New Year's Resolutions: Accountability Time

So if you remember this post I, like many millions (billions?) of people, made some New Years Eve Resolutions. In years past I would usually be gung-ho about changes for most of January and then stop giving an F around the end of February. However, now that I'm trying to document life via a blog I'm really trying to hold my self accountable. Now that we're about 2 months into 2012 I figure it's about time to check in on my progress.

Resolutions
1. Join a library/read more: Done and done!! I joined the public library in January and have been really good about checking out books. The intention was that reading is good for you (at least better than watching hours of tv) however, I have a bad habit of checking out low quality books. I mainly stay in the mystery/crime section of the library. I guess I don't get enough crime drama at work. Honestly, the books I check out border on Pulp: sexy millionaire detective Voort is desperate to solve a serious of sexy murders during a New York heat wave. Spoiler alert: everything is very sexy and gritty. Oh well, I like reading about crime even if it's far stretched and far sexier than any real crime.

2. Lose weight: Check! I feel so much better after making such slight changes. Cutting the fat and skin off my chicken, switching to corn tortillas instead of flour, and portion control. I'm not trying to be model skinny I just want to feel comfortable in my clothes. Plus, when I maintain a healthy and low weight I fit into more of my wardrobe which means I don't have the urge to go out and buy new things.

3. Run more/run 10k in less than an hour: YEP! I joined a running group at work and while my schedule has made it hard to attend I'm doing really great at going to the gym. Just yesterday I went for a 4 mile run around my neighborhood. I really wanted to run the Capital 10k but it's only a month away and I'm not ready for that. However, there are around 1083984903 5Ks a day here in Austin so I want to definitely sign up for one of those. My new, modified goal is to run a 5K in less than 30 minutes (which should be totally doable!).

4. Pay off debt: Not done just yet. I'm getting back a HUGE tax return which I will put towards paying off my first college loan. I graduate from the University of Texas in 2007 and my student loan is almost already paid off (thanks in large part to massive support from my Mom). I should be able to pay off the remaining balance by the end of this year. Then, I'm going to try to refinance my loan with Wells Fargo.

5. Second job: No luck :( I honestly blame my schedule. I was, without ANY fair notice switched to graveyard shifts for a month which has made it impossible to find more work. My hope is that once I'm back to my normal shift (or, once I even GET a normal shift) I can pick up more hours at my old job. They're opening a second location and it's about to be SXSW which means more hours for everyone.

6. Date up: Super done. I mentioned in this post that I had started to see someone new and things are seriously awesome. I want to pinch myself because it's hard to believe that I've met someone so wonderful. We've been seeing each other for more than a month and I'm 99% sure he is my boyfriend but we haven't made it Facebook official (I'm in my 20s, this is how we measure things). He has his life SO together. He has a grown up job and insurance and he takes me out and plans stuff. For Valentine's Day he made me dinner and took me to a drive in to see Breakfast at Tiffany's. I'm honestly crazy about him and I can't believe that I wasted so much time with my ex when this great guy was RIGHT there!

7. Take myself on dates: Not really :( However, this is really not my fault. Work has been super crazy and I started dating my new fella. It's hard to take yourself on dates when an amazing guy keeps taking you on dates (first world problems). Honestly, I'm willing to completely give up on this resolution simply because I'm so happy in life right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to lose myself in relationships but this resolution was about treating myself right and caring about myself and right now it feels like I couldn't be treated any better. I'm happy with life in a way that I haven't been in a long time.

8. Craft more: Fail. Again, I'm going to blame my work schedule. Working graveyard shifts has really messed up my mind and it's hard to think about craftiness when I'm completely out of it. Plus, there hasn't really been any projects that I've been excited about. However, I was thinking about modifying this resolution. I wanted to craft more to make my little living space wonderful. I think another way I could achieve that goal is by evaluating and modifying my possessions and life style. I've always enjoyed living in a clean home but lately I've really focused on organization and key items. I've re-organized spaces and my mind feels so clear. I've also been clearing out the clutter. I have a bad habit of keeping things from a mixture of wanting to save money and anxiety over throwing away something I might potentially need. I've tried to face these fears head on by recognizing that it's okay to get rid of some things. I've donated items to charity and I've allowed myself to throw away items that are no longer useful (i.e. the rusted and dirty chairs I've kept in the trunk of my car for YEARS. I honestly don't know why I did that).

So, two months in and I'm 4 out of 8 for resolutions. Not too shabby. I honestly feel better than I have in years. I've become less focused on possessions and more focused on using what I have. For instance, I have sensitive skin which means I use lots of lotions. This has led to countless bottles of lotion everywhere. So many half used bottles and so many different kids (scented, unscented, travel size, holiday themed, some contain slight sparkle for a tan effect, ayayyaya). I have decided that I cannot buy something new until I'm completely done with what I have. When it comes to lotion this means that I'm using 2 year old Plum Sparkle Christmas lotion. But this is good. I've realized how much of a consumer I was being and how little I valued what I owned. Now I'm appreciating all the things I've had and I'm saving all sorts of money.

My laptop is back from the dead!!!

I cannot accurately express in words how lovely it feels to be typing on my laptop again. Don't get me wrong, my iPad has been a life saver these past 2 weeks but I much prefer typing on keys than a touch screen (first world problems, ha!). What better way to celebrate my laptop's revival than to celebrate how much freakin' dough I saved fixing it?!?!

Usually, when something I own breaks I either buy a new one or take it to a shop and let them handle it. This is done due to a mix of laziness and ignorance. I know jack shit about laptops. I tried to fix mine which resulted in multiple pulled wires, lost screws, and the application of craft glue to the inside (I swear to you, at the time it really seemed like a good idea). My laptop has been unable to keep a charge for a while now but I was perfectly fine with just leaving it plugged in (as explained in this post) but then it fully died. Now, it's not that I had never heard of Amazon before but it just seemed like a hassle and it made me sort of fearful. First, I had to hope that I ordered the right part THEN I had to hope that someone on the internet would send me a working product. I don't really have much trust or faith in the common man. Chalk it up to years working in retail and now working in government. After looking at these savings I can't believe I ignored Amazon for so long.

Let's compare and save!

What I needed: a Toshiba battery and power cord, an HDMI wire and an AppleTv (okay, those last two things are more "wanted" then "needed").

Now, like I said before, my old instinct was just to be lazy and buy from whoever was fixing my laptop. Since I took my laptop to Geek Squad I would have been purchasing the parts from Best Buy. Here are the prices that the Best Buy website listed for the products I needed:

Yikes, that is poor quality. I think if you click the image it might be easy to read? Either way, here is a screen shot for HDMI cables. Now, I "need" one of these because it's what connects the AppleTV to my TV and I need this done in order to fulfill my dreams of making Netflix appear on my TV. DREAM BIG.

Here is a blurry screen shot of Toshiba battery costs.

Again, blurry shot but this time of power cords.

Now, let's head over to Amazon and see what their prices are.

Toshiba power cords costing less than $10 bucks. Are you freaking kidding me?!

Here is a blurry picture of my bill from Amazon for the rest of the products I ordered.

Comparison:

Best Buy

Battery: $84.21 (cheaper price listed)

Power Cord: $25.16 (cheaper price listed)

HDMI Cable: $24.99 (cheaper price listed)

AppleTV: $99 (not shown because I couldn't find it on the Best Buy website but this is average retail price)

TOTAL: $233.36

Amazon:

Battery: $49.61

Power Cord: $9.00

HDMI Cable: $7.99

AppleTV: $97.98

Shipping and Handling: $11.44

TOTAL: $164.58

Savings from using Amazon instead of Best Buy: $68.78

Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a post trying to bash on Best Buy. In fact, there Geek Squad rocks and some people prefer to spend a little extra money for the convenience of not having to wait for a package to come in. I'm just trying to get the word out to those who, like me, were afraid to purchase certain things on the internet. The savings are real and the time waiting for the package to come is minimal (I placed an order on Friday and the package came by Tuesday). Amazon is a great resource for certain items and I will definitely be using it in the future.

I'm back!

Sorry it's been so long since a post, life got in the way a bit. First, I randomly got a full month of graveyard shifts at my job. FUN. Instead of a lovely 2-10pm shift I'm working 10pm-6am. It makes me very discombobulated (or disoriented as a normal person would say). Then, my laptop died. The battery on this thing died a long time ago but I've been perfectly content with just leaving it plugged in all of the time. Unfortunately now that is barely an option. I took it to Geek Squad and they sent it off for repairs. All I need is a new power cord and battery. Now normally, I would have just had them install it but now that I'm all thrifty I'm going to use Amazon and save a bundle. Finally, I started seeing someone new. He's been a friend for a while (he works with one of my best friends) but we went out for drinks two weeks ago and have sort of been inseparable since. He's not normally a type of guy I go for (aka he's an adult male with his shit together) but things have been awesome. Life is great right now :)

I have some great financial stuff in the works and I'm actively looking for ways to move my loan from Wells Fargo so please stand by for an awesome post soon. Until then please be satisfied with this picture of a cat:

Ways to keep it cheap/save money while grocery shopping

Ever since rough money times hit I've been searching for the best ways to save money. I've found some great tips which led me to easy life changes and I've honestly seen real savings. I've also found some awful tips that, while I'm sure save money, seem like such a pain in the ass that it's just not worth it. So, because I care deeply for you my dear internet peeps I've compiled my top 8 ways to save money while grocery shopping that are easy and require basically zero effort.

Saving money on food

This chick knows what's up

1. Buy bulk meat and freeze: Due to the fact that I have a history of not playing well with others I live alone. I know I could save tons of money by having a roommate but honestly, living alone rocks. BUT that isn't the point of this tip. The point is that even though I live alone I can still save money by buying certain items in bulk. At H.E.B. (my grocery store of choice, apparently they're only in Texas? I feel sorry for non-Texans because H.E.B. rocks) they have family packs of chicken which contain around 12 thighs for around $5-$6 dollars. I buy one of these packs around twice a month and I'm set for meat. As soon as I get home I open up the giant pack and separate the pieces into different Tupperware containers (I used to use zip lock baggies but I hated wasting them, with Tupperware I don't hurt the environment AND I save on having to re-buy zip lock bags). I store everything in the freezer until I'm ready to eat. I've done this with ground hamburger, ground turkey, and sausage. It’s incredibly easy and I always have something to cook with (which means no extra trips to the store which I HATE).



2. Only buy vegetables that you will use that week: I used to have a really bad habit of just buying way too much stuff and not shopping smart. In one trip I’d buy 3 tomatoes, a package of mushrooms, fresh green beans, lettuce, onions, squash, etc. While this kind of shopping makes for a healthy diet it also makes for a trashcan full of rotten vegetables. Again, because I live alone, there’s just no reasonable way I can eat all of those vegetables before they go bad. Now I try to plan out what I want and buy accordingly; by buying only for what I know I’m going to eat I’m saving so much money AND guilt because I’m not tossing away un-used food.


3. Frozen and canned goods: Frozen and canned goods seem to have a bad rap but if you shop smart they can be tasty and save-y (don’t judge me on my lame rhyming skills). I love a diet full of veggies but a diet full of veggies can get pretty expensive. Things like canned corn and canned tomatoes last forever and honestly taste good. Sometime s when a large quantity of berries is about to go bad H.E.B. has insane sales (raspberries and blueberries for $0.98 a package!!!!!). When that happens I buy around 4 packages and either take them to Girls Night for a healthy snack or throw them in my freezer to later add to protein shakes or homemade ice cream. I’ll also buy sugar free fruit cups or cans. I always have fruit in my place but I don’t have to worry about it rotting. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some store bought frozen broccoli that tasted like death but there are lovely canned and frozen products out there that taste just as good as fresh.


4. Buy bulk rice, beans, and pasta: A can of black beans is around $1.29 while a bag of black beans in $0.99. A can of black beans has around two servings (or one if you’re a fatty like me) while a bag of beans can make MANY, MANY, MANY servings. Yes, a can of black beans is much easier to cook but it’s honestly not that big of a hassle to remember to soak a pot of beans overnight. I have two bags of black beans, one bag of rice ,and one insanely big bag of noodles from my Mom’s place and I can live off of this stuff for the next month or maybe two EASILY.

5. Compare price per ounce: Most store labels have a small section where they list how much the item costs per ounce. What looks like a deal honestly may not be. I recently purchased some conditioner and while I spent around 10 minutes in the hair care area I ended up finding a conditioner that’s good for my hair but was a good deal per ounce. Let me give you an example: one conditioner is $4.99 while the other is $6.99. Taken at face value the first conditioner looks like the better deal, right? However, on closer inspection the first bottle contains 5.5 ounces of conditioner while the second bottle contains 10 ounces. For only $2 more you get nearly DOUBLE the amount of product. This can be applied to almost any product in the store (cheese, sauces, dips, etc).

I feel bad for other states that aren't fortunate enough to have Combo Locos

6. Combo loco: So H.E.B. has this promotional deal called Combo Loco where they have insane savings. It’s usually something like: buy one package of H.E.B. brand sausage and get a free pack of tortillas, salsa, and chips!!!! Sometimes the combinations that are promoted don’t apply to my lifestyle (I try not to have soda in the house….unless it’s coke zero for boozey time) but all I have to do is check the front of the store for the listed deals. Getting free food rocks and it only takes around 5 seconds of my life to check out the deals. I’m not sure if other states/stores offer this kind of buy one get one free deal but I hope they do because it’s pretty neat.


7. Coupons: I get exhausted watching coupon shows. It just seems like so much work for not a big pay off. The idea of spending my time clipping away seems like Hell. However, there are ways that coupons can help out without ruining/wasting your life. Again, at H.E.B. (has my love for this store been expressed enough????) they have an area at the front of the store which is just a wall of coupons. All I have to do is stop by before I start shopping and check out if there’s a coupon for anything I want. Sometimes there is and sometimes there’s not but it’s not out of my way at all. Also, a good portion of the times they have coupons posted throughout the store near the sale items. Just the other day I was able to get Silk brand soy milk with a coupon and it made it cheaper than the store brand. While checking out most stores have promotions where coupons will print out with your receipt based on the products you’ve already purchased. It’s easy to just tuck those away in your purse and store them for the next time you have to go grocery shopping.

So freakin' amazing

8. CROCK POT/cook in bulk: If you don’t have a crock pot GO OUT AND BUY ONE!!!!! It has been the best investment of my life. I purchased a fairly large crock pot for $29.99 and it has truly changed the way I eat (my Lord, I sound like an infomercial). Let’s talk about why crock pots rock everything: 1) they cook food for you while you sleep 2) big, hearty, healthy recipes 3) easy as shit. Best recipe: turn the crock pot on, put in some chicken, black beans, can of Mexican style tomatoes, some onions, and some broth or water. Let it cook over night. In the morning scope out the chicken bones, add more liquid and add rice. In 30 minutes you have an awesome stew like thing or taco filling thing. When I’m eating at home I just scoop it into corn tortillas and when I take it for work I just fill up a Tupperware container and it’s perfectly delicious on its own.

Strange times

Sometimes pictures on the internet hurt because they hit way too close to home

I had three days off from work and I had all these glorious plans of awesome blog posts and organizing shit. I had dreams. Unfortunately, after a week of working split shifts (7pm-3am) my internal clock is all sorts of jacked up, so I spent my "productive" days sleeping until 1pm and staying up and drinking until 5am. This behavior then led to mild hangovers which, as I'm sure you know, can only be cured by being completely lazy and dicking around the interwebs.

BUT, I have a really great blog post coming up so until then please be entertained by the following picture of a cat:

Chair Up-cycle: Fabric Paint and Losing my Mind

A few months back when I was really pumped up about home decor projects (you know, before I was lovingly informed by Wells Fargo of my overwhelming student loan payments?) I fixed up this thrift store chair. I had been looking for an arm chair for my living room and I found a cute Chicago-esque style one that turns into a pretty comfy recliner. Unfortunately the color was atrocious:

Faded orange brown blended with puke-y salmon. Delightful.

Considering I've never been particularly crafty I needed a way to fix up this chair without having to reupholster it. After googling my heart out I found an easy looking technique: fabric paint. Basically mix equal parts fabric medium with the paint of your choice and then apply. Easy right?

Of course not. It never is.

Never trust Martha Stewart on how easy or possible a project is. Never.

Honestly, I can't really blame the technique on how frustrating this project was. I should have done more research or had lower expectations. Today while re-searching things for this blog post I found an article that focused on dying fabrics and how certain dyes don't work on certain fabrics. I didn't even know that than was an issue. Apparently, cotton is the best fabric to paint and/or dye and other blends just don't take certain dyes/colors. My mistake is that I just jump too quickly into projects without truly understanding what I'm undertaking (and trust me, this applies to more than crafts). There were some spots in the fabric that just REFUSED to absorb the color. I'd apply and apply and apply and it was still thin and patchy.

Luckily the chair came out relatively cute (and also, I have fashion-y pillows that cover the not so cute spots).




Unfortunately, the many, many, MANY layers of paint I had to put on this chair left the fabric feeling crispy and uncomfortable. I honestly don't think I've ever sat on it. But I will not be deterred. My hopes is to become more accustomed to crafty projects and to hopefully, ONE DAY, reupholster this beast.

The above picture of the Martha Stewart fabric paint line was taking from Censational Girl. She did a whole tutorial about using fabric paints. Of course, her towels turned out delightful. Read the tutorial HERE.

Another fun fact about this project? The chair was too big to fit through the door to my porch so I had to spray paint the legs inside. Yeah. Got high as fuck. I do not recommend that.

Another fun fact? I totally joined the library today! I'm kicking ass and taking names on my New Year's Resolutions!

New Years Resolutions 2012

So it's a new year which means new changes, new me, etc. I usually try not to make resolutions because for the most part they are relatively impossible to keep. So this year I decided to switch up my usually resolutions. Instead of creating a list of vague hopes that are impossible to measure I've decided to make a simple check list. A list of black and white and absolutely no gray. A girl at my work made a resolution to think more positively. How do you measure that? How do you hold yourself accountable? I'm not down with that level of uncertainty so my list is easy; either I do these things this year or I don't. No gray area. No confusion. Just how I like it :)

Resolutions
1. Join a library/read more: My overall hopes/dreams for this year would be to finally gather the courage to cut my cable (don't judge my addiction) and entertain my self through Netflix, the movies at the library, and books. Cutting the cable would save me around $50 bucks a month and I might actually have free time to go out and live life instead of watching 19 hours of Law and Order on my days off. I remember as a child I used to LOVE reading but then reading became a chore for school and my passion faded. I want to rekindle my love for literature.

2. Lose weight: UGH, I hate this resolution. Honestly, I like my body (it looks pretty banging) but ever since I stopped being a vegan I've been "vacation eating". You know how when you're on vacation you eat like shit 24/7 but it's nothing to feel bad about because you're on vacation? It's similar to birthday eating. Well, I've started to drift to a scary, I could gain a million pounds and end up on the Biggest Loser place. I know some of the weight gain was due to not being able to run due to sickness. In one week I started running again, cutting the skin off of my chicken, and switching back to soy milk for my morning coffee and I lost 7 lbs. Being a non-vegan during holidays is ROUGH. Treats and eats everywhere. So I've just got to go back to normal eating and exercise.

3. Run more/run 10k in less than an hour: I love running but I've been making a lot of excuses to get out of it lately. I signed up for a running class to train for a 5k and my hopes is that I can do the Capital 10k in a few months. I did it a few years ago and I felt so proud of myself. I think my time was something lame like 1 hour 14 minutes so I want to cut that time by a few minutes. I know I'm completely capable of doing this I just have to hold myself accountable.

4. Pay off debt: I already have the money saved up for my second loan payment. My goal this year is to pay off my UT loan and then consolidate my loan again and hopefully get a lower payment.

5. Second job: So this goes along with Resolution #4. If I can get a steady 2nd job I would be that much closer to paying off my debt. I absolutely hate living with debt and the more I can pay off the happier I'll be. Unfortunately getting a second job has been harder than I originally imagined.

6. Date up: I honestly prefer the single lifestyle BUT if I do date someone this year I really, really want to date up. I hope that doesn't come off as conceded or asshole-y but I have to stop dating dudes who don't have their shit together. If I date I want to date a guy with a working car that is up to state code. Nothing sames lame like having to drive everywhere because your boyfriend has no vehicle. I want a nice guy who has his shit together as much, if not more, than I do.

7. Take myself on dates: Just because I'm broke doesn't mean I don't have to treat myself with kindness. I want to take myself to movies or dinners or just do nice things. Spending $20 bucks on myself once a month isn't really doing to make that much of a difference in my student loans.

8. Craft more: I really want to turn this blog into something cute, filled with great recipes and DIY crafts. Someplace with awesome tips on saving money and ways to still decorate and live life but on the cheap. I like what I've done so far and I really want to continue.

ALSO: I finally got off my lazy ass and posted more items to my Ebay store (or just relisted some of the items that I had taken off). Take a look HERE.