2013...the year of drastic change.

whenever a new year rolls around, everyone always seem to make such grand resolutions with plans on how they're going to better themselves, their health, their family, their happiness, etc. who wouldn't want to be better than they were before? i find no fault with good intentions...the lack of follow-through? i'm so guilty of it..getting bored, distracted, defeated. but, this year? although my list may be extensive and thorough, i firmly believe that within the next 12 months i will complete a majority, if not all, of my goals. because although i might've written down everything from here to the now-nonexistent planet of pluto, they are completely doable. since the list is lengthy, i'll give you the cliffnotes version.

1. financial wealth. i'd like to have some. i plan to grow wealth by pearing down the debt to income ratio. with discipline, i will pay off my store credit card, pay off my car insurance within the second month, pay off my car loan early (this one is not so "necessary" as i only pay 0.9% interest...but in the spirit of reducing monthly expenses, it gets thrown on the list)...since the only credit card i have is limited to one store, i'd like to acquire a "use anywhere" card. believe me, i've learned my lesson(s). it would only be used for larger purchases like travel opportunities and not everyday purchases. i'm gonna get the tally of debt owed to the bank of mom and dad and set up a payment schedule..treat it like i would any other fee. and, i'm gonna save some money...yep, i'm bringing back the money jar!

2. health wealth. i'd like to lose the weight i gained back after losing it in the 30 day challenge last year, at a minimum. so that puts my weight loss goal in the range of 13-20 pounds. more would be great, but i just wanna stop feeling/looking like a blob. i will be dedicate myself to exercising at least three days/week. i ran in two races last year, so i'm gonna up the ante and train for/run in at least 3 races. my goal for 2013 is to run in the "old reliable 10k" in the fall. to make sure i stick to it, i will make monthly challenges similar to the 30 day challenge...january = 31 for 31 oh squats. i'm assigning february as the food challenge. etc. my most important goal of the new year is to quit. if i'm allowed to quit one thing this year, that's it. i doubt i'll go cold turkey, but as long as i'm successfully done before my 30th birthday, i'll be happy with that (and so will a lot of other people, whether they know it or not).

3. spiritual wealth. it's been many months since i attended church...so, i'm going back. i've moved, so i'm gonna try to find a new small group. i will tithe monthly. the blue days were more frequent in 2012, so i'd like to do what makes me happy to help limit them rearing their ugly heads!

4. other goals. i left a lot of stuff at my folks' house when i moved, so once the kitchen reno is complete, i'll be headed back home to sort/purge/organize my leftovers/old room. i'd also like to help them redo the bonus room..fresh coat of paint, rearrange some furniture, etc. i wanna read for pleasure! so i'm instituting a 12 for 12 reading challenge: i'll read 1 book/month just for fun. and i definitely need to read and return a book lent to me by my internship supervisor. i returned one already, but i still have the other one. and, when the time is right, i plan on bringing a new furry friend home. and if she's brown, i'll already have her name picked out: cocoa bean (because bella's middle name was bean and i want her memory to live on).

and that's the shortened version of my list. :P happy new year!

December 1 = Independence Day

To say that I am happy would be a complete understatement. I have been riding high on Cloud 9 pretty much since I put my unit on hold, and officially since I signed my lease! Above is a property photo of the complex via facebook. I LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE my new apartment. First of all, it's HUGE. It's over 1100 s.f. and boasts huge windows, large closets, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen with modern fixtures...I could go on and on. My unit is different that the original floor plan I toured in that mine is an end unit, so I have an extra window in the master bedroom, as well as a window in my bathroom. If there is a "con" about my new place, it's the lack of immediate outdoor space. I have a "juliette balcony". But, I don't mind it..it's enough space to go out and see what the temperature's like. It's only been 1.5 days but I'm all unpacked (minus a couple of "office" bins in the spare closet that i need to unpack). The move was quick too...loaded in about 2.5 hours and unloaded in the less than 2 hours. It feels SO good to be back on my feet again and no longer living with my folks. Not that the past 2.5+ years were all that bad or anything (as far as living with the parentals goes), but it feels so much better to be back out on my own. It feels like I've "got it all"...a great job, a fabulous apartment, a wonderful man....All that's missing now is a new furry friend to cuddle with. All in due time.... :)

I'll be back, whenever I get internet up and running at my new place, to confess my goals for the final month of 2012.

things to do in november

It's been a LONG time since I made any monthly goals, let alone blogged about 'em, so I figured it was time to get back in the saddle.

- 11/2 Community Campfire, Butner NC
- 11/3 ECU/Houston football game with the boyfriend
- 11/6 VOTE!
- 11/9-11/13 Boyfriend's parents in town
- Apartment hunt...Top 3 Selected!
- Pre-move process continues- Church @ Summit- Commit more time/energy to my small group
- Pay at least 50% of LLCC
- Return to the "Primal Way"
- Exercise --> I've committed to a 50 for 50 Push Up Challenge
  (50 Push Ups/Day for 50 days; I made it 100 for 50 by adding 50 Sit Ups/Day for 50 days)- 11/22 Thanksgiving with the family + boyfriend- Move? --> Moving day = Dec. 1
- Christmas gift shopping --> will have to wait til December & Pay Day

yesterday, after the boyfriend and i went apartment hunting (for me), he came over and we carved our pumpkins we picked out on saturday. i think they turned out really well, so i thought i'd share them with you.

mine:

his:


happy (early) halloween!

NEWS! as i mentioned in my previous post, my boyfriend was interviewing for a job in michigan. well, they liked him enough to invite him for a second interview. he has asked me to come with him, to check out the area and see if it is somewhere i could potentially see myself living one day. my parents, particularly my father, are opposed to the idea of me going. it's an important decision not to be taken lightly. after all, i am in my first month at my new job. i was extremely apprehensive at the idea of having to ask for time off so soon, particularly if he does get the offer and accepts because that would mean future trips to michigan, for which i would need time off from work. so that was the compromise: i would leave later on friday so that i would not have to use a whole day and will return on the evening flight on sunday, to give me almost two whole days up there to explore and see what the area is like.

the decision was heavy because i kept asking him what would happen if i didn't go up with him for the interview. his response was that it would make the decision harder for him in that he wouldn't want to accept the job when i'd never been there. ..even though i told him that my feelings for him were not based on geography. when you love someone, you love the person not where they live (although that can sometimes be a huge bonus depending on the location). he said if i didn't go, he would consider not taking the job. which is a huge incentive not to go; however, i would feel guilty for him to give up such an awesome opportunity. it's romantic that he would consider not going because of me. for that reason, how could i not go? it's not like if he got the job and moved that i would all of a sudden just move to michigan. that's not my style. i would never move anywhere for a guy unless we were engaged and/or married. so, if how i feel is legit, then potentially, he is THE one. i can totally see it.

so, next friday is the day. i'll leave work a couple hours early then fly up to detroit, then onto the final destination.

i hope it's worth it.

it's 3 weeks into my new job and i still love it. :) i REALLY like my new boss. i think we're a lot alike, which helps. so far, so good. the first week, ritchie bros held their grand opening auction. i tagged along and man! was that cool! it was quite exciting to watch them drive the equipment up the "stage" so people could see what they'd be bidding on...there were people from all over the world on site, as well as it being held online. they did about 22$ million on the first day! the town gets the sales tax, minus exempt equipment and online sales. i heard we hauled in about 40k. they'll hold auctions about 4 times a year, so the town will get an added boost of nearly 100k in sales tax each year!
last week, i attended my first town council meeting. i got to meet the remaining members of the council. on friday, one of the churches (the one the mayor attends) had a fundraiser lunch and bizzare. the food was tasty and the bizarre mostly had baked goods. one cute thing i saw was a carry-all for crayons and coloring books. it had individual stitched slots for single crayons. so cute..but i, of course, have no need for any such thing. ;)

tuesday, i tagged along to attend the promotional ceremony for our new bps chief. it was held at the fire/public safety house. i had met him previously, so it was nice to see him officially sworn in. i got some more exposure in the community and caught my eye on a couple of the public safety officers. nice to know there are some attractive young people hanging around town..because i hadn't seen any previously. :P not that i'm on the market or anything.

speaking of the boyfriend...we are still doing well. i posted on facebook: "honesty. sincerety. intentional pursuit. what i always hoped to find in someone and myself." that's how i would describe the evolution of our relationship. he is a really nice guy..probably one of, if not the, nicest guys i've ever known. quite frankly, one aspect that is unique to this relationship versus all others is that i am all in, and pretty much have been from the start (not from the 1st date, but you know what i mean). we had met a couple years ago. i thought he was too nerdy (mostly because i had eyes for someone else at the time) and he was busy with grad school, so it never really went anywhere..we maybe went out twice?. and then sometime at the end of last year/january, he reached out via facebook and asked if i wanted to get together sometime. why not?, i thought. i'd finally gotten rid of the douche bag (the one i had eyes for who turned out to be a real twerp), my priorities had changed (both in life and relationships), and he was cute. so, why not? well...we picked up where we'd left off. we started dating in february, getting together every couple of weekends. then it evolved to every weekend and sometimes mid-week too. four months later, in june, i cooked for him for the first time and he asked if i wanted to be his girlfriend. of course, i said "yes." now, here we are four months later...it's been a wonderful past 8 months. in some ways it feels like it's flown by, but in others, like time has stood still. we've taken it slow..intentionally slow. previous relationships, it always felt rushed. like we had to get there first, and then figure out the rest. which of course, never worked out. we're not there yet, which is perfectly alright with me. kinda makes things better if you ask me. but, we're on the brink now.
at his parents' urging, he applied for a job back home. and he's been selected for an interview. it's on monday. so, even though at this point it's all hypothetical, we've definitely had some serious discussions. my heart is heavy..because i want him to stay but i don't want to keep him from pursuing a great opportunity..even if that opportunity is far away. his parents are upset that he would even consider not taking the job. my parents are sad because they really like him and don't want me to move away (which i wouldn't, unless there was a lifetime committment). i'll end this post with what i've been telling him and my parents....

"we'll see."

God is good...ALL the time!I disappeared from the blogosphere since losing my best friend. Now, I have the news that I was waiting to be able to share with her, give her a big ol' hug and smooch between her eyes: "I got a job! We can move out of Grandma and Grandpa's!" (Although I don't know if she'd have been too excited about the later..lol.) He opened the door.

After nearly 2.75 years, I was offered a full-time, salaried planning position. FINALLY! Someone finally said, "Yes! We want you!" :D It is a great opportunity and I feel quite blessed. It took much longer than I anticipated, but the wait was definitely worth it. I always said that God had a plan, I just wished I knew what it was..well, He certainly did. I was "promoted" at my part-time job to be the one to process shipments (what I had wanted to do since I started there in March) but less than 2 weeks later, I was offered this planning job. It was almost like God was saying, "No, you are meant to do more..to be more."

Now, I am the new Planner for a small town north of Durham. My commute is currently under 30 minutes each way (heaven!). They are giving me my time of service for CabCo in vacation time, so I came in with nearly 2 weeks of vacation. Salary had never really been an issue for me in my job search since most positions were advertised in similar ranges..I just wanted to make around what my final salary had been at CabCo. Lo and behold, I'm actually making MORE than I was then..although now, I was coming with an extra internship on my resume. Plus, when I come to the end of my 6 months' probation and they still want me, I get a 5% raise. Awesome! Oh, and on the 31st day of employment, I'll get health benefits. So, I will no longer have to pay +$300/month for health insurance. That's a HUGE weight off my shoulders.

I come into this new chapter with a better head on my shoulders, and a firmer grasp on my financials. I have learned from my previous money woes and became much more frugal while unemployed and having to really count my pennies (because sometimes it really did come down to pennies). I vow not to make the same financial choices/mistakes. I'm actually going to make enough to cover my bills/expenses/fun stuff to be able to start a rainy day fund (aka fund to repay my parents). That is exciting! Maybe the most exciting besides finally having a full-time job again?! Being able to move out of my parents house. When I moved back to Raleigh, I thought I'd be there for maybe 6 months. I'm still there after nearly 3. BUT, now with this new position, I gotta be really selective about where I choose to move because I don't want to have a hefty commute!

More fun posts to come, but this FANTASTIC news shall have to be enough for now! :D