scootch backwards) and use my other hand to zip up the carrier. It was tricky but I finally managed it, they mewed the whole way to the boarding place, very, very unhappy fuzzballs. I hope they are doing ok now, it’s kind of odd to not have them running around right now. It’s nice to not have to worry about letting them out or watching out for them but it is kind of lonely. I hope they aren’t mad at me for too long and the boarding place keeps them fat and happy.
After I dropped them off I went shopping. I bought some snacks for the plane ride and supplies to cook. I made my lemon caper chicken so I could have a good meal before a week of MRE’s. I also bought books for the plane. It has been a while since I read anything and even longer since I read good classic literature. I bought, a book on Cleopatra (back when I hated reading I had a select few topics I would almost always devour books that had to do with it, Cleopatra was one of them, Queen Elizabeth was another and there were a couple others), Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and the Jungle Books. I have barely started the Jungle Books and I was sad to put it down. I need to save it for my plane rides but I forgot how much I love reading good books. I have missed it and I finally have new books but I have to wait. I have been reading some other books that are good and I love them but they aren’t quite as filling as others. I missed the heavy, thorough stories and intricate details, stories that one can just fall into. I have spent too much time in dark fantasies, I love the vampires and fae and everything else I have been reading but I forgot to keep up with the heavier stuff. Unfortunately, after this big inspection I have to go back to studying for my upgrade training which means reading anything other than my study guides is put on hold. Another few months and I should be good to go, then I can start school and read and branch out.
I emailed my Aunt that I haven’t talked to in a long time. A couple of years apparently according to my email dates. I feel bad that I hadn’t talked to her but I was miffed at how she acted before my wedding, polite but still badly in my opinion, and then she never emailed me so we just fell out of contact. It happens, I am bad about keeping in contact in general if people don’t send me stuff, I don’t like talking to myself so if they don’t send me stuff then I tend not to either. She was happy to get the email and hopefully we can stay in contact. Maybe we can visit each other at some point, we will just have to see. Other than that today has just been laundry and getting ready to go. I have to do another load or two and then finish packing and I should be good.
