In which I Get Lucky.

I am not an active person, never have been. I hope to be someday and have taken a giant step in that direction this weekend. I participated in and finished my first 7K! Several weeks ago I decided to sign up for the St. Patrick's Day Get Lucky 7K that was being held in my area. This was something I was going to do to prove that I could start and finish something physical.
It turns out not only did I finish, but I also completely enjoyed challenging myself. This was something completely new to me. I had never chosen to challenge myself physically before!
While I am sore, and have been for the past couple days, I find myself with a new addiction that is actually good for me! Most of my...okay make that ALL of my past addictions have been food, movies, tv, or reading. I have never had such a great time engaging in an activity that is healthy for me!
I am now looking forward to doing several more 5Ks that are peppered throughout the rest of the year. The two I am seriously looking into at this point are the Women Rock, and the Monster Dash. I would also like to find one that benefits animals and get involved with that one.
My goal over the next few months is to up my 5K time so I can start to try to best myself! Woohoo!

Technical Errors

I logged back in yesterday to find that the two posts I had scheduled had not been published like they were supposed to! Oops! So you get two for today. Enjoy

Weight Loss Goals.

I work best when I am bribed to do things. So, like my BFF I am going to set up a set of rewards for the weight that I lose. When I first think of rewards I think of food, that is how I was raised. If you are happy you eat, sad? you eat, upset? you eat, mad? you eat. You get the idea. So, I have had to come up with a set of rewards that have nothing to do with food.
10lbs- Fitbit
20lbs- Pedicure
30lbs- Send Myself Fruit Bouquet
40lbs- New Underwear
50lbs- Contacts
60lbs-Massage
70lbs- Horse Ride
80lbs- Tattoo
90lbs-New Expensive Bag
100lbs-  New Laptop!!
110lbs- Spa Day
120lbs- New Clothes!
Some of the things on the list are things I want, some are things I will be doing for the first time, and others are things that I know I will want to work for.

Losing Myself

Another of my main goals for this year is to loose weight. Many people have this goal but I know that I need to loose the 100+ extra pounds that I am currently carrying. It has become an issue of not just my self esteem but also my health. I worry about getting diabetes, high cholesterol, more food allergies, the disease my father died from called CADASIL, and have developed sleep apnea (which can cause heart issues).
While I am at times literally scared for my health I cant seem to stop the bad habits that have gotten me to this point. I have even developed a few worse habits than I ever had before. I not only eat foods that are horrible for me but I also have started binge eating. I have never done this before, it is like I cannot stop my hands from pushing the food into my mouth one bite after the other!
My main goal for the rest of this year is to be 20-30 lbs lighter by the time Christmas comes back around. I have all the other tools at my disposal, I just need to gather my courage, and my will power. I have the time, a gym membership, knowledge, and need.
I need to find my courage as I have never been so scared to do anything in my life, but I know that it will be worth it. I have never been as heavy as I am right now, have never had to lose as much as I need to. I just have to make it past the first few pounds and I know my drive will kick in, it is just getting started for the first month.

My Goals For the Near Future.

I find myself at a strange place in life for a thirty-something year old woman. Many of the years that one usually spends in the frivolity of youth I spent caretaking for both of my ill parents. This has led to some issues for me now that I am out on my own.
I have always had poor impulse control, and when living with my parents as their caretaker I always had extra money to spend on needless wants and wishes. I never learned to control my money, create and follow a budget, and I never even owned a credit card before the age of 30.
The issue this creates is that now that I am out on my own I have no idea how to save or budget my money so I have enough to buy things such as toilet paper!
My life habits need a serious overhaul and for the first time in years I have the time to devote to making my life and myself over.
Step 1-Create a budget and learn to stick to it.
This is by far my biggest downfall. I HATE not being able to buy things that I want. Ever since I was a little girl my mom always told me that I needed to marry a rich man to afford my taste in things.
I have managed through the help of J, Mom, BFF and David Ramsey to create a budget. However, I have yet to stick with this budget for longer than two days. This is the month that I am going to take on my budget challenges and win. I am going to start by creating a menu of inexpensive food options that will get me through the next two weeks (a pay period) based on what I already have in the fridge, freezer, and cupboard.
I don't know about you but I find that when I go to the grocery store I always exit with about 3-7 items that were not on my list when I entered the store. This week I am going to investigate if getting my groceries delivered to my house will be ultimately cheaper than my grocery trips have been over the last few weeks.
I have also created a log of needs and wants that I will carry with me in my purse. When I think of something I think that I NEED or WANT or want TO need, I am going to write it in this log. If I can still find the money, motivation, and reason to buy this item after careful thought and consideration I will then allow myself the idea of purchasing it. This logging process is for items that come up in life that are not accounted for within my created budget. My slush money would be used for these items.
Learning to take care of oneself at the ripe old age of 32 has not been as easy as I would have thought. My budgeting issues is just one of the makeovers that is heading my way this year. Stay tuned to learn more.

Favorite Websites.

I am by no means a web aficionado. I don't spend a lot of time on the internet or on my computer. However, I do have some favorite websites that I will share with you...one at a time.
Today's favorite is a cooking website. I was raised on delicious home cooked comfort foods, and while this has contributed to my waistline it has also set the bar very high when it comes to finding recipes that are as awesome as the ones passed down from my Great Grandmother. This website meet and exceeds those standards.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks has loads of comfort food in the form of appetizers, dessert, drinks, salads, entrees and more. If you are looking for a great meal for a change of pace then I suggest you check out this website and try one of the many recipes that will catch your attention.
Some of my Favorite-
Beef Stew
Pot Roast
and
Shepard's Pie

Day of Pictures

BFF

 

BFF's Oldest- C.

Old Dog, New Tricks

I am 32 years old and have just moved out of my mother's house for the first time. I like to think that I would have moved out sooner had my mother and father not been extremely ill. I was a caretaker for them for several years. This created a situation where I always had extra money. I never had to worry about buying all my own food, paying all my own bills, or completely taking care of myself. So, when I moved out this past year I have had A LOT of adjustments to make. I now pay rent, buy my own food, pay my own bills, and when and if I run out of money there is no one to fall back on.  This has created some close calls, but I am slowly learning how to pay off my bills, pay my current bills, budget, and save. I have yet to put it all together in one cohesive plan.
I am discovering several new things now that I have to watch what I am spending, buying and doing. I can no longer just buy things because I want them, think I need them, or it is what I have always bought.
Discovery #1-
I do not need to buy expensive name brand toilet paper.
Discovery #2-
I do not need to buy brand new books. I can go to the half price book store, and the library.
Discovery #3-
I thru way too much food away
Discovery #4-
There are many things in life that I thought were necessary for survival and everyday life, but they are not necessary to life, happiness, or even existence.
Discovery #5-
I paid WAY too much for my car insurance. I shopped around and am now getting both renter's insurance and car insurance for less than what I was paying for just the car insurance.
Discovery #6- ( I have yet to implement this one).
Buying clothes, food products, clothes, books and more is MUCH cheaper if I do it online. The only problem I have with this discovery is that I am horrible at waiting for things to come in the mail. If I have decided to buy something and spent the money on it I want to be able to use it now.
I am attempting to find ways to spend less, save more and still enjoy some of the things I love to do.
Do you have any hints for saving money on things like food shopping, bills, and more?

Topics

I decided that when I started a new blog it would focus on several topics, so I would have a direction for it. I have come up with several topics that are relevant to not only my life but lend themselves well to writing about and relating to others.
I have chosen two topics to focus on at this point.
1. Adventures in Being Poor
and
2. Improving Myself
I hope to post on these topics at least once a week with additional topics as they arise.
Please stay tuned.

Roommates- Take One! Action!

I have always lived with family. That is until this past October. My mother who is disabled needs someone able bodied to live with her. This had always been me since I was the last chick to leave the nest. However, in the last year it came to pass that my older brother was thinking about moving back home. I took this as the chance that I had been longing for and moved out.
I was lucky enough to have a friend who had just purchased her first house and was looking for someone to rent to. I have known J (my roommate) for about 8 years now. We have been friends for about 6. I was not overly worried about living with her in regards to her having late parties while I was sleeping, bringing strange men around, being messy, or being just obnoxious. I had known her long enough that I was aware of some of her habits, traits, morals and goals. A lot of these were the same as mine so I figured we would get along better than most.
We moved into the house in October of 2013, and as someone who has NEVER lived with a roommate before I am here to tell you that adjusting to someone completely new is very interesting. I find myself censoring myself as I don't want to upset her or get kicked out of the house! I know J would never actually do this unless I was causing major problems, but I have yet to be 100% myself around her while we have been roommates.
I have an awful habit. My mother was always telling me that I would regret developing this habit and the day has come. My horrible habit is that I tend to belch...loudly. REALLY loud! Like attract attention loud. I have not done this since October! I am embarrassed by this habit and do not do it in front of my new roommate for fear of grossing her out!
Now remember, I have known J for over 6 years. Chances are very high that I have belched in front of her before in the last 6-8 years, however she did not have to live with me at the time.
Am I being silly by not just being myself all of the time? My mother would tell me that I should feel free to be myself but that belching is not a bad habit to lose. What do you think? Are there certain friends or people in your life that you find yourself censoring yourself around?

Cast of Characters

Knowing that I will write about some of the people in my life I have decided to start with a key to the cast of people that frequent my life and stories.

Mom-my mother
Bro- Brother
BFF- Best Friend
BFFH- Best Friend's Husband
C- Best Friend's son
M- Best Friend's daughter
H- Friend
K- Friend
J- Roommate
Yoshi- BFF's dog
Kirby- BFF's dog
Remo- J's Dog

Starting Over

I stopped blogging in 2011 after the death of my father. I felt I had nothing positive to add to the world at that point so I took a break. I didn't realize that it had been 3 years until a friend mentioned my lack of blogging. Whenever someone approaches me about blogging my first response is always "what would I have to blog about". Well, we are going to find the answer to that question together.
A lot has changed since my last blog back in 2011. I have moved out of my sick mother's home (my brother moved in), I have graduated college, and have gotten (and kept) my first non-retail environment job.
Those are a few of the positives, I have also discovered that i am sensitive to gluten and allergic to the protein Casein that is found in animal milks. This has severely messed with my diet and favorite foods.
I hope to use this blog as a place to share recipes, experiences, and frustrations. I hope you will come along with me for the ride, wherever it takes me.