june 2016

Who can believe it's already June?! And, summer! I'm still trying to figure out how to apply my self-tanner evenly all over my body. I tried again over the weekend and it was less spotty but my right side was definitely more tan looking than my left...particularly with my legs. I do love the nearly instant color it provides...starts showing after a few hours and full application after twelve hours. But, how about my sheets? Those looked a little icky with self-tanner spots...guess it's time to start sleeping with the fan on again so I don't get so hot or taking my blue blanket off the bed - leaving just the sheet, down duvet, and furry throw. ;) I'm considering trying the spray tanner to see if that's easier to apply. Plus, I still need to recruit my mom to apply it to my back. 

This month is a great month because it's the month I was born! :) I'm excited, of course, even though it's kind of a "meh" birthday. I'm not 30 and I'm not 35...smack dab in the middle. But, I feel better going into the month of June than I did in May. I think I'm getting back into the swing of things and everything is just fitting. Yesterday was Memorial Day so I joined thousands of Crossfitters in doing the hero workout, "Murph." The Rx version consists of: 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats, and another 1 mile run. I did a way scaled down version mostly because of the pull-ups. Since I don't belong to a CF gym (box), I continue to utilize the gym in my apartment complex. I'm too tall to rack the bar at the highest position and wrap the band around that to do them because them my chin would hit the frame, I believe. So, we have a stretching cage thingy that I've seen a few people use for pull ups. But, with that, if I stepped in the band with my foot, I was standing on the base. No way to kip. So, I used the band around my knee. Also, very hard to kip. So, I counted attempts for about half my count. I'm still sore across my upper back. ;) My scaled Murph consisted of: Run 1/4 mile, 25 pull-ups, 50 push ups, 75 air squats, and another 1/4 mile run. I put the treadmill on 5.5mph which felt fast, but I knew the pull-ups would take up valuable time...and I still wasn't at 100% with the blade injury to my left middle and ring fingers so maintaining grip with band-aids was challenging and made linking pull-ups together even tougher. But, I kept going. By the second sprint my legs felt like jelly and i was dripping with sweat. Not my best Murph workout but having been away from a legit CF workout for more than a couple years, it felt great. It was a great way to honor not just Murph but all of our service men, women and canines who have left it all out on the battlefield in service for our country. We should always remember, thank and honor those who service in our military, but Monday was really about honoring the ones who didn't come home. I think it's really important to distinguish why we honor certain holidays the way we do.

Enough rhetoric. Here are my goals for the sixth month of 2016.

Fiscal
1. make $200.00 payment on snowball #1 (6/17).
2. make $149.00 minimum payment (6/3), additional $200.00 payment (6/17) on snowball #2.
3. bills: rent $843.00; w/s/t <$70.00 (barely); car insurance <$95.00; cell phone $60.00; electric <$65.00.
4. dentist appt. 6/21: i pay up front & then my insurance company reimburses me, less the out-of-network cost
5. exchange a top purchased in april for a short-sleeve version, use $25 virtual dollars and basically, just pay for tax..what a deal!
6. order my Jacob's birthday present (my nephew turns 2 in July!)

Physical
1. sleep = sunday - thursday: bedtime is 9pm to rise by 5am monday - friday to work out; weekends: rise between 6-7am
2. sweat = minimum 5,000 steps per day (fitbit); work out 4-7 days/week || 3 weeks until my birthday & I have a HOT dress I want to wear out to celebrate!
3. eat = clean! no caffeinated soda, limited caffeine-free soda intake; no skittles, doritos, crap from Jack's. ;) drink mostly water and add more milk!
4. oral = floss/brush/use act after every meal, even at work; coconut oil pull 3 nights/week; whiten teeth.

Fun!
1. read a book (one of these days I really will!)
2. finish father's day gift: finish painting sides, border detail 6/1-6/3; design & paint board designs 6/3-6/4, 6/10-11; detailing/touch ups 6/13-15; seal boards (poly & sand & poly) 6/16-17
3. celebrate my birthday!
4. celebrate father's day 6/19
5. see "finding dory," opening 6/17...i am so excited for its release! :)
6. avoid the bar until my birthday...if the chicken pickin' is a wash out, i may venture out 6/4 nope! i stayed in! :) i went out for a little while on saturday 6/11, mostly so i don't shock 'em with my sexiness on the 17th! ;)
7. letter writing: michigan, raleigh
8. certification window opens 6/1 for november exam on sunday, the deadline was 6/7 at 9am. so i frantically tried to get my application in on time, only to find the deadline is midnight. tsk! *it's the second time something like that has happened to me in the past week!*
9. sort/organize/purge! 6/25-26
10. sort/organize/purge/update files 6/25-26
11. try to schedule a massage for real! :) i have one scheduled for friday 6/17!!
12. go to church every Sunday in June (I am really loving RFA!) i missed 6/5 because my phone locked up and i didn't have my other alarm clock (only has one alarm) on. i wound up staying in bed all morning because i stayed up late watching a netflix movie (which i just remembered i need to return!).

Eight to Five.
1. Code Enforcement Day! 6/1 (site inspections, new violation notices, etc.)
2. Nutrition Work Shop 6/2
3. Town Council 6/2 (this one is going to be a doozy! the planning dept has 5 agenda items, 4 are public hearings and the board has to adopt the budget, which is also a public hearing. we may be there all night!)
4. Update Zoning Map 6/3 (also on website)
5. Chicken Pickin' 6/4
6. County CTP Meeting 6/7
7. Regional Greenway Meeting 6/9
8. Code Enforcement Day! 6/10
9. UNRBA Meeting 6/15
10. OFF 6/17
11. PFC 6/22
12. RPO TAC/TCC Supplemental Meeting (for a delayed vote) 6/23
13. website subcommittee meeting 6/27

may 2016

let's just say that i have met the "mid-year slump" in almost every aspect of my life. on the outside, i need to get my hair done, i need to go to the dentist, and at the moment, i'm wearing a long dress because i need to shave my legs. on the inside, i need to quit spending money, quit wasting my time thinking about someone who has proven to be a reasonably sized jackass, quit thinking about what to write to my ex without calling him an arrogant asshole and just write it down and send it off, quit the one thing that i've been holding onto for the past few years, and just get my shit together. so, i've put a whole lot of pressure on may to be the month everything's going to fall into place. it's the last month i can call myself "32" and i really want to get back on track to being able to accomplish my goals for this year, and not slide off the wagon even further. the first step? i'm taking a purposeful month off from going to the pub on the weekends. i've started to drink my feelings and that only leaves me feeling more useless and like i don't matter. because i won't be out late on the weekends, that also means i'll be able to go to church - so i'm making a purposeful effort to go to church on sundays. i found a new church - went last week for the first time on purpose and was moved. so, i have to go back. :) with regard to spending, i'm making a conscious effort beginning with friday's paycheck to not spend for the heck of it. and looking at my budget for the next 2 weeks, there's not really an ounce of money that could be frivolously spent without repercussions anyways. those nice shorts i bought from white house | black market are killing me. but i don't regret them because they're my celebratory piece -- i fit comfortably in a size 4! my hard work is paying off and starting to show...i want to keep it up! with just a little more than a month to go for my birthday, i want to rock it at 33! :) and the good news, i've run the numbers and it is still possible that i will be debt free by the end of the year! whee!! :D
here's what's planned for may:

fiscal
1. make $200.00 payment for snowball #1 (5/20) $500.00 paid 5/20. looking to pay the remaining balance in full this month as well ($280.00) to be able to give my undivided attention to #2 for the next 6 months.
2. make $200.00 payment for snowball #2 (5/6) - i haven't missed a payment in over a year but the end of april/beginning of may left me in a pinch and thus, missed a payment. boo! paid minimum on 5/6. 
3. bills: rent/utilities (paid 5/3 -- did i mention my w/s/t bill was almost $70?! $70 for 1 person living alone. that is outrageous and just solidifies my desire to move when my lease is up in 5 months or so.); car insurance; cell phone; electric everything paid by 5/6
4. other bills: ue co-payment; ER payment payments mailed 5/6

physical
1. sleep = 9:00 pm bedtime sunday-thursday to rise at 4:30am monday-friday; 11:00pm bedtime friday-saturday to rise by 7:00am.
2. sweat = minimum 5,000 steps per day; work out 5-6 days/week
3. oral = floss/brush/act after every meal, including at work; coconut oil pull 3 nights/week; start using teeth whitening products
4. eat/drink = 31 days of minimal-no crap challenge! no soda, no doritos...acceptable snacks are gf cheddar popcorn and chocolate; acceptable beverages are water, milk and maybe virgil's (no hfcs).
5. change dentist appoint to june/july

fun
1. read a book (i promise it's going to happen this month!) it didn't happen this month.. :(
2. finish gallery wall in living room (antenna needs to be moved closer to the window again...wondering if i could just install a shelf so that i don't have to move everything again! and it looks FABULOUS!!
3. no nights at the bar this month!
4. write/send letter to michigan
5. applications
6. clean! kitchen, living room, bedroom 5/21-22, 5/28-30
7. iron/steam marathon: part 1 5/7, part 2 5/13, part 3 5/21
8. schedule a much needed massage!
9. celebrate! mother's day 5/8, paul's birthday 5/14
10. help the grandparents babysit while the parents are in dc 5/6-5/8
11. tv finales!
12. sort/organize/purge! from my file cabinets to my storage ottoman, underbed boxes, bins...
13. go to church every sunday in may

eight to five
1. public hearing for roads 5/4
2. town council 5/5 (i'm not going, i want to watch grey's!)
3. planning board 5/12
4. set meeting 5/16
5. unrba meeting 5/18
6. path forward 5/25
7. rpo tac/tcc 5/26

april 2016

fiscal
1. snowball #1: make $200.00 payment minimum payment paid 4/8.
2. snowball #2: make $200.00 payment (minimum) $143.00 paid 4/1. On 4/2, returned $74 from a recent order. Returned another $127.00 last week with other returns possible.
3. bills: rent; water/sewer/trash; cell phone; electric
4. gi co-pay from UE, gi co-pay for follow up appt., ER bill payment
Spring is when my wallet gets hit the hardest! 0:)

physical
1. sleep = 9:00 p.m. bedtime sunday - thursday; rise at 4:30 a.m. monday-friday
2. sweat = minimum 5,000 steps per day; work out 5-6 days a week (walk/run + mini WODs); monday - friday work out before work (5-6:00 a.m.)
3. oral = floss/brush/act after every meal (even at work); coconut oil pull 3 nights a week; start using teeth whitening "stuff" i changed my toothpaste (same brand but different formula and it is AMAZING! really seems to be tackling the tarter (eew!) and my teeth feel so clean! baby steps....
4. eat/drink = i slacked off in march with the abundance of easter candy/sweets, so it's time to get tough again! 30 days of no crap - no hfcs beverages, no/limited gluten, no processed crap, eat dinner by 7:00 p.m. every night
5. gi doctor follow up appointment

fun
1. read a book!
2. tra'li
3. send grandma a gift for her birthday
4. write/send note to michigan
5. returns: target, j.crew suit returns (i kept the black and navy suits - paid for by mi madre)
6. applications
7. clean! kitchen, living room 4/9-10
8. update gallery wall in living room 4/1-3
9. schedule a much-needed massage!
10. emerald isle to see my bestie!?!
11. jacob's baby dedication 4/17
12. babysit 4/23
13. order mother's day gifts for mom and grandma
14. do my taxes!! mail by 4/18

eight to five
1. make maps for town clean up event 4/6
2. town council 4/7
3. planning board 4/14
4. county RAC 4/19
5. SET 4/21
6. RPO TAC/TCC 4/22
7. tip a cop event 4/22
8. town health work shop 4/27 

march 2016

$ fiscal $
1. Snowball #1: make $200.00 payment
2. Snowball #2: make $200.00 payment (minimum)
3. Bills, bills, bills: $843.00 rent; $60.00+/- water/sewer/trash (finally!); cell phone; electric $62.00 +/-

physical
1. SLEEP = Go to bed at 9:00 p.m. Sunday - Thursday; Rise by 5:00 a.m. Monday - Friday
2. SWEAT = minimum 5,000 steps per day; 5-6 days per week work out (walk/run, mini WODs); M-F work out before work (5-6:00 a.m.)
3. ORAL = brush/floss/act after every meal (even at work); coconut oil pull 3 nights per week before bed (and/or other at-home oral care practice)
4. EAT/DRINK = 31 days of no crap: no soda, no/limited gluten; no processed crap; eat dinner by 7:00 p.m.
5. dr. appt. 3/1; upper endoscopy 3/4 (whoopie!)

* fun *
1. read a book
2. trali
3. celebrate mom's birthday
4. celebrate my bestie's birthday
5. celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection
6. write/send note to michigan (mid- to end- of month)
7. make container store return
8. buy a griddle/indoor grill pan
9. applications
10. update art wall in living room
11. schedule a much-needed massage!
12. emerald isle!
13. st. patrick's day 3/17

8-5.
1. town council 3/3
2. SET meeting 3/7
3. planning board 3/10
4. pay day 3/11
5. town PRAC 3/14 (probably not)
6. easter egg hunt 3/24
7. office closed (good friday) 3/25

february 2016

$ fiscal $
1. Do not buy any. This is the hardest of all of my goals of my life, let alone the month. But, it's the key to letting go...
2. Car Insurance: Make at least $100.00 payment (current balance is <$350.00)
3. Snowball #1: Make $200.00 payment
4. Snowball #2: Make $150.00 payment 
5. Bills, bills, bills: rent $843.00, cell phone, electric $72.00.

physical
1. Sleep Challenge: Sunday - Thursday Go to bed at 9:00 p.m.; Monday - Friday Rise at 5:00 a.m. January's goal was to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. which worked pretty well but I've figured out that to get enough sleep and still be able to work out before work, I really should be in bed by 9:00, 9:30 p.m. at the latest. Oh, being an adult sucks sometimes. :)2. Sweat Challenge: minimum 5,000 steps per day; 5 days/week work out (walk/run, mini WODs) I kicked off January pretty strong...where I fell off a bit was weekday mornings, so that's one reason the new sleep challenge is on the list...
3. Food Challenge: 29 days of no crap - no hfcs soda, limited/no gluten, no processed crap, eat dinner by 7:30 p.m. every night
4. Oral Care Challenge: Brush/floss/use act after every meal (including at work!); Coconut oil pull 3 nights/week before bedtime (or other at-home oral care practices)

fun stuff
1. Read book 2 as part of 12 for 12 OR book 1 as part of 11 for 12 :)
2. Trali
3. Celebrate Dad's birthday 2/6
4. Write/send gift to n.g.
5. Donations to DRM/Goodwill (continue to thin out wardrobe, jewelry and lose miscellaneous items)
6. Finish kitchen revamp: Add one more ledge &amp; buy more spice jars; clean sink; sweep; swiffer; clean the trash can
7. Update art wall in the living room
8. Buy new sweatpants b/c let's face it - i don't have time to redo a waistband!
9. Hair appointment 2/15
10. Schedule a massage
11. Applications (at least 2)

8 to 5
1. PFC 2/2
2. Staff Meeting 2/3
3. Town Council 2/4
4. Parks & Rec Advisory Committee 2/8
5. Planning Board 2/11 no meeting this month
6. Pay Day 2/12
7. Training @ NC State 2/18
8. County RAC 2/23
9. SET 2/24
10. Subdivision Roads Meeting 2/24 (I wasn't invited)
11.  RPO TAC/TCC Meeting 2/25
12. Board of Adjustment 2/25 no meeting this month
13. Greenway Meeting 2/26
14. Pay Day 2/26

january

JANUARY 2016

$ FISCAL $
1. Do not buy any. First step to ending a bad habit is to lose the temptation. fail.
2. Pay car insurance in full: pay at least $100, preferably 1/2 from 12/18 paycheck & pay remaining balance from 1/15 paycheck. Paid minimum payment 12/31. Paid $100.00 1/15. There's almost enough to pay the balance. I'll probably make another $100-200.00 payment and leave the rest for March (<$150).
3. Snowball #1: make $200 payment
4. Snowball #2: make $200 payment (minimum from 12/18 paycheck, secondary payment from 1/15 paycheck - amount should total at least $200) Paid minimum +/-$75.00 (balance from return) 12/31. Paid $153.00 February minimum 1/15
5. Bills, bills, bills: rent $843.00, water/sewer/trash ?? since complex is under new management, they were just approved to charge for utilities which means no payment due but also means february's payment is going to be huge!; cell phone; electric; snowball #1; snowball #2
6. Money for DC Road Trip: Hotel/Valet +/-$175.00; Gas/Food/Etc. +/-$150.00 (hoping to stay under $300 for this trip)

PHYSICAL
1. Sleep Challenge: Sunday - Thursday - Go to bed by 10:00 p.m.; Monday - Friday - Rise at 5:00 a.m. I did really well going to bed at 10:00 p.m. but rising at 5:00 a.m.? Not so much.
2. Sweat Challenge: 5,000 steps per day minimum; 5 days/week: wake up at 5:00 a.m. to work out Started off strong, then the work week got in the way
3. Food Challenge: 31 days of no crap: no hfcs sodas, limited/no gluten, no processed crap; eat dinner by 7:30 p.m. every night
4. Oral Care Challenge: Floss/brush/Act after every meal; coconut oil pull 3 nights/week before bedtime FAIL

FUN STUFF :)
1. Read Book 1 as part of 12 for 12: I Am Malala FAIL...let's call it 11 for 12 :)
2. Trali on 1/15, 1/29
3. Send my thoughts to Michigan and let it go! Confession mailed. Can't promise I'll let it go...just gotta stop listening to Adele.
4. Beginning of the Year Purge: sort/organize/shred; file; be selective
5. Rearrange furniture, change art arrangements, etc.(this will also help with the 1st purge of the year!)
6. DC Road Trip 1/9-1/10
7. Top-down, inside-out clean in kitchen (minus the oven - i just did that a couple weeks ago) 1/15-1/18 Rescheduled for 1/23-24 :)8. Begin looking at new opportunities and begin the process to achieve them

EIGHT TO FIVE
1. Office closed: 1/1, 1/18
2. PFC 1/5
3. Town Council 1/7
4. Town RAC 1/11 Rescheduled for 1/25 Rescheduled to 2/8
5. SET 1/13
6. Planning Board 1/14
7. County RAC 1/19
8. SW Utility 1/26
9. UNRBA 1/27
10. Board of Adjustment 1/28
11. CWEP 1/29

goals for 2016

Goals for 2016

12 for 12 
(read at least 1 book each month)
Quit
Debt Free in 2016
(pay off credit cards; close 2nd, larger account)
Pay Car Insurance in Full
(at renewal periods: January, July)
Get Physically Fit
Get Emotionally Fit
Get Healthier
(consistent workout, sleep, meal schedules)
Get a Massage 4x/Year
Take Golf Lessons
Go to the Gun Range / Go Bowling
Give at least $100.00
(LLS, ALS, IMB, etc.)
PURGE!
Play Keyboard at least 1x/Week
Gossip Less at Work
(< Gossip & B.S. = me less stressed, more focused on my work)