june.

may recap: may just really seemed to fly by! i took my exam on the 17th. i can't discuss it but i will say that it wasn't as hellish as i was anticipating. i have at least another month to wait for my results, but i'm not expecting to have passed (that would be a miracle). my man and i have rekindled our "relationship" so i'm happier than before. i've made a friend who seems pretty genuine. yes, he's made it clear he wouldn't mind of things went beyond the friend level but he also knows how much i care about my guy and knows he is clearly in the friend zone with me. but, he's fun. i feel like he knows more about me than people i've met in the past 5 years. life is crazy sometimes. what else? it feels like a lot has happened but it's a blur. i am excited for june, my birthday month. i was anticipating being able to go down to the beach and see my best friend, but that doesn't look like it's happening. whomp. her schedule changes and it doesn't seem like they are going to honor her request to have those couple days off. BUT, it may not be such a bad thing (other than the fact that i miss her!!) since i'm trying to hoard my pennies...saving a hundred or so dollars seems good to me. although i may not get my birthday trip to the beach, i'm still taking those days off from work. i plan on using a couple days to rework my apartment and then really go through all my papers and "stuff" to sort/organize/file/purge/shred. that would probably take 2 whole days alone. :) i think june will be fun! here are my goals for the month:

finances.

1. snowball #1: PIF in april :D :D :D i used it just a bit because i thought i needed some activity to be able to see my updated credit score. used twice; balance $150. paid $100.00 6/21. paid off balance 6/23. 2. snowball #2: paid $3,702.00 in may. pay any remaining balance. paid $200.00 6/7. +/-$200 returns to be made. paid $100.00 6/21. paid $100.00 on 6/26. paid $100.00 on 6/28. balance <$600.00. paid $69.12 on 6/30 to bring balance to $500.00.3. snowball #3: paid $5,140.96 in may. pay any remaining balance. paid $200.00 6/7. +/-$100 returns to be made. paid $200.00 6/19. paid $127.27 6/26 & 6/27. balance $300.00
.4. rent/water/misc. payment: $1,042.8
5. due 6/1-6/55. bills: cell phone ($80.00); electric; internet ($41.00)6. 30 day challenge: no extracurricular spending7. hopefully get my tax refund checks ($750.00)...which will completely pay the remaining balances.8. find the financial documents for the house buying process/loan approval process

as i explained last month, in order to pay down/pay off my credit card debt faster, improve my credit score and to put me in a better place to buy a home this summer, i decided on a 401k loan. in april, my parents helped me with snowball #1 and my score jumped 21 points. using my 401k loan to pay almost $9,000.00 on my debt and putting $3,000.00 into savings has pushed me into a much better place to start a new chapter. 

fitness & health.

1. sleep: get at least 6 hours of sleep each night (preferably 7-8)

2. sweat: work out at least 5 days a week going out friday nights kills saturday a.m. sessions; same for saturdays/sundays :(

3. stretch: stretch and roll muscles at least 3 times a week (evenings ok) FAIL

4. face: continue using R+F daily; use diy clay mask at least twice a month (maybe once a week) not really...and i got the whiteheads/zits to prove it.

5. skin: use younique tanning lotion (body) & R+F tanning lotion (face) weekly ...i ran out of younique...shit's expensive at $39/tube

6. hair: use leave-in conditioning treatment 1-2 times a month FAIL

7. oral: brush/floss/use act after every meal ...yeah right; order CarbonCoco set it arrived on Wednesday

8. 30 day challenge: no soda (i almost made it through may, had a couple days of caffeine and everything went wacky); stay away from everything that screws with my eczema; work out at least 5 days a week; NOPE...& the eczema flared and roared its ugly, itchy face

9. limit alcohol consumption...to once a week except to celebrate my birthday (that might be a 3 night adventure! lol)

fun.

1. church: 6/4, 6/11, 6/18, 6/25 FAIL

2. celebrate paul's birthday 6/3

3. hair appointment + eyebrow wax 6/10

4. beach trip 6/15-6/16??? bestie couldn't take the time, but i'm still going to take off from work

5. celebrate my 34th!

6. father's day 6/18

7. get a massage! not yet, but i did get 2 gift cards for my birthday! :)

8. sort/organize/purge -- i need to find what i need to get approved for a mortgage

9. tweak my apartment -- fill and paint holes; move furniture; rehang art; clean top to bottom...

10. start looking at houses/areas -- my folks are rooting for wake forest but i adore my neighborhood and its proximity to amenities, highways, family, etc.

work.

1. barking dogs meeting + town council 6/1

2. code enforcement day (inspections!) 6/2
3. chicken pickin' 6/3

4. transportation meeting 6/6

5. 75th anniversary meeting 6/7

6. planning board 6/8

7. boss on vacation 6/9-13

8. me on "vacation" 6/15-16

9. cwep media committee meeting 6/20 
10. stormwater meetings 6/21, 6/28

11. greenway meeting 6/22
12. planning board workshop 6/28

pay days 6/2, 6/16, 6/30

happy friday y'all! :)

i don't typically do a "mid-month" post and i don't even know if this blog is anything more than an online journal for myself BUT IT'S FRIDAY! it's pay day! 😊 😊 😊 😊 my exam is over and i don't have to worry about studying or feeling guilty about not studying. i have to wait 8 weeks after the testing window closes to get my results. if i fail, which i'm almost certain will be the case, i will regroup and retake the exam next year. the next exam is in november, but with the house hunt & house buying adventure on which i'm about to embark, i will postpone retaking the exam until may 2018. this would allow me time to get settled into the home, get my finances in order and set up an awesome study space.

i checked my credit score yesterday. since i paid off snowball #1, my score went up 21 points. this is my FICO score, but now it's in the yellow! i paid off that balance in april, so it only took about a month for my score to jump. that's another incentive to go ahead and pay off snowballs #2 & #3...to give my score(s) time to rebound before applying for a mortgage/loan/etc. for a house. i need it come up at least another 21 points. i am waiting for my loan to completely clear my account (should be next week) before i start moving money around. after i make the large payments on my snowballs, i will have about $600 left over to pay...as long as i pay them off by my 34th birthday, or close to it, i'll be happy.

in other money news, i am still waiting to receive my tax refund check. i've designated that to go towards paying my car insurance premium in full in july (for july - decemeber) and for my car registration renewal/inspection which is due in august. that should just about cover that amount. last year, i got my refund around this time so my eyes are watching the mailbox!

i was on vacation the first half of this week...which i really enjoyed. obviously. i was able to get in my workouts and study before wednesday. and apply my self-tanning lotion. i went from pasty white legs to gams with a little bit of color. love it. coming back to work yesterday started off fine...then i got some news that just destroyed my spirits. and the feeling kind of continues today with some snarky, condescending remarks from across the hall. but, i'm not going to let her ruin my day. it's friday! it's pay day! i'm going to stop and get some flowers to plant tomorrow! i am just glad i don't have to worry about anything for at least a couple days. there's been so much i've been putting off because of my exam...i'm FREE! :)

hope everyone has a great weekend. i'm going to have beauty night tonight = shave my legs/+, clay mask, pluck my eyebrows, trim and file my nails, watch "SING"...do some chores too, maybe.