one more to go

this is my 99th post! next stop, 100. wow.

thanksgiving has come and gone (and boy, was it tasty!). soon, christmas will be here and after that, a new year! aside from the summertime (my birthday, the college world series), this is my favorite time of year. there's just something about a brisk chill and being able to see your breath with the glimmer of hope that snow will come east of the appalachias to brighten one's spirit.

and even though it's december & i haven't watched an ounce of basketball, i'm already looking forward to february and the start of baseball. i'm contemplating getting season tickets for the uncc games. season tickets are $49 total. that's ~35 home games. i think it's a good deal..plus it's tickets for the uncc/clemson and uncc/unc match-ups. could be good. ecu comes this way only twice, and only to high point and elon. i will be asking to leave work early for those. but before i jump the gun completely, i just wanted to say, you better bring out your megaphones and root for the pirates this saturday as they take on houston(?) in the conference usa championship game, 12pm, in greenville. woo hoo! gooooo pirates!

ECU Snuggie

i kinda always wanted a snuggie and knowing that ^THIS^ is out there!?!
it may have to be a christmas wish list item! :)

review & preview

i stayed in friday night. i really wanted to get a lot done saturday/sunday so i snuggled up with my blanket & watched tv. my favorite friday night show (besides "numb3rs") is "say yes to the dress." i'm not sure why since a wedding is in no way eminent but the dresses are gorgeous & watching the families is interesting, to say the least. (oh, and i took a late lunch friday and wound up with an impromptu date..he had the day off so he met me downtown at ellie's.)

saturday, i woke up around 9. i didn't want to sleep too late because i had a lunch date. so, i got up and took bella out and made pancakes (my first time ever!! they were okay..). i had just gotten out of the shower & the guy had texted me to tell me he had to bail. his dad had fallen so he had to go. i understood..he's lucky to be so close (he's in concord/harrisburg & his parents are in salisbury/rockwell). but, now that i think about it..i'm a little..unnerved. why couldn't he call? dating & today's technologies can be annoying sometimes. because he & i don't know each other well enough to be texting to bail. he will remain a "he" until further notice.. ;)

so, instead of going to lunch saturday..i decided i'd watch some football before the REAL game (ECU v. Alabama-Birmingham of course!). so, i spent the afternoon watching football. i actually haven't done that in awhile. and, since they don't talk about ECU that often during the sports reports, the Pirates beat the Blazers 37-21! Whoopie!).

sunday was REALLY productive. i woke up about noon, made breakfast (poached eggs & bacon), watched friday's "numb3rs" and then went to work. bella was being good, so i let her hang out (usually i put her in her crate so she doesn't get in the way). i finally unpacked from 2 weeks ago, fixed my closet, put away all my clean clothes, put fresh sheets on and remade my bed, redid the spare closet (again) because i was moving my white chest of drawers back in, packed up the last of my warm-weather clothes to take back to raleigh on thursday & vacuumed. whew! i didn't quit until 9. before i went to bed, i cleaned up the kitchen and got organized for work this morning. i didn't wind up crawling in bed until about 12:30 but somehow, i didn't have much difficulty getting up for work this morning (and was up on time!). must've been the fresh sheets & the clean room/house! yay for a 33% productive weekend!

3 days of work and then home for thanksgiving. bella and i are gonna drive up thursday morning. paige & paul are coming (they'll go to the various stops for his family the rest of the weekend). i hope they bring pictures from their honeymoon in aruba!! mom & i are going to prime my old room in order to repaint over christmas. i'm excited. it's something i've wanted to do for a few years but was always working at zg instead. oh the joy of not working retail! maybe b and i will take another round of christmas photos this year?!

hope everyone has a great week & a wonderful thanksgiving. we have so much to be thankful for!

financially focused

there are six weeks until the new year begins, but i am not waiting to begin to make some (well-deserved & overdue) changes in my life.

i've talked a little bit about the small debts that will be paid off by the end of december (brent, apt. complex) and how those will free up some money for me come january. but, for the first time (yes, an overdue first!), i am putting myself on a real budget. at first i thought i would limit myself to 100$ per pay period, but since i'm just starting out, i'm allotting 150-200$. this money will go towards groceries, gas, bad habits, errands, eating out, stool time @ stooly's..basically anything that isn't a bill payment will come out of this chunk. that frees up about 800-900$ per pay period to go towards bills & debt-payments. eventually, i do want to come down to 100$ for two weeks, but i think that'll take some getting used to for sure!

so, my daily spending budget/plan is that once my paycheck shows up in my account, i go get the allotted amount and that's what i use for my purchases. this is mainly so i quit using my debit card so much, especially for stuff under 10$ (i think that's stupid). having cash on hand ties into the next change, which is saving money.

i need to start somewhere....so, i read in real simple about an easy savings plan. every time you get a 5$ bill, you put it in a seperate part of your wallet. then, when you get home, take the 5$ bill(s) and put them in a special envelope. you open a savings account (at a bank other than where your other accounts are, so you won't be tempted to make withdrawals or transfers) with the minimum amount. then, every time you accumulate 50$, make a deposit. i think it sounds easy enough and will be fun to watch the money grow.

the easiest way to save money? take a break from looking for someone special. i used to do m.c, then i gave eH a try. eH is more expensive for month-to-month, so in december, i am going to cancel. it's the easiest way to save 50$/month. ouch! and, i usually forget so it automatically renews (and doesn't send the reminder until after it's been paid)..not this time, i've wrote it down in my planner!!

i really do believe that if i stick to these plans, i will be able to both pay off my debts and save money..which used to seem impossible. c'mon financial freedom!

Hitched

INTRODUCING...

Mr. & Mrs. Paul J. Boyles
November 7, 2009

Celebrating Paul & Paige

Here are just a few pictures from the wedding (I took over 100 Friday-Sunday). It was a perfect day and definitely a celebration of Paige & Paul. Enjoy!

Paige & Grandma @ Tanas

Bridesmaids' Bouquets

Putting on her veil

Mom, Dad & Paige

"Tonight's the night! Let's live it up!"

Father/Daughter Dance

Heath with his prize!

Mr. & Mrs. B cutting a rug! Paul even did a split!

Strawberry Fields YUM!

The photographers, AJ & Cynthia, were amazing & so nice. Check out their blog:
www.simplyphoto.net.

Bead Lady Baubles

As promised, here are photos from my latest venture into The Bead Lady (downtown Concord).

Last year, Kassie had given me a skull bracelet, but it was too big for my wrist. So, I added some black ball beads and clear seed beads and ta-da! my skull necklace. I love what it's turned out to be!

I found these beautiful stone beads. Even though these 3 weren't loose, she let me cut the strand and have them at the individual price without having to buy the whole strand ($3.50/bead vs. $35/strand). I found some coordinating wood beads and sead beads..I think it came out great! I do "need" to go back with my spare wood beads and have a pair of earrings made. I love it! They had some similar blue stone beads that would make quite a statement if an entire strand was used. Hmm...

Another necklace redo: I had bought this necklace from Arden B over the summer(?) and loved the turquoise beads. What I didn't love was how the loops and chain tarnished (that's costume jewelry for ya!)..I took it in and she reattached the turquoise strands to new hardware and replaced the chain with beads (that I picked out to coordinate). I didn't want to pick a color, since I don't always wear it with brown or black, etc. Again, updating/redoing old jewelry is awesome (and inexpensive). I think it looks great...A lot better than tarnished hardware!

Last but not least, my purple and gold set. Last September (when my Aunt Holly was in town), I had a purple/white/gold beaded bracelet made. Well, I decided I wanted to have a matching necklace made & some earrings. This is what I ended up with. Love!

What do you think?