Back!

The move is finally done! I can't tell you how awesome it is to be OVER with it :) The new house is amazing and I'm having so much fun with all of this new space. I'm a little broke right now (haha, I'm always broke) so most projects are on hold until pay day.

There are a few exciting things in the work. I'm up for two new jobs!! Both are amazing opportunities and I would be making almost $10,000 more a year (yikes!!). I should find out with in the next month or so but I've already been on one second interview and my background is currently being investigated for the other :)

Since I now have a giant front and back yard I've trying to get into gardening. I'm usually the bringer of death for all plants so I'm hoping my green thumb will grow. Typing this all up reminds me that I need to start taking some "before" pictures (in hopes that I have nice "after" pics, hahah).

Blueberry Banana Oat Bran Muffins

Picture Source

My goal to try to get healthy is going really well. I've been eating really clean, exercising with more frequency and intensity, and allowing myself to indulge as long as it's in my calorie limit. I've already lost 6 pounds and I feel great. I use the MyNetDiary app on my iPhone to help track my calorie intake and exercise.

Fruit has been really cheap lately which has been amazing. I bought watermelon, mangos, bananas, and blueberries all within my grocery budget. I wanted to make a quick and healthy breakfast muffin for mornings when I want to eat and stay full but I don't have a lot of time. 

I found this Recipe and I really like it and the fact that the calories had already been figured out for me :)

Gibbs Banana Oat Bran Muffin

Oat Bran, 2.25 cup 
Baking Powder, 3 tsp 
Maple Syrup or sugar, .25 cup 
Milk, nonfat, 1.25 cup (* I used almond milk which has no fat and less calories)
*Egg white, 2 serving (*I just used 1 whole egg)
Banana, fresh, .75 cup, mashed 
Almonds, .5 cup, chopped (No Almonds)
(optional: handful of rasins or blueberries and .25 cup of shreded coconut)

*I made a few modifications with my recipe which I listed on the side

I found this nifty website that has a recipe calculator and my muffins came out to be about 70 calories a pop. They are super filling and great for digestion. Plus, they are super cheap, bananas are less than $0.50 a pound and oatmeal and oat bran are super cheap in bulk and can be used in tons of different ways.

  

Social Media

I started a Tumblr today. There's this whole community called "Fitblr" that post the most amazing, inspiring stuff about fitness and healthy eating. I'm hoping that looking at it daily will keep me dedicated to a healthy lifestyle.

So here's my Tumblr:
http://brokeasswino.tumblr.com/

And just in case you forgot here's the link to my Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/pourgirl/

Follow, comment, love!

Changes!!!

So I'm really gung-ho about making some positive changes in my life right now. First step: I've changed my "About Me" from "Broke ass wino trying to get out of debt" to "Broke ass wino trying to improve my life in every way without the use of money". After my life semi-depressing entry I started to really think about what I wanted and how I could get it. My whole life I've been poor and it's never really bothered me because I'm (usually) a happy, healthy, and thankful person. But there's this idea in modern American culture that the ONLY way to improve ANY part of your life is by spending money. Want to get fit? Better dole out lots of cash on expensive gyms and organic foods. Want to be happy? You need all of the latest gadgets and gizmos and a big fancy house. IT'S CRAZY.

Just because I'm broke (and I mean seriously broke, I have less than a $1 in my bank until payday this Friday) doesn't mean that I can't live the best possible life. I can get fit, I can have happy relationships, I can have a beautiful home. Yes, it would probably be much, much easier if I had money but it's not impossible!

So! What's my plan?
1. Get Fit: I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to lose weight/get fit. How can I do this without money?? The two main parts of fitness are diet and exercise. I joined a gym years ago and the $30 bucks it costs me a month completely works in my budget. BUT it's also possible to workout with out a gym. The internet is amazing. Go to Youtube and find exercise clips, go to a free park and do lunges and situps. Run around the local high school football field. Honestly, the only reason I even joined a gym is because running outside in the Texas heat can cause some serious damage to a girl as pale as I am.

There's this idea that eating healthy has to cost a pretty penny. You know what makes grocery shopping cost  a lot?? Poor meal planning. Right now it's summer and fruits are incredible cheap. Last time I went grocery shopping I got a whole seedless watermelon, nectarines, beans, quinoa, and a few other items for less then $20 bucks. Shop the bulk food and whole food sections. A bag of beans costs $1 and makes 4 times as much as 1 can of pre made black beans. It also has less sodium. Right now I'm chowing down on 1 cup cooked quinoa and 1 cup cooked black beans all for about 442 calories.

Now, the hard part about dieting and getting fit is you have to find what works for YOU. I've mentioned before I really love The Token Fat Girl and she posted today about how, for her, counting calories is a waste and leads to counter productive eating. For me, I need to count calories because I can become SO consumed by my competitive nature and try to eat less and less that I end up GAINING weight because my body isn't getting what it needs. It seems odd that in order to lose weight you have to eat more sometimes but it's true. If you're body is working out too much and not getting the right nutrition your metabolism is going to shut down. I have a handy (and FREE!) app on my iPhone that helps me keep tabs. It's insane that I can snack all day and then when I check my calories I'm still a few hundred away from my goal.

2. Get out of Debt: This one is hardy and will take the longest. Right now I'm in a rough spot. Life has been doling out the usual stuff (dead car battery, dentist, bad tire, etc) and, like I said above, I have $1 left in my account. I'm just really thankful that my apartment is taking their sweet time to cash my rent check so hopefully I can make it until Friday. But by the end of this year I'm hoping that I'll be in a much better spot: paying less in rent and paying more towards my loan. This loan isn't going to go away over night and with the interest rates the first few years are going to be the hardest but I know that I can pay it off.

3. Be Happy: This one is pretty ridiculous but I don't see any reason why I can's live an awesome and fun life  just because I'm broke. My situation is a little different because my boyfriend has money so I still get to do fun things because he can pay but even if he wasn't around I think it's entirely possible to be poor and happy. I'm lucky that I live in Austin that has so many fun and free things. Free movies in the park, gorgeous rivers and green belts open to the public, opportunities to volunteer to help others, the list goes on and on. Yes, I'd probably be REALLY happy if I had millions of dollars and could pay off all of my debts and travel the world but I don't NEED money to be happy.

ALSO:
I just finished two really amazing books that I want to recommend. I mentioned that I joined a library a few months ago and they've started to offer eBooks to rent. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton and Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay. Plus this helps me reach my goal of two books a month! I figure, those two books can take care of June and sometime tonight I'll see about downloading two new books for July. 

Mid Year Resolutions

I like lists. Especially to-do lists. Like, a lot. There's just something so satisfying with creating a list of things I need/want to do and then crossing them off. It's very satisfying. A few months ago I made New Years Resolutions (like a million [billion??] other people). A few months later I held myself accountable for them. Now that we're officially half way through the year I want to check in again to measure my progress and also add a few more to the list.

So, here are the resolutions that I had:

Resolutions
1. Join a library/read more   I joined a library in January or February and I've been pretty good about regularly going and checking out books. But honestly, you can never read too much.  So maybe I can modify this resolution with a new one: Read at least 2 new books a month. 

2. Lose weight: FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. So, you know what, I still suck at this one. I have hit a plateau of all plateaus :( BUT! I've recently fired myself up about changing that :) I stumbled upon a Tumblr account that really fired me up. Check out Before and Afters  for some great healthy motivation. This week I've hit the gym every day, I've cut out drinking (I know!!!) and I'm trying to watch what I eat. So maybe a few new goals?? Hit 135 lbs by the end of the year and be able to bench press 70 lbs (twice what I can do now).

3. Run more/run 10k in less than an hour: This week I've been really good about running but I haven't worked up to a 10k yet. So new goal: Run a 10k in under an hour by the end of the year. 

4. Pay off debt: As you may remember I paid off one of my college loans at the beginning of this month. But of course, nothing good can stay for long and I've been hit with new bull shit at every possible moment. I want so badly to save money and every time I come close I keep getting the rug pulled out from under me. Trying to save money, oh PS you need major dental work. Oh, you finally got all your dental work done and you almost paid it off? PS your car battery is dead. Ok, so you spent the last little bit of money you had for a car battery and you're ALMOST to pay day? Fuck you, you have a slow leak in one of your tires. YEP. I had to spend $20 bucks on a tire pump.  Now I get to fill my tire until pay day so I can hopefully get it patched because Lord knows I don't have enough for a new tire. I'm just so tired of it all. I don't mean to get all depressing but I could really use a break. My boyfriend and I have been talking about moving in and I'm just getting the worst cold feet ever. I've lived with someone before and it ended so badly and I'm just so scared. This blog is like a memorial to all of the bad decisions I've made in life and what if this is just another one? But I can't live alone because my lovely apartment complex raised the rent from $605 to $667 and I just can't afford that. I'm hoping that this all is just due to a really intense case of PMS and that I'll start to feel better soon. Oh, and one more PS; even though I just got all of that dental work done my back tooth is killing me and I think I might have a cavity.  It never fucking ends.   This blog I follow Thrifty Decor Chick has made a lot of really inspiring posts about paying off $125,000 and I'm just hoping to be able to do something similar. That is, if life can just stop using me a human punching bag. 

5. Second job: Yikes, sorry about that little dip into despair above. The sadness and frustration is strong within me. Even though my schedule sucks I've been able to pick up shifts at my second job when I really needed them and today I start babysitting for my friend. I really hope that it turns into something regular because she's willing to pay me $10 bucks an hour!! It may not be much but every little bit helps. 

6. Date up:  So, I've mentioned before I really care for my boyfriend. He's wayyyyy better then every other dude I've dated. For the most part he's got his life together. But sometimes I hate him ?? Is this normal??? Now, I'm PMSing so bad right now I could cry, retain all the water in the oceans, and punch an old lady so maybe this is just hormones talking. Or maybe this is how all relationships are? Is it normal to go back and forth between wanting to marry someone and wanting to never see them again? I have a really bad case of fear of commitment. REALLY BAD. Relationships scare the bejesus out of me which is probably why I'm so bad in them and they never really last. I'm very good and treating nice guys poorly and pushing them away. I want so badly to stop and I'm trying to hard but I just wonder if my efforts are futile. Honestly, with my behavior I can't imagine anyone wanting to stay in a committed relationship with me. I can be a real jerk :(

7. Take myself on dates. Lol, no. Not really. I can't afford to get my hair cut let alone take myself on "dates" but I'm still crossing it off because I always try to make "me" time. I like "me" time. I think being alone is really fun honestly. I'd rather be at home with a nice drink and a Netflix queue filled with great movies then out at a club. 

8. Craft more:  I've made attempts at crafting more but I'm really not where I want to be at due to having no money. All I can do is hope for more cash/inspiration in the future to craft on a super tight budget. 


Updated 2012 Resolutions
1. Read at least 2 new books a month
2. Weigh 135 lbs (only a 12 lb weight loss)
3. Bench 70 lbs (2x what I can do now)
4. Refinance my piece of shit Wells Fargo loans to a 10 year plan
5. Stop being such a piece of shit jerk 
6. Craft more

Staying Afloat

I have just really sucked at blogging lately. Sorry about that. I guess it's because I just haven't really had much to post. I wanted this blog to be about saving money and DIY-ing shit and I've been TERRIBLE at both of those things. I'm so broke I can't even DIY :(

Things got a little better in the last week or so. I went for my final dentist appointment and got my teeth all squeaky clean. Most of that went on my credit card but there was really nothing I could do about that. I had to make sure I had enough for my loan payment so everything else had to be charged.  My credit card got up to around $600 bucks but I managed to pay it down to $250. So things are going great, I make it to pay day, put money in my savings and blah blah blah everything appears fine. So, of course it's not. Out of the blue after work one day I go out to my car to drive home and it's dead. Ain't that something? There is really no better way to describe my life then thinking that everything is going to be okay and finding my car dead.
And I don't mean that in a bad way (if that makes any sense). At this point it's just sort of darkly funny. I just remember sitting in my car and desperately turning my key over and over and finally just sitting back and looking up and thinking, "okay, what now".

The little bit of cushion money that I had saved to help me make it to my next pay day went directly to my new car battery (which they only had 1 in stock and it was the most expensive one...of course). Now I sit in waiting for this Friday when I get paid from my second job. Until then I'm hanging on with $21 bucks in my account. But life is still good. I went grocery shopping before my battery crapped out so I have food and my amazing boyfriend bought me gas (and some clothes!!! Seriously, this guy is beyond perfect/wonderful/amazing).

But even in all of this mess I'm still so happy. While it may not be permanent I've been getting more regular shifts at my job and my boyfriend and I have decided to move in with each other in a few months. I'm also going to start babysitting for a friend weekly which not only means extra cash but time spent with my friend and her awesome son. Nothing's okay and everything's okay (if that makes any sense). I'm broker than I have ever been in my life and yet I'm happier. Being forced to distance my self from my consumerist ways has made me so much happier than I thought was possible. Before all of this loan non-sense I just bought, bought, bought without any sense of what I truly needed. Now I'm happy when I can afford more than the basics. I'm broke but I'm lucky which is more than I deserve :)

I swear I have plans to get this blog back to what I wanted it to be. When my credit card is paid off and my boyfriend and I shack up together I will buy a sewing machine and start more DIY. Until then I have my fingers crossed that all of my bills get paid :)

cl

Positive Changes

Things are going much, much, much better :) My boyfriend and I had an amazing talk and we're on a good path again, I've come to terms with my current crazy schedule, and I'm making more of an effort to see friends.

I haven't really shared much about my work for a few reasons. This is the internet and frankly, while I put a lot of stuff on this blog, I really don't want anyone knowing who I am. I like my privacy. But I can share what is bringing me down. I work in a 24 hour unit. The schedule that I was hired for is evenings but recently (as in the last 6 months) we've had a major shortage and I've been switching back and forth from evenings to overnights. Overnights aren't that bad really but when you switch back and forth it can be a killer on your mood/psyche. Also, there is no set schedule. Sometimes the schedule is only released a week at a time and there's even been a few times I've only been informed of my shifts the night before they start. It's been rough to deal with and I know that it's caused me to become depressed which has negatively affected my relationships with my friends and boyfriend.

BUT there is hope. While I've been applying for other jobs there are two lead positions open at my work. One is for the graveyard shift. I know no one really wants that one and I think I might go for it. It would mean more money, a set schedule, and it would look amazing on my resume. While it is sort of shitty to use a promotion at your job to get another, different job my work place has been incredibly shitty to me and my sleep pattern. So suck it work.

BUT OMG THERE IS OTHER BETTER NEWS.
Today I (or my mother but whatever, you don't know me) made the last payment on my loan from UT. It's alllllll gone!!! GONE!!! GONE!!! Sorry.

I can't believe it's gone and in only 5 years! I'm so freaking happy :) This plus my raise at work PLUS other things being payed off means that in a few months I can (hopefully) refinance my awful Wells Fargo loan in a few months.

I guess the thing that I've learned in these last few months is that things can always be worse and they can always be better. That's just life. No one has it easy. Take this guy. Student loans ruined this guys life. He doesn't have a home because he wanted to get a job in a field he was passionate about. That's crazy. That's unfair. I have it rough but I have a support system.

I'm hoping that the future gets better. My boyfriend and I are thinking about moving in together which is not only awesome because more time with my boo but I would be saving a bundle. Plus, I really want to be able to do sweet stuff for my man. He does so much for me and he takes care of me and because I'm always broke I feel like I owe him so much. I know he doesn't care but I do. At least if we lived together I would be able to cook and clean and organize to "pull my weight". Those are things that I enjoy and are free :) Honestly, I'm super excited because I'd be able to pay more on my student loan PLUS buy a sewing machine. Yeah, I live the crazy life.