Wednesday, September 10, 2008

i broke up with my scale

Yes...it was time to say goodbye. We had a love-hate relationship and it was getting me nowhere. It would tell me I'd lost weight and I'd be so excited. Then it would tell me I'd gained weight, I'd get so mad at it! I'd get on it every 5 minutes during the course of a day, just to prove it wrong! This went on for 3 weeks! Up, down, up, down, up, down... For 3 weeks, I would eat right (maybe a bit too much), and would hop up on the scale to monitor my progress. 3 weeks and 1 pound lost.

So, it was time to say adios...farewell...so long...see ya! I put it in the closet, on a shelf, under a handbag, and I could still hear it calling my name. It would tempt me with all sorts of sounds, just to get on it and see what number appeared. I resisted temptation. I resisted temptation for 7 solid days. Do you know where it got me? I lost 4.4 pounds after breaking it off with my so called "friend".

The scale is back in the closet for 7 more days.

Friday, August 29, 2008

congratulations! when are you due?

I'm baffled! Someone just mistook me for being pregnant and asked me when my due date was! I told her I wasn't pregnant and she patted my tummy and said, "Oh...I thought this was a maternity top." NEVER ask a woman when she's due...even if she's in the delivery room!

I'm going to work out now...

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

extra stuff

Extra clutter, extra weight, extra bills, it's always something extra. About every 12-18 months I feel like I've got to clean it all out. Tackle the weight, tackle the budget, tackle the clutter. If I stayed on top of it, and take baby steps, I know I would get there. It's such a challenge for me because I want it all done now. I joined Weight Watchers and want to lose all the weight THIS WEEK. I signed up for Dave Ramsey's My Total Money Makeover and want to get out of debt, pay off the house and have our retirement fully funded THIS WEEK. I get e-mails hourly from FlyLady to stay on top of our housekeeping and want a perfect home THIS WEEK. I have a hard time with the baby steps and want immediate gratification. That's why I love the Bible verse so much "Steady plodding brings prosperity...". It's a favorite -- especially when it comes to finances. I know that taking baby steps and improving on what I'm doing each day will result in wonderful results.

Friday, August 15, 2008

tgif

We made it through the first week of school!
It's payday!
I've stayed on my WW points everyday since my 1st meeting!
I've reworked our budget!
No homework for the kids this afternoon!
DH comes home tomorrow!
It's a gorgeous day!
No football practices this afternoon!
I'm sending extra $$ to our truck payment today!

TGIF!!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

reasons to lose

Yesterday I rejoined Weight Watchers. Just 4 of us in a meeting and that felt kind of strange...especially since 2 of us were new. Discussion was almost necessary to give the leader a break, so I added to the discussion feeling a little bit uneasy. While I was trying to avoid being called on, I made some notes as to why I wanted to lose these extra 20 pounds and here is what I came up with.

1. I'm tired of my face looking puffy.
2. My ass is hanging down to the back of my knees.
3. My clothes don't fit.
4. So I won't be tired all the time.
5. So I'll have more energy, and
6. so I'll have more self confidence.
7. So that my jeans will fit (or be baggy!) in the fall
8. To be at a weight I'm happy with before my birthday in February
9. So I can quit sucking in when I'm sitting down, standing up, or having my picture made.
10. To not be considered overweight at the doctor's office
11. I guess I can keep going...
12. To lower my blood pressure
13. To lower my cholesterol
14. To save money on groceries...by not eating so much
15. I think that's enough!!!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

grocery stores

I used to not be able to walk into a grocery store for a head of lettuce without spending $60. I've cut my quick trip expenses back to about $30 now that I'm being cautious, but that is still ridiculous. I found a website that will give you (for a small fee...) dinner menus for a week based on what is on sale at your local grocery store. The average cost for the 7 dinners is about $75. Since I budget about $800 for food at the grocery store, I thought it was definitely worth trying! I have signed up and printed out my menu for the next week. I'll let you know how it works and if the recipes are tasty. That will leave only breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages that I need to budget extra. I would LOVE to cut my grocery bill in half and apply that to our debt.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

six days and counting

Let's see...has it even been a week since I recommitted myself to eating better and exercising 30 minutes a day? I truly thought I could do this on my own, but obviously I can't. I lack the motivation and will power. I need someone to hold me accountable. I'm still journaling what I eat, but am not writing down the Weight Watcher points that go with each thing. And exercise...well that's another story. I did great for about 3 days. The kids start back to school in 6 days. In 7 days I'm rejoining Weight Watchers. I did lose about 2 pounds last week and that has helped a little. I'm looking forward to school starting so that I can focus on this weight I'm trying to lose and to also continue my focus on debt reduction and savings.

Today the city put orange flags on top of all of the School Zone speed limit signs. Ahhhhh...what a wonderful site!! Just six more days.

Monday, August 4, 2008

tracking my spending

I know how to budget and I actually love (truly love!!) doing it. I enjoy being in control of the money and where and how it's spent. My downfall has always been (1)keeping track of actual expenses and (2)saying NO to things...especially day-to-day things...that are not on the budget. Food has always been a big expense in our family and a large part of that is the fact that we drive thru places to pick up quick meals or to simply get a drink while we're out and about. For this month, I've budgeted $950 for food. This includes food from the grocery store AND food that we get from restaurants and/or drive thru's. I'm not sure if it's a great sign, that I'm only into the month by 7 days and have already spent almost 40% of my budget. I went to the grocery store today and tried to stock up on groceries for the next 4 days. So, for the rest of the month, I'll really be watching how I spend money on food. School starts a week from today and I'm hoping with the boys being out of the house for most of the day, that we'll save on snack food. Also, I'll have more time to concentrate of menu planning and cutting coupons.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure

Yesterday I sat with my neighbor as she had a garage sale. I have never had a Garage Sale and have always donated my "stuff" Salvation Army instead. But yesterday as I watched all the people buying her discards, I thought maybe I should have one. She didn't try to make a bunch of money off anything...most things were priced $1 or under, but she made about $200 and what was left was immediately donated to a charity. I contributed a few things to the sale and came away with about $10...$5 of which went to my boys for things they sold. I think our neighborhood has a big sale in the spring, so if I think I'll be a part of it and see if I can make a little money to apply towards our debt. Every little bit helps, right? If you've had luck with a Garage Sale, let me know your secrets to success!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

weight a minute

I'm on Day 4 of truly watching what I eat. Several years ago I joined Weight Watchers, lost about 17 pounds, and became a Lifetime Member. I'm wanting to rejoin once the boys start back to school. (This time, I need to lose about 20 pounds) In the meantime though, I'm journaling what I eat and tracking my points. Also, my goal is to "get moving" for at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. So far so good! Since I'm not going to the WW meetings right now, I've decided to put the $$ that I would pay to go towards meeting towards my debt reduction. Not a huge amount, but every little bit helps.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

first things first...

okay, so here's the deal. I started a blog about 18 months ago and kept it going for 5 days or so. It was a huge success! (ha, ha!) Then I got discouraged, stopped writing, and when I was ready to start it up again, I couldn't remember my login info. Pretty smart, huh? At the time, my goal was to live within our budget and to do that, I wanted to spend $40/day or less. www.livingon40aday.blogspot.com

Now, my family has moved many, many miles away from our hometown. I've got 2 things going on right now that need my attention. My expanding waistline and my shrinking savings account.

Waistline -- For a solid 3 months, I've eaten more take out, drive through, and restaurant food than anyone should eat in an entire year. Add to that a generously poured glass (or two...) of wine each night and I've got an extra 10 pounds under my belt.

$$ -- Cost of living (mainly, housing) is quite a bit more here than it was where we used to live. We've been in our new home for about a month and still trying to get settled and start figuring out our new expenses. We need to bite the bullet and claim ourselves as permanent residents and start tracking our spending again and make sure we're working towards our financial goals.

That's enough for now...