Mid-February Update
2/13/2017
I have designated February as a "no non-essential spending" month (even though I kinda blew that Friday when I bought 5 CDs (4 at Lifeway {1 as a gift for my mom} + the Grammy 2017 album at Target). But, after getting blood drawn, I did return over $130 worth of shoes to DSW. I still have 2 pairs of shoes that are "maybes". So, I did some returns at Michael's, DSW and Target. Buying Jesus-centered tunes...I don't know if I can consider them non-essential but the $11 for the Grammy preview, sure.
Another one of those questionable "non-essential vs. essential purchases" would be getting my hair done. I have begun splitting my appointments between hair cuts and highlights. It's a lot easier to shell out $50 or $100 versus $150 at one time. Plus, I got a gift certificate for Christmas, so I used a portion of it last month for a hair cut and the rest towards my highlights. My out-of-pocket expense was $32 + $23 for product ($55). Not terrible. And, if that's it for the month, I'll count that as a win. With the exception of 2/24 - Crush is playing that night and I'll out for sure - so count that as another non-essential purchase for cider at the bar...maybe a shot or two. K will be out of town so I'll be going home alone. Whomp whomp.
How I spent my weekend...
Saturday. I worked out in the morning, ate breakfast, cleaned the rest of the kitchen [microwave, sink, swept & swiffered]. I swept & swiffered the entry. I planned my meals for the week, made my grocery list, showered (without washing my hair). My hair appointment was at 12:45 and wrapped up about 2. I grabbed some cash and hit the Harris Teeter for Sweet Loren's chocolate cookies (they are so good and with no crap in them!) and went back to my parents' house. I had borrowed one of their cars because my dad wanted to change my oil and rotate my tires, now that my car has 90,000 miles! Eek! My sister and nephew were over there, so I stayed much longer than I normally would have...but it was fun. Then I picked up groceries on the way home. I was beat by the time I got home so...I watched tv, ate dinner and went to bed. Speaking of dinner - one of my new favorites is the Chicken and Chinese Broccoli with broad noodles from Good Foods. It's gluten free and delicious. I'm not really into pre-made frozen dinners but this is SO good. I also tried their moo shu chicken (or something like that) with little GF pancakes. Next time, I will wait until I cook the chicken to warm the pancakes because they were like cardboard by the time I got to them...didn't taste like cardboard, but still hard.
Sunday, I stayed in bed longer than planned (alarm had PM instead of AM); thankfully, my body naturally woke up. I cleaned my tub, made the bed, made breakfast and watched the rest of The Lucky One on MTV (even though I own it)...Zac Efron just gets me every time. :) Once the clock stroke 12:00, I hit it. Cranked up the music, opened the windows and went to work. I worked on my closet and it looks quite fabulous. I still have the corner of shelves that mainly contain items which need to be sorted, filed, shredded, and/or thrown away. But, I'm thinking that will wait until after my test in May. I was even able to hang 3 of my favorite pieces of art in or just outside my closet. WIN! So, now what's left is to hang art in the living room and finish my room (hang jewelry boxes, sort my clothes, etc.) and take a load to the Durham Rescue Mission (my preferred donation spot over Goodwill). I ALMOST feel like my space is mine and that I live there. My kitchen is the cleanest it's ever been since I moved in -- all I need to do in there is install my cb2 task lighting, move my clock and hang something over the sink. Almost there...
Kind of boring but still fun. Here's to hoping the rest of February turns out fabulous. Because other than the fact that I feel like I'm eating for 2 (which I'm 99% sure I'm not), I feel great. Chubby, but great. Operation #34 kicks off this week. My birthday is just a few months away (4) and I want to be able to fit into the dress I wore last year. I may not wear it..just want the satisfaction that I could if I wanted to. :)
2/13/2017
I have designated February as a "no non-essential spending" month (even though I kinda blew that Friday when I bought 5 CDs (4 at Lifeway {1 as a gift for my mom} + the Grammy 2017 album at Target). But, after getting blood drawn, I did return over $130 worth of shoes to DSW. I still have 2 pairs of shoes that are "maybes". So, I did some returns at Michael's, DSW and Target. Buying Jesus-centered tunes...I don't know if I can consider them non-essential but the $11 for the Grammy preview, sure.
Another one of those questionable "non-essential vs. essential purchases" would be getting my hair done. I have begun splitting my appointments between hair cuts and highlights. It's a lot easier to shell out $50 or $100 versus $150 at one time. Plus, I got a gift certificate for Christmas, so I used a portion of it last month for a hair cut and the rest towards my highlights. My out-of-pocket expense was $32 + $23 for product ($55). Not terrible. And, if that's it for the month, I'll count that as a win. With the exception of 2/24 - Crush is playing that night and I'll out for sure - so count that as another non-essential purchase for cider at the bar...maybe a shot or two. K will be out of town so I'll be going home alone. Whomp whomp.
How I spent my weekend...
Saturday. I worked out in the morning, ate breakfast, cleaned the rest of the kitchen [microwave, sink, swept & swiffered]. I swept & swiffered the entry. I planned my meals for the week, made my grocery list, showered (without washing my hair). My hair appointment was at 12:45 and wrapped up about 2. I grabbed some cash and hit the Harris Teeter for Sweet Loren's chocolate cookies (they are so good and with no crap in them!) and went back to my parents' house. I had borrowed one of their cars because my dad wanted to change my oil and rotate my tires, now that my car has 90,000 miles! Eek! My sister and nephew were over there, so I stayed much longer than I normally would have...but it was fun. Then I picked up groceries on the way home. I was beat by the time I got home so...I watched tv, ate dinner and went to bed. Speaking of dinner - one of my new favorites is the Chicken and Chinese Broccoli with broad noodles from Good Foods. It's gluten free and delicious. I'm not really into pre-made frozen dinners but this is SO good. I also tried their moo shu chicken (or something like that) with little GF pancakes. Next time, I will wait until I cook the chicken to warm the pancakes because they were like cardboard by the time I got to them...didn't taste like cardboard, but still hard.
Sunday, I stayed in bed longer than planned (alarm had PM instead of AM); thankfully, my body naturally woke up. I cleaned my tub, made the bed, made breakfast and watched the rest of The Lucky One on MTV (even though I own it)...Zac Efron just gets me every time. :) Once the clock stroke 12:00, I hit it. Cranked up the music, opened the windows and went to work. I worked on my closet and it looks quite fabulous. I still have the corner of shelves that mainly contain items which need to be sorted, filed, shredded, and/or thrown away. But, I'm thinking that will wait until after my test in May. I was even able to hang 3 of my favorite pieces of art in or just outside my closet. WIN! So, now what's left is to hang art in the living room and finish my room (hang jewelry boxes, sort my clothes, etc.) and take a load to the Durham Rescue Mission (my preferred donation spot over Goodwill). I ALMOST feel like my space is mine and that I live there. My kitchen is the cleanest it's ever been since I moved in -- all I need to do in there is install my cb2 task lighting, move my clock and hang something over the sink. Almost there...
Kind of boring but still fun. Here's to hoping the rest of February turns out fabulous. Because other than the fact that I feel like I'm eating for 2 (which I'm 99% sure I'm not), I feel great. Chubby, but great. Operation #34 kicks off this week. My birthday is just a few months away (4) and I want to be able to fit into the dress I wore last year. I may not wear it..just want the satisfaction that I could if I wanted to. :)
