April 2019.

This year, as do all prior years, just seems to be passing so quickly. There are so many things to do and get done. Now that winter seems to almost be gone now in North Carolina, it's time to think about planting flowers and hanging string lights on the back porch and enjoying warmer nights outside. I am all for it! But first, I have my big test looming in less than 60 days. So, after this last weekend in March, I'll go back into hibernation for a couple of months to shove my nose in my books, flip through my flash cards and get in as much studying as I can between now and then. The house projects will wait until after it's over - hopefully I can put the study materials away and enjoy the fruits of my labor. We'll see. Besides studying my butt off, here are my plans for the month of April:

1. Attend church at least twice (Easter Sunday counts!)
2. Contact company to move my thermostat
a. Contact painters about repairing and painting my drywall (2 places)
3. As much as I want to SPEND on new spring things...continue to pay down balance for Account #2 (to be paid off by/for my birthday in June)
4. Start doing all the things I need to do to change me and my life instead of just talking about it and planning it...I just need to DO IT! These "things" include:
a. Hit the gym...a lot. M-F before work + Sundays after church. No skipping days no matter how jell-o-y my legs feel.
b. Getting my butt to the gym before work means getting my body in bed by 9:30 pm. This means leaving my phone somewhere else - it is so easy to lay in bed and stay on that thing for an hour. I have 2 other obnoxious alarms so oversleeping isn't really a fear anymore. Plus, I love my sound machine.
c. Establish morning and nightly beauty/self-care routines that go beyond my post-shower use of my Rodan+Fields regimen:
- Brush and floss after every mean (at work, this should help with my chronic all-day snacking!)
- Use ACT after brushing and flossing (per my dentist's instruction, this is more important than brushing?!)
- Use a charcoal or clay mask once a week (this should be easier to do since I'm going into hibernation from things happening at night on the weekends)
- Clean my face. Don't get me wrong, I use make up remover wipes pretty regularly but I'm super bad at washing my face (when I'm not in the shower). I have this wonderful spin brush from Vanity Planet that I love, face cleanser that smells great...it just hasn't been a priority.
- Use Beauty Counter's Resurfacing Peel + Moisturizer a minimum of 3x/week (Slowly, I'm making the switch over to more of their products...and the Peel is awesome. I used it once and the next morning, my forehead already looked less pimply.)
- Dermaflash at least once. It didn't really do for me what it does in the videos, but I also didn't properly prep so I'm wondering if I really follow all the directions, I'll get better results.
- Use my face sucker at least once a week. I just like saying "face sucker." :)
5. 30 DAY CHALLENGE
+ DRINK ONLY: juice, water, Clearly Canadian, daily smoothie (I have to start making my own - this has become an expensive choice at nearly $4 each). I don't know how I feel about alcohol...I generally don't drink that much when I'm home, so I'm not saying I won't have any, but I doubt I'll have the equivalent of a 6-pk by month's end -- plus, I don't drink beer. So it'd be cider or wine. Ooh trouble. LOL
+ EAT: no bread/gluten-containing foods. Stick to what I prepare myself and GF options. For the most part, I am good about this -- except when it comes to sweets. Goodbye M&Ms. :(
+ NO CRAP: I really want to know if removing soda, bread and crap from my diet along with adequate exercise will cure my skin conditions (eczema & allergic reactions)
+ AT HOME CHALLENGE: On top of going to the gym in the mornings, I also want to do an evening challenge of body weight movements...mostly so that when I come home after work, I keep moving and just don't melt into the sofa. I'm thinking either a 3 RFT or an AMRAP...nothing crazy.
- OH PVC Squats
- Lunges
- Glute Bridges
- Fire Hydrants
- Donkey Kicks
- Sit Ups

The "moral of the story" is I'm not getting any younger and if I don't start really taking care of myself now, I don't know what's going to happen. 30 days...I'll give myself 30 days and see if I can change my life for the better.

March 2019.

- continue to pay down balance for snowball #3
- pay off balance for snowball #2 (<$200)
- attend church at least twice
- birthdays: mom and bestie
- start really going & not just planning/dreaming/not going to the gym in the mornings before work (total: 4-6 days/week)
- contact hvac company to move my thermostat
- contact painters about repairing and painting my drywall
- donate old decor and furniture
- 30 day challenge: NO SODA
- hang art and mirrors
- STUDY
- bestie comes to visit!

February 2019

January just flew by didn't it! I had a serious case of the blues towards the end of December that carried into the first month of the new year. It's really hard to talk about and yet easy. Depression isn't so bad...it just is a drag. To sweep in and knock you on your butt, telling you you're a failure, that you're never going to meet the right one, that life is just better if you sleep all day, watch tv and go back to bed. Trust me, it's not. SO, in honor of putting the first month of the new year behind us, here's to having the best February of 2019! :)

1. continue to keep balances PIF for snowball #1 and snowball #2
2. continue to pay down balance for snowball #3
3. celebrate my dad's birthday
4. attend church at least twice
5. hit the gym at least 4 days a week
6. contact HVAC company about moving my thermostat
7. contact painters about repairing and painting my drywall
8. get rid of furniture and old decor (donate to DRM)
9. 28 day challenge: NO SODA (kill me now!)
10. rearrange office and guest room + both closets
11. hang art
12. rearrange/organize coat closet on first floor
13. sleeper sofa to be delivered mid-month
14. start studying!

january 2019.

the first month of the year. a new year. a fresh start. the month that sets the tone for the year. you want to set obtainable goals so you don't lose heart and quit, but not "too easy" so the year only seems to get harder from that point on. setting the right goals can sometimes be pressure in and of itself. when does it all end?! lol. here are my goals for january:

1. pay off current balance and do not use second account

2. hit the gym at least 4 days a week

3. attend church at least twice 

4. schedule appointment with electrician

5. sort/organize/purge in office closet

6. organize/style office bookcases

7. hang art

8. start studying again - make flashcards for glossary terms

9. 31 day challenge - do not drink any hfcs soda

10. restart monthly cleaning sessions for bathrooms, kitchen, etc. i used to be so neat & clean!

to be continued...

call them resolutions. call them goals. they're both. hopes and dreams for the new year. some are ideas that carry on from year to year, that every year i hope is the year it happens! a fresh start and a continuation of the good decisions i made in the prior year. 2018 has been so great so i really hope 2019 can at least match the awesomeness, in different ways of course. Here's my short list for goals for the new year.

1. QUIT once and for all
2. CLOSE two accounts
3. STUDY for aicp exam
4. PAINT black nook in entry & white in the garage
5. PURGE get rid of the excess
6. SWEAT operation fit for 36
7. LOVE find someone worth my time
8. JESUS attend church at least twice a month

last chance.

31 days. last month of the year. the final opportunity to do all the things i've wanted to do the entire year in a few short weeks. it's the kind of month that feels so final and yet, the opportunity to take the next step in our lives. here are my goals for the final month of 2018:

1. work. i am really hoping to de-stress my life and that includes work. work can be one of the largest stressors in my life and i'm tired of it. i'm tired of caring so much, of investing my self so much into my work, of feeling beat down and so tired ALL THE TIME. i doubt much will change in a month, but at least baby steps could start...

2. sweat. same as november - get over it! get over my fears and get my butt back into the gym on a regular basis. i know i'm capable of it and i want to do it, i'm just scared of working out in such a big gym -- that is ironically small when it comes to finding space to do my own thing. but, i can't get the body i want and the health i want until i allow myself to be the best i can be...and that includes going to the gym.

3. routine. i am a creature of habit. so by establishing new routines, i hope to be able to change my lifestyle so that i am going to the gym regularly and doing the things i want to be doing (and stop doing other things). the first step? GO TO BED ON TIME. this should be no later than 9:30 pm sundays-thursdays. really i should be IN bed by 9:30 pm.

4. money. i am still on track to have two accounts paid off by the end of the year, and hopefully a third. i'm still trying to do with the FT funds...take them or let them grow. that will help decide the fate of the rest of my debt as well as growing my savings.

5. exam. i took the exam and still failed. i earned one extra point. i am still eligible and can retake it in may without having to reapply. i'm going to register and choose my date. but, i'm going to use december as a break - enjoy the holidays, tackle some projects around the house and just de-stress a bit. then, i'll pick back the books come january. i have a lot of reading to do...

here's hoping to end 2018 on a high note!

november 2018.

i have been working on this post for at least a week. it seems absolutely silly because i am 99% sure that i am the only one that reads and cares about this blog...i could be wrong, and if i am, please let me know.

...it is officially november. it's the beginning of the end..of 2018. less than 60 days until we write our resolutions for the new year and look fondly back on the year that was. i want to end this year well, and thankfully, i am already working on the best finish...i just need to stay the course. i always plan these lofty ideals of what i'm going to get done in a month and really...i'm doing a pretty good job of not doing this lately. so, here are the things i am going to do this month:


1. work. beyond the daily 8-5, we have two community events this month that i help plan. a) the community campfire is saturday, november 3. basically, i show up, we make a fire and people come roast marshmallows, make s'mores and be social for an hour and a half while i get comp time. b) at the end of the month, we take pictures of kids with santa and print them for them for free. i choose, buy and assemble cute frames and do my best to keep people out of my personal space for a couple hours. this one is fun because some of those kids are really cute.

2. sweat. i really just have to get over what ever fears i have and get my butt to the gym at the dark-crack of dawn every darn day (well, at least 5 days a week). i know that i'm capable of it and i want to do it, i'm just scared. i also know that i can't get the body i want and the health that i want until i allow myself to be the best i can be...and that includes going to the gym. this means i have to establish and stick to evening and morning routines so that this is easier for me.

3. routine. establish and stick to evening and morning routines. this will help me be more alert and open to certain things, as well as allow myself to get to the gym at 5am...a) turn the tv off at 9pm every night (except fridays and saturdays); evening routines = floss/brush/use act; wash my face; use bc night mask; in bed by 9:30pm nightly sunday-thursday. b) gym at 5am monday-friday; shower & do my hair every day, even if it means i start using dry shampoo(!!); be proud of what i wear to work every day...casual fridays are fine but some days, i do literally roll out of bed. i really gotta quit that habit; eat breakfast before work every day (i thimk this will help curb my snacking at work significantly). this also means that i need to change a routine that is deeply embedded in my life...i want to stop enabling the worst habit i have. i need to.

4. money. ever since my grandma passed this summer and left me a monetary legacy, i have been working on whittling down my debt. the first account is nearly depleted as planned - i have used it to pay off my 401(k) loan, pay off two credit cards (to be closed in january 2019), score my dream master closet system (on sale of course!), and have some leftover to help paydown my third account. it will just about have cleared away all my credit debt. the second account i received went straight into the bank, so that's exciting. the third account is an annuity. i chose to close that account and should receive those funds within the next week or so. those funds will wipe out the rest of my credit card debt, allow me to buy a new set of tires and brake pads for my car that has officially reached +100k miles, and have some left over to either put in the bank or blow. once i take care of those items, i'll decide. it leaves me with one more account...i'm trying to decide what to do with the funds -- sell or keep them going -- by the end of the year.

5. study. i am in the home stretch...less than 3 weeks until my exam. i am really starting to feel the pressure.

6. extras. additionally, we are travelling to NoVa for Thanksgiving this year. It will be fun and fine...I was just really looking forward to having the whole week/weekend to get stuff done & being stuck in a car with your parents for 8+ hours...doesn't sounds super fun. i've also been in a really sour mood lately and i can't determine what it is because i'm not sad. monday was the first day i wasn't on prednisone, so that may be one reason. my doctor didn't wean me off it...i don't know but i would really like to get out of it and be a more pleasurable version of myself.

HERE'S TO A GREAT NOVEMBER!