New Year, Same Goals?

Here are the resolutions I made a year ago:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list before my birthday in August. (2 years late but hey at least I will finish)  In order to complete it here's what is left:

• Get in the best shape of my life (working on it)
• kayak 
• catch a fish
• kiss in the rain
• read the Bible all the way through (almost finished with the OT)

2. Run a half marathon (hopefully in April)

3. Pay off my car early.  (I am supposed to be done with payments April 2013, but I would like to pay it off early if possible!)

So I did make some progress. 1.5 out of 3?  In my defense, I thought my car payments would be done in April 2013, but it is actually April of 2014.  Saving up 4 months worth or extra payments is a lot different from saving up 16 months of extra payments!  So that will stay on the list.

Here are my goals for 2013:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list.
Only 3 things left!  The hardest is #1- get in the best shape of my life, so I think I will concentrate on that.

2. Pay off my car early.

3. Make some upgrades to my house.
I want to re-paint the downstairs, switch out some light fixtures, re-do the counter tops in the kitchen, get a new kitchen sink and faucet, and possibly replace some appliances.

4. Be a better blogger.
This year I have sucked at blogging.  I haven't replied to comments.  I haven't even commented much on other blogs (although I have been reading!).  I haven't been consistent with my posts and most of them have lacked substance.  I want to get back to being a better blogger because it is something I really enjoy.

The past few years I have also committed to start, stop, and keep certain things in my life.

Here are mine from last year...

I would like to start eating healthy on a more consistent basis.  FAIL!

I would like to stop complaining so much.  FAIL!

I would like to keep running.  FAIL!

I did pretty good with those for the first half of the year, but the second half of the year they all fell by the wayside.  I would like to try to improve on those again in 2013 but also...

Start getting up earlier and going to bed earlier.

Stop eating so many sweets and processed foods.

Keep  volunteering with Summit Kids.

So it sounds like 2013 is going to be a year to concentrate on my health and finances.  I wouldn't LOVE to have some LOVE show up in 2013 for me, but I have all but given up on that.  I am not good at the whole love thing and am totally leaving that in God's hands where it belongs.  If 2013 is the year for it yippee, if not I will wait.

#18- Upgrade one room in my house

I have learned over the past six years that one of the most frustrating things about having a house is that it is like having a project that is never really complete.  First of all it is expensive!  You move in and you have all these ideas of things you want to change but dang! it is expensive to do everything you want to do.  Then as you complete projects, new ones come up.  It is a never ending cycle.

That is why I had a hard time marking this one as complete.  Because there are still things I want to do.  Especially in my kitchen because that is the room I really had in mind when I put this on my list.

I have upgraded several rooms in my house over the past few years, but one of the most dramatic differences I think it in my office/guest room/home gym.  Here are some "before" shots:

And here are some "after" shots:

One other MAJOR improvement in my house was the instillation of bamboo hardwoods throughout my first floor.  Here is a "before" shot (sorry only one I could find):

 And here is an After:

I also painted my Master Bath and upgraded the faucet in that room. I can't find a good "before" but here is the "after":

And since I mentioned the kitchen, here is a picture of what that looks like now:

I still want to repaint this room (the entire downstairs in fact), add knobs to all the cabinets, install a new light fixture, upgrade all the appliances to stainless steel, get a new sink and counter tops,  put a valance over that window or something, and add a backsplash.  But that takes money that I do not have at the moment, so it will do for now!



Even though there are a lot of other things I want to do when it comes to "upgrading" my house, I am marking #18- "Upgrade one room in my house" as COMPLETE!  Finally.  YAY!

New Year's Goals

Here are my goals for 2012:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list before my birthday in August. (2 years late but hey at least I will finish)  In order to complete it here's what is left:

• Get in the best shape of my life (working on it)
• kayak
• catch a fish
• kiss in the rain
• read the Bible all the way through (almost finished with the OT)

(I've already completed upgrade one room in my house. I need to write a post about it)

2. Run a half marathon (hopefully in April)

3. Pay off my car early.  (I am supposed to be done with payments April 2013, but I would like to pay it off early if possible!)

I also liked the idea from last year of something to start, something to stop, and something to keep.

I would like to start eating healthy on a more consistent basis.  No more cheat days that turn into cheat weeks that turn into taking the whole month off.

I would like to stop complaining so much.  I am sick of complaining.  Complaining is so unattractive.

I would like to keep running.  I took almost 3 weeks off during December from my 10K training plan and I was so afraid I was going to have to start all over.  But my body stayed in shape better than I thought it would.  I started off doing 2 miles walking/running at the lake last week.  Then I picked it back up yesterday and ran 5 miles and walked 1 for a total of 6 miles!  It wasn't super easy, but I did it.  And according to my bodybugg I burned over 3,000 calories yesterday!  I must keep running in my life to get those kind of numbers!

What are your goals for 2012?

Fall fun, TV finds, and frustration

I have so many things I want to blog about and not nearly enough time.  I'm going to try to keep it (somewhat) short and get some of the things swirling around in my head onto one blog without being completely random.  Here goes nothing...

Fall Fun

Last Friday my friend W pinged me and we both had no plans so we decided to check out this haunted farm in Cary. (The fact that we were going to Cary was scary enough.  Nothing good happens in Cary.  I tell ya, that town is just not right.)  Anyway, we should have took it as a sign when we pulled up and the parking attendant asked us if we brought an extra pair of panties (um what?) and then asked if we were in college? (no) high school?  (no)  Ok...moving on...so for $15 we got to go tour the haunted house, take the haunted hay ride, and do the haunted corn maze.  The haunted house was ok.  The haunted hay ride was kind of fun.  But the haunted corn maze was by far the scariest. I think the key was they made us go through in the groups we came with so it was just the 2 of us.  For the longest time no one jumped out and scared us.  Then all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw some creepy guy walking behind us silently.  We screamed and ran and continued to be scared at just about every twist and turn.  (including 2 chainsaw chases!)  It was fun!  I tried to snap some pictures, but my iPhone doesn't have a flash so none of them turned out.

This weekend I'm hoping to get to The Sate Fair (fried oreos, roasted corn and maybe even a krispie kreme burger...pig races, people watching and more!) on Saturday and do the Parade of Homes on Sunday.  These are 2 of my favorite fall events!  I'll try to get some good pics to share!

I also have to figure out if my homemade Halloween costume is going to work sometime this weekend because the annual Halloween party is early this year- next weekend!  My costume is a totally awesome idea in theory, but I don't know if the execution is going to work.  I have a back up costume in case.  It is cute, but totally un-original, so I am really hoping Plan A works out.  If I would have thought about it earlier, I would have been a honey badger for Halloween!

What are you going to be for Halloween?

TV finds

I didn't add a lot to my TV rotation this year because I barely have time to watch TV.  But here are two new shows I like:

Ok, so a lot of the story lines in this one are far fetched, but I love Rachael Bilson, I love the South, and I love small town drama.  So I heart Hart of Dixie!

I LOVE this show!!  There have been only 2 episodes so far, but I am so freaking hooked!  The characters are so complex and it it just a great concept- the CIA finds this marine that has been held hostage by terrorists for 8 years.  One of the CIA agents has a theory that he has been turned and is now an undercover terrorist.  It is so freaking good!!!  Seriously if you have Showtime watch this!

Have you seen/do you like these new shows?  What are your favorite new shows?


Frustration

I have been so frustrated the last couple days.  Frustrated with being single.  Frustrated with my never ending to do list at work.  Frustrated with having no time for blogging.  Frustrated with tracking calories and the crazy amount of calories in anything I eat out. Frustrated with running and running and not getting any better or faster.  Frustrated with comparing myself to others.  I even got frustrated at church on Sunday (why must they always park me in the freaking muddy field!?!  and no mr. pastor I didn't comprehend a word of your sermon because there were three kids sitting behind me whispering and rattling their candy wrappers the entire time.)  For some reason I feel like I could just explode with all this built up frustration. 

I tried running.  I tried eating.  I tried sleeping.  I tried vegging out and getting sucked in to cheesy Lifetime movies.  I tried hanging out with friends.  I tried praying.  I tried reading.  I tried shopping at Target (managed to get out only spending $50!)  But nothing seems to be working.  How do you get yourself un-frustrated?

I'm going to try to get some blog posts in this week including- marking off #18 on my list- upgrading a room in my house and Self Control September re-cap.  Stay tuned!

My Birthday- Camping, Rafting, Bamboo, and HDTV!

For my birthday last weekend, I took a camping/rafting trip with 12 of my friends.  We went up to Hot Springs, NC (just outside Asheville).  I don't mind camping in a tent (I actually kind of like it) but I really didn't like the thought of setting up a tent by myself in the dark, so I opted to stay in the cabin.  The first night they messed up our reservation and we ended up in the mack-daddy cabin with 4 bedrooms, kitchen, living room (with TV), and bathroom (with a shower)!  It was awesome.  The second night we were in this:

Believe it or not, there were 6 of us in that tiny thing!  It was basically one room with a small loft area with a double sized sleeping mat, a bunk bed with a twin on top and double on the bottom, a sink and a toilet, and we set up a twin sized cot that took up the rest of the floor space.  It wasn't that bad, but it was tight.

But we were right by the river and right across from our other friends in tent city.

the river

We went white water rafting Saturday afternoon.  I was a little disappointed with the rapids.  They were supposedly class 3, but they were not scary at all.  The scariest thing I experienced that day was when we stopped to jump off this cliff into the river.  I did not want to do it from the get go, but everyone else was and they were all urging me to too.  I got to the top of the cliff and looked over and ummm...no.  It was so much higher from up there and I do not like the feeling of falling so I did not do it.  I got up there on the edge twice, but could not force myself to do it!  I had to endure the embarrassment of walking back down to the river.

We also got to soak in the natural hot springs that night.  It was freaking HOT!  I couldn't stay in the whole time, but maybe some of those natural healing powers in the water did some magic for my aging body!

I also got my bamboo floors installed last week!  Here are some pics:

see that basket?- i take my shoes off when i come home now

Kitchen- and my pets making out?

kitchen again

living room

dining room

Bamboo floors are supposedly harder and more environmentally conscious.  I got the Teragren Synergy Wide Plank Strand bamboo in Chestnut.  So far I am really happy with them!

I also bought my first ever TV.  It is so nice!  It even has Wifi and internet apps like Twitter, Netflix, Facebook, etc. right on the TV!  It's a Vizo 47" LCD HDTV.  Right now on Amazon it is $1,189.99, but I got it for $849 from Amazon a few weeks ago when it was on sale!

that's my twitter feed along the side!

it's big and the picture is so crisp!

I had some issues with the picture just randomly freezing sometimes, but I called customer service and did their "fix" and it hasn't done it since.

Overall it was a wonderful birthday weekend!  I know it all seems a little extravagant and yes, it is.  But you have to realize I have had the same TV for over 12 years (it was almost 20 years old total) and I have wanted the floors since I moved in my townhouse 6 years ago (and my mom paid for those)!  So this was a long time in the making! So please don't judge.

That's all for now!  I'll have some 30 Before 30 List updates and Bookshelf Blog posts coming soon!

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

I know I have said it before and I'll say it again- I LOVE Pinterest!

This week I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

And please follow me on Pinterest so I can follow you and see all the pretty things you are loving!

Follow Me!!  -  ncsuz on Pinterest

 

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Source: blulabelbungalow.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

My bamboo floors are getting installed as we speak!! So excited! But I think I'm going to need some rugs now. I'm thinking about getting this one from West Elm for my living room. What do you think?

Source: fuckyeahtattoos.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

I LOVE this tattoo! I want another tattoo. I want one on my wrist but I think this placement looks cool too. I'm just afraid my poor little feet are too sensitive for this. I can barely get a pedicure without jerking my foot out of the lady's hands because they are so ticklish!

Source: thehealthychange.tumblr.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Of course I need some thinspiration! I totally fell off the diet/work-out wagon last week due to my busy schedule and traveling. In fact I went to the gym on Monday and I think it was the first time I put on my tennis shoes in 2 weeks! I stopped doing Jillian's Ripped in 30 workout (only got through weeks one and two). Life always seems to get in the way of my goals!  I wanted to run a 9 minute mile to mark #1- get in the best shape of my life off my list. I haven't ran in over 2 weeks and I tried at the gym this morning and got a mile in 10:05. I am most def. not in the best shape of my life right now.

Source: bakersroyale.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

These lemon drop jello shots look awesome! I love jello shots but they are so awkward to eat from a cup. These look adorable and they look like they'd be easy to eat too!

Source: myspace.com via ncsuz on Pinterest

Are you guys watching Bachelor Pad? I didn't watch the last one, but I had to watch this one because Graham is on it! Graham was my personal trainer a few years ago before he moved to New York and he was such a good personal trainer (and not just because he was nice to look at). He really is a nice guy. I am not happy to see him hooking up with crazy Michelle and teaming up with team Vienna, but I'm still rooting for him. But Graham- eat a cookie or something because you are looking way too skinny!

P.S.- I'm almost to 300 followers! If I get to 300 followers before midnight tomorrow, in honor of my birthday, I'm going to do an awesome giveaway for you guys!  So if you love my little old blog, please tell your friends and ask them to follow me!  310 would be even better becasue it would match up with turning 31, but I'll take an even 300!!  :)

Deadlines suck!

My birthday is Friday.  I will turn 31.  Guess what.  The list is still not complete.  At this rate I will be 40 before I finish.  I'm trying not to think about it too much.


I hate birthdays.  I'm trying not to be so negative about it because really it is just another day and you feel no different than the day before.  Whatever.  I took the day off and I am going to the mountains for the weekend with my friends to go white water rafting, so hopefully nothing terrible can happen.  I still might have a breakdown about getting older and not being where I thought I would be, but I will try to do that in private to spare everyone from my negativity.

But I did get the best birthday present ever from my mom this year!  Bamboo hardwood floors!  They are going in on Wednesday.  At least I will be able to mark #18- upgrade one room in my house, off my list!

I also got a bonus at work and bought my very first TV.  I had never bought a TV before.  I inherited a huge, heavy, monstrous, wood encased TV from my Grandpa back in 1999 and I finally sold it last Thursday.  I almost shed a tear seeing the empty space it left in the living room.  I'd had that TV for 12 years!  I hope the Hells Angel that bought it for $20 off my craigslist ad enjoys it!  And thank goodness I will never ever have to move that thing again because it is seriously as heavy as a freaking piano!

Question of the day- Birthdays: love them, hate them, or indifferent?

List progress

ohmygosh I am so glad Blogger is back up!  I was kind of worried I might lose my whole blog and have to start all over again.  That would have been tragic!  Don't scare me like that again Blogger or I may have to switch to that other blogging platform!  Now onto my slightly delayed post I wrote yesterday...

I haven’t marked anything off my list in a while. But I am slowly making progress with the remaining items:

#1- Get in the best shape of my life. Ok, so maybe I should have defined what “best shape of my life” means. My whole life I could barely run a mile. Even in high school when I played soccer I hated Mondays because that was the day we ran the mile. I have been steadily making progress with my running. I run 2-4 miles 3-5 times/week. I’ve ran three 5Ks in the last 6 months and even though I said I was done for the summer, I am running another one this weekend. But my body is nowhere near the “the best it has ever been”. I’m not the size 4 I was in high school. I can’t even fit in most of the clothes I wore just 4 summers ago. I’m working on that part of it. But does “best shape” mean what my body looks like or what it can do? Oh well, all I know is I’m not ready to mark this one off the list yet.

#9 kayak- It is the perfect kayaking weather right now. I’ve looked in to options around Raleigh and it looks like it will cost about $40-$50 if I do it around here. Last year I was going to sign up for a kayak excursion through the NC Aquarium while I was at the timeshare we have at Atlantic Beach. Well, it was sold out. They have that as an option again this year and it is only $20. I could do that, but I think the one in Raleigh would be better (way less hot if I do it now!). Hmmm…I can’t decide. What do you think?

#10 catch a fish- I keep telling my friend to let me know when her dad is taking her son fishing so I can tag along. Hopefully it will be soon.

#18 upgrade one room in my house- so I painted my Master Bath, hung some pictures, and installed a new faucet but I never touched up around where I got paint on the ceiling. I am working on re-doing my home office/gym/guest room. I also hung curtains in my living room. But the main thing I want is hardwood floors! I feel like I need to get the hardwood floors to mark this off my list. But I might not. Who knows. If the home office/gym/guest room turns out fabulous and I touch up the ceiling in the master bath maybe I will just consider it done and save that money for something like paying off my car early.

#26 Kiss in the rain- HA!! Yeah right! I think the only way this one will ever get marked off the list is if I die and heaven turns out to be one big long romantic comedy. There are no kissable boys even remotely on my radar. Let alone someone I could have my “movie love” moment with.

#27 Read the Bible all the way through- The Bible has 66 books. I have finished 12. I am getting closer to finishing Romans through a study my small group is doing and I am working my way through Luke with the sermon series my pastor is doing. I’ve done studies on Esther, Galatians, and Proverbs so those are covered. I gave up on the chronological plan I was using and instead just read in order they are written with the Bible app I have on my phone. I just finished 1 Samuel and it was actually a pretty good story- lots of action and adventure. I will say switching to The New Living Translation was a huge help! So thanks to you all that suggested that!

#29 Attempt Surfing- I am going to mark this one off at the beginning of August when I go to the beach. The NC Aquarium has a class for only $25!

So that’s it…just 7 things left. If you are just joining the blog I am already 30. I made my 30 Before 30 list a few weeks before my 28th birthday and apparently 2 years just wasn’t enough time to accomplish everything. So now my goal is to complete my list before I finish this year of being 30 on August 12, 2011. Fingers crossed!!

Pause & 30 Before 30 list checkpoint

First of all I want to ask all my readers to stop and say a prayer for Egypt.  I subscribe to the blog of a girl who lives in Egypt.  Early last week she posted something about the protest before it was in the news, before anything had grown in momentum.  She was going to protest with her brother.  She was scared, but knew it was important to take a stand.  To show support for something she believed in.  I can't even do that in everyday life, so I admire her courage.  She is a girl I relate to through her blog. She has a lot of the same thoughts, dreams,and aspirations I do.   These people in Egypt are humans just like you and me.  Yes, their culture and homeland is different, but we humans are more alike than you can imagine.

Then her internet access was cut off and she had a friend from outside the country post updates.  I wanted to know what was going on there and have been trying to follow the story but it is hard for me to even wrap my head around.  I just can't imagine what these people are going through.

And if you think just because we live far away from all the distress, don't fool yourself and think it doesn't affect us.  I just saw a reporter interviewing a group of Murbarak supporters and they told her to go away and that they hated Americans.  She tried to ask them why they hated Americans and they said "Because you are not a good person...we hate Americans."  Then they forced her and the crew to flee in their car while they beat on the car and threw rocks.  Why?  Why is there so much hate, anger, and violence?  I don't know enough about either side and I don't know why they hate Americans so much, but it scares me.  I know Americans aren't perfect but I would never look another human being in the face and tell them I hate them just because where they are from.  The violence between the protesters and police scares me.  The politics behind it all scares me.  All that is happening to the infrastructure and daily life in Egypt scares me.  Please pray for Egypt.

Now to something less heavy.  I wanted to pause and look back at the list that started this whole blog.  I have 8 things left on my list and I still plan to mark them off in the next couple months:

1. Get in the best shape of my life- I think I am almost there.  Not weight or body wise yet, but I am running more than I ever have and doing weights regularly.  I am going to run another 5K in April and want to come in under 31:00.  I want to do an 8K, 10K, and half marathon eventually. 

9. kayak- hopefully in the spring I will be able to convince some friends to help me mark this one off my list.

10. Catch a fish- maybe in the spring my favorite 4 year old can show me how to catch a fish!

18. Upgrade one room in my house- I attempted this one with my bathroom.  But I think I made it worse.  I SUCK at painting.  I will never do it again.  It I can fix the trim maybe I will consider this one done, but there are so many other things I want to do to my house.  Here is a sneak peek at the bathroom:

Old bathroom- not bad, but needs improvement

New bathroom

Turquoise stripe on one wall

Obviously I can't stay inside the lines- and yes I did use tape

21. Go skinny dipping- I have plans to mark this one off my list.  I've been skinny dipping before, but it is time to go again.  I'm just not going to tell anyone when or where until it is done.

26. Kiss in the rain-  I don't know about this one.  I am very cynical about love right now.

27. Read the Bible all the way through-  I have been trying.  This one is so hard because the Old Testament is sooo hard to read.  It has crazy stories that make your jaw drop and then very long passages about lineage or long detailed instructions for building the Temple or what to bring for their offerings.  But I do have at least 7 books marked off.  Tons more to go though.

29. Attempt Surfing- I hope to do this one just before my birthday on my annual beach trip.

Any advice for any of the things left on my list?

Working from Home

We got an ice storm last night.  I am so over winter.  Snow is pretty when it is falling and if you don't have to go anywhere, but I am over it now.  I live in the South and we never get this much winter weather and I like it that way.  I hope Old Man Winter has it all out of his system now and maybe even lets us get an early spring.  In my opinion, if it weren't for Christmas, winter should be fired due to it's lack of sunshine, cold weather, and ice storms.

But even though it was icy, I didn't get to enjoy a snow day of doing nothing.  I worked from home.  I'm not complaining because it is better than having to go in to the office, but I don't love working from home like some people might.

Here is where I work when I do work from home:

or here:

which would be ok if it weren't for this:

Cam trying to get in my lap

Cam succeeding to get on my lap and me trying to work on top of him.

Cam  after I kick him off my lap 5 minutes later. pouting.

We repeat this whole routine like once an hour.  I get so mad at him!  He has jumped up on the arm or the chair for attention so many times he made a hole in the slipcover!  I wanted to kill him.  I love him but he does not understand the concept that mommy is working when I am in the living room where we usually spend time relaxing.  

I guess I could work at the dining room table, but I don't.

This is why I need a home office.  I need to turn my spare room in to a place where I can work.  I wanted to set it up as an office/workout room/maybe spare bedroom, but it is not working.  I hate this room so I never go in there.  I use the desk as counter space to store all the stuff I need to go through and file or throw away.  It is a mess.  It is a wobbly cheap desk I bought from Target- one of those that comes in a box and you put it together.  I don't know if I just did not put it together correctly or what but the screws always come lose and the whole thing starts to wobble.  Look at this pathetic mess:

And yes that is a litter box under my desk.  My attempt at hiding it.

Another big eyesore in this room is my treadmill.  It is huge.  But I want the option of being able to work out at home.  I would love to get on the treadmill and watch the TV shows I am discovering through Netflix while I run.  I just bought a small DVD player in hopes of doing this but have yet to set it up because I am just not loving what I have to work with which is a teeny tiny TV on a wobbly tiny stand in a room I hate with an overflowing attempt at a storage area staring me in the face.

I need to re-do this whole room and make it more inviting and a place that I want to go to get things done and be productive- on my treadmill or at my desk.  I would also love to have some type of sleeping option in here for guests.  I think there is room.  Here is the rest of the room:

I have no idea where to even start!  Any suggestions?  How do you make a room an inviting place?

New Year Goals

I don't do resolutions.  I am not a all or nothing kind of girl.  But I do like to make some goals.  One of the blogs I read had this concept of start something, stop something, and keep something for 2011.  Here are mine:

Start:

Getting to work by 9 am. My job is really flexible and some mornings I don’t get to work until 9:30 or almost 10 am. It’s not an issue for anyone but me because it just means I get a craptacular parking spot and have to stay until 7 pm. This year I want to try to get to work by 9 am or earlier every day.

Cooking more. If I want to have a big family one day I am going to have to have some more recipes in my collection that I have actually made before. I know how to cook. Whenever I do make something it almost always turns out yummy. I just rarely make something more than once and it is almost always only for a big occasion. I am going to try to cook at least one new recipe a week this year.

Wearing Make-up every day. I think my days of rolling out of the house make-up free are gone. I am 30 now and I need to look like an adult woman instead of a 12 year old girl. Plus I need to put my best face forward all the time because you never know when I will bump in to Mr. Right.

Stop:

Neglecting my house. I am going to try to keep my house clean and stop putting off those little things I need to do. I am saving up for a downstairs re-do that should include hardwood floors, paint, new kitchen hardware and faucet, and new lighting.

Drinking like I am in college. I don’t drink that often, but when I do, I go all out like I am a college student on Spring Break. No more. It is not worth it. It is not worth the calories. Not worth the hang-over the next day. And not worth the stories people have to tell of all the stupid things you did/said the next day.

Smoking. Yes I have a dirty little secret and it is that I smoke. I don’t smoke much, only about 3-5 cigarettes at night when I get home from work/before bed. But I am going to quit. I know I can do it because I quit smoking for almost 2 weeks when I went to Dubai last summer. And a lot of people in my life have never even seen me with a cigarette. I just need to stop the night smoking.  It is embarrassing. I hate everything about it and I am finally going to give up those after-work and before-bed cigarettes for good.

Keep:

Growing my faith. I love my relationship with God. I actually love going to church on Sundays and love doing my Bible studies. I love doing things for God that I never thought I would do like getting dunked in a tank of water in front of a bunch of people, going to a Middle Eastern Country, and praying out loud. I love discovering things about myself and about Him through this relationship and I want it to grow even deeper this year.

My Friends. I have this group of friends who is like family to me. We don’t get to see each other as much as we used to because being a grown-up makes everyone so busy, but I love them to pieces. I hate that I am always like the 5th or 7th or 13th etc. wheel because almost every single one of them is married to each other now, but it’s ok. I keep hoping one day I will have a guy that I love that fits right in and becomes one of us. Ski Trip ’11 is coming up in a few weeks. There are 32 of us going I think…This is an annual trip and it has grown from 16 of us sharing a 3 bedroom house to 32 of us in a 4 story mansion! Hopefully there will be many more crew stories to tell from 2011.

Running. I ran (the whole thing!) a 5K a few weeks ago. I loved doing the couch to 5K program and I think I am going to do it again- this time working on speed and run another 5K this spring. Then I hope to do an 8K or 10K (or both) and then a half marathon. I have no desire to do a full marathon. That is just too much for me. But maybe after training for all these races I will actually become a runner. If not, oh well at least I can say I did it.

What things are you going to start, stop, or keep in 2011??

I'm Versatile!

Amber tagged me for an award!  Thank you!!  (Side note- I kinda suck at these, and sometimes I will see them and then forget to do it or even comment....I should get the bad bloggy friend award really!...I'm so sorry!  I do love you all and if I follow you, guaranteed I read all your posts, it's just almost always on my i-phone now which sucks if you want to comment)


The rules are to accept, link back and thank the blogger that awarded me, then tell 7 things about myself and tag 15 other lovely bloggers.

1. I went to the beach again this weekend.  This time North Myrtle in SC.  I love living so close to the beach!  I can't imagine being landlocked and not being able to get to the ocean before noon if I wanted to.

2. My college has the best football ever!  I know it isn't a big school, but we do football really well.  If you ever get a chance go...everything from the awesome tailgating to the entrance of the team to Purple Haze in a cloud of purple smoke to the fans yelling PURPLE...GOLD....PURPLE to the cannon when we score to the No Quarter!  Believe me, you won't ever be bored.  This weekend we had one of the best games ever!  Touchdowns within minutes of each other, all the back and forth and then this (believe me watch it, best ending to a game EVER)




It brings tears to my eyes just watching it again! The beach was great and I am so glad we came in to watch the game on TV, but dang I wish I would've been in Dowdy-Ficklen for that game!

3. I finally hung my curtains this weekend thanks to the help of my super-handy friend Meredith and her dad's drill.  It was quite comical and we had lots of "that's what she said moments".  No wonder guys like working with power tools so much!  Here's a really crappy pic from my phone.  That window in the middle looks weird now though.  I'm thinking maybe some small things on the wall on either side of it to even it out?  Any other suggestions?

4.  Someone is trying to set me up with one of their friends.  Please someone share some good blind date or set up stories because I think all I have heard are the bad ones.

5. I have a dog and a cat who each shed about a pound of hair a day, no joke.  It is out of control!

6. One of my ex's cousins works at the vet/boarding place I take Cam to.  It is kind of awkward.  Today I asked how her weekend was and she said she went down to the farm (where my ex lives, yes on a farm, with cows and everything).  So I asked her how many cows they had now and if they still had my favorite one and about his dogs and horses. It was good to hear how things were, but I avoided asking anything about my ex and the whole thing was a little awkward.

7. I'm having an awesome giveaway on here later this week!  Get excited!

Now here is who I tag:

I have to give Brittany a special shout out- I follow her so you know she's awesome and she gave me a shout out this week!  I was reading it on my phone while I was with a friend and I stopped and read it to her and was like "Can you believe people actually read my blog and like it?!!"

I follow all these lovely ladies and *heart* them all:
Domestic Goddess
Heidi
GinH- a fellow Pirate!  Arrgggg!
Carolyn
Sam
Shoshanah
Kell
Jenna Renee
Bridget
Chloe
Nic
Lauren

These two I am not really tagging because they aren't blogs like that, but they are probably two of my most favorite things in my Reader:

The Nester
Lamebook

Finishing the List...or not?

Oh why does life get so busy right when you have a life list to complete? I know I have been falling behind on this blog and my list lately. Life just got busy. Work is busy. We have about 60 listings right now which is more than double what S had this time last year. We usually get 4-5 new ones every week and it gets challenging when you have a small staff. Everyone has to pitch in and make things happen. Plus there was that little yard sale I had last weekend that about pushed me over the edge. On top of that I have started getting up early to work out at 6 (okay, maybe 6:30 by the time I get there) every Tuesday and Thursday.

Given all this craziness I keep flip flopping back and forth on if I will be disappointed if I don't complete the 30 Before 30 List on time. I think I will, but I also think I probably won't be able to mark everything off on time. How do I make myself ok with this? I still will feel like I failed somehow no matter how I think about it.

I wish I could write more, but I am off to a workshop at Home Depot on painting. I have never painted a room in my life, but some rooms in my house really need new paint. I'll hopefully get some good tips that will help me when I try to tackle upgrading a room in my house!

Just call me a sucker

I had every intention of cancelling my cable and internet service today. I know, I know…I’m crazy huh? Well, the TV thing just got out of control. I sat down to catch up with my DVR last week and I had 14 hours of recorded TV to watch! 14 hours in 1 week! It was just insane. So I was going to go cold turkey in the hopes of breaking my TV addiction and doing something more productive with my time.

Plus I would save $120 a month! I rarely use my internet service from home so I was pretty sure I could live without it. $120 a month is a lot. All that extra money and free time would totally be worth it. I lived without TV and internet one summer in college and it was the most productive summer of my life! With all that free time I could concentrate on getting some things on my list accomplished like getting in the best shape of my life, reading the Bible all the way through and taking Cam to an agility class. With all the money I would be saving maybe I would be able to save up so I can travel abroad, upgrade a room in my house, pay all my own bills and invest in the stock market. It just made so much sense. I NEED to get crackin’ on this list because I only have less than a year left to get everything done!

Anyway, I called the cable company and of course I get a computer. I tell the computer I want to cancel my service. Twice, the computer transfers me to nowhere land. No hold music, no ringing, just dead silence is on the other end of the line. The third time I call back I decide to call the “sales” number thinking they would be less likely to lose a call to that number.

I finally get through to a person and I tell her I want to cancel my service for financial reasons. She asks which services I want to cancel and I tell her everything.

We spend the next half hour going down, down, down with the price. She is very persistent and despite me telling her at least 10 times I just want to cancel, she is not going to let me go.

First, she can get me all my services for $105/mo then she goes down to $100/mo then down to $95/mo. Now if I downgrade my internet, I can get everything for $89/mo and if I downgrade my cable I can get it for $85/mo. Now if I give up DVR and downgrade the internet some more, I can get it for $45/mo. Finally I just ask her what is the lowest I can go. She comes up with just the broadcast stations and “light” roadrunner for $28/mo. Keep in mind I started out at $120/mo.

I still want to just turn everything off for a while. But she tells me if I decide to turn it back on I will have to pay an instillation fee. I figure the $28/month isn’t that much to pay for keeping up with my TODAY show routine in the morning and catching some of the cable shows I like every once in a while and having internet to keep my I-pod up-to-date and for emergencies. So I agree to it.

I am a sucker. I cannot believe I gave in when I had my heart set on cancelling! But it is a really great deal right? Or do you think I should call back and try to cancel again?



P.S. Update on the mouth situation: It isn’t hurting anywhere near as bad today. I called my dentist yesterday to double check for cavities and he said he didn’t see anything. I cancelled my orthodontist consultation because I don’t think that is going to solve my pain issue. I called my doctor back and told her it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did this weekend. She wants me to start the Tegratrol, but I am holding off until it hurts again. They also made me a neurologist appointment but it isn’t until Nov. 3rd! So it is all good for now, but I will keep you updated.

Awards and Adventures in Real Estate

Last week Sonja over at 30 Before 30, gave me an Awesome Girl award! Also, Alison over at life: unqualified gave me an Honest Scrap award. You guys are so sweet! It just amazes me that people I have never met in real life found my little blog in this big, bad blogosphere, read my words, and actually like what they read! Seriously, you don't know how much this means to me...I feel overjoyed with every comment and awards just send me over the top!

I am supposed to share 10 things about myself. I feel like I have already shared everything imaginable on here, so I am going to change the rules. Since my new found brokenness, I find myself craving more and more things. So here are 10 things I am itching to buy but can’t afford right now:

1. An I-phone
2. A new flat screen TV (the one I have now if this wood monstrosity from 1992)
3. Hardwood floors
4. Stainless Steel appliances
5. a tile back splash in my kitchen
6. granite counter tops
7. a new kitchen sink and faucet
8. a new light fixture for my kitchen
9. a maid
10. new shoes- amazingly I want some flats. I used to not buy anything but heels because of my height challenges, but flats are so much more comfy!

So that’s it. Can you tell I REALLY want to re-do my kitchen? I’ve wanted to for a while now. That’s why it is on my list. With my funds now down to nothing, I was starting to look at just re-doing a few things in my bathroom, but that is not going to satisfy me. The kitchen is what I really want to re-do. I must find a way.

As far as passing this award on, I need to think about this some. I read so many blogs everyday and I am the worst bloggy friend. I never comment, I never email, I never update my blogroll, I just follow along on your life silently because I never have time to sit down and actually do the things I think about doing for my bloggy friends. So I am going to put together a whole post highlighting some of these girlies more in-depth than just a random link. So be on the lookout for that!

Back to what's been going on with me recently...another reason all this house stuff is at the top of my mind is because for the last month I have been house hunting with witty guy! Not for me and witty guy to buy together…I already have a house. But he has never bought a house and I convinced him he just could NOT miss out on that $8,000 tax credit! I mean I didn’t get $8,000 when I bought my house!

So we looked and looked. His first love was a little detached house with a one car garage. It needed some owrk, but it could be a great deal. So he put in a low offer. But the bad thing was that it was a short sale situation. For those of you who don’t know, a short sale is where you are behind in your payments and up-side-down in your loan. Meaning you owe the bank more than the house is worth. So the bank must “forgive” some of the mortgage to avoid you going into foreclosure. The bad thing for buyers trying to buy a short sale is that the owner AND the bank (or banks if they have more than one loan) must approve the offer and it can take forever! Like up to 90 days! He didn’t have that kind of time to waste, so on to the next choice.

The next choice was a really nice end-unit townhouse. It had hardwoods and was really, really nice. These sellers though were apparently smoking crack and priced their house about $5,000 more than what the highest comp in the neighborhood had sold for. And they were not budging on their price. They were using a discount broker who could not talk any sense in to them and so he walked away from that one too. I will be watching that house and I doubt it will ever sell at that price and even if it does, I am betting there is no way it appraises, so they will have to come down anyway. When that happens I so want to knock on their door and sing “Told you so, told you, told you. Told you so!”

His third choice had been withdrawn from the market, so back in the car we went to continue the search.

He had had his heart set on an end-unit townhouse or a detached house, but in his price range in this area of Raleigh, there was really nothing. So he agreed to look at interior unit townhomes. Miraculously, he found The One! It is a townhouse in the same neighborhood as house #2 but way better. It has HUGE bedrooms. The kitchen is to-die-for (thus my obsession for updating mine!), and hardwoods on the whole first floor. It is SO NICE! And last night, they worked out the offer! I know it is not my house, but I am still super excited for him!

And the Wake County Parade of Homes starts this weekend. I LOVE the Parade of Homes! So now I can go view million dollar houses and feed my need for updating some more!

Great List Ideas and the Winner!

You guys had such great list ideas! I love the garden idea and I want to ride in a hot air balloon one day too. So on to the winner...

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 10
Result: 4
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations Akirah! Email me your address and I will get the book to you.

I have been quietly working on some of my list ideas.

Back in February my secret blog valentine sent me some supplies to get started on #17 on my list- grow a plant. Let me tell you, it does not happen overnight. And my poor plant has not had it easy, but it is getting bigger everyday and I am just waiting for it to bloom so I can mark that off my list. I'll be sure to post a whole timeline of that with pictures when it happens.

I also did something I have never done before yesterday. I replaced the faucet in my bathroom all by myself! It was not easy. It took over 4 hours and another trip to Lowe's to get a basin wrench, and a lot of frustration, but I did it! When I made the original list and put #18 as upgrading one room in my house, the room I had in mind was my kitchen. I wanted to upgrade all the appliances to stainless steel. Put in granite counter tops. Add some cute knobs to my cabinets. Get a new sink and faucet. Paint and add a back splash. And replace the floors with hardwoods. But that is going to be expensive.

So now I am thinking I might just upgrade my whole bathroom. I want to paint it a light blue or green or maybe even a bright turquoise. I want to install one of those rain shower heads. And then frame my mirror. It will be a lot cheaper and I can do the work myself. But since I have no job and funds are limited, it is going to have to be a slow process. At least I have a jump start on it with my new faucet!

I also need to do a post about my zoo trip last Friday. In the meantime, go check out my reviews of American Wife and Questioning Evangelism on my Bookshelf Blog.

Update on The List

I feel like it is taking FOREVER to cross the next thing off my list! (I’ve already told y’all I’m not patient at all!) I am also getting a little nervous because 2 years seemed like a long time when I made the list, but time goes by more quickly than you expect. And if I don’t get everything crossed off I am going to feel like a complete LOSER, so the pressure is really on. It would really help if I could find a money tree somewhere around here. I didn’t realize so many of these things are going to require a good chunk of change!

Anyway, here is an update on The List progress:

1. Get in the best shape of my life- the 5K training is helping with this a little, but I need to step it up! Maybe I’ll get a trainer? They really do help!
2. Try snowboarding – trying to get a ski trip planned for Feb. I guess I’ll be renting a board instead of skis!
3. Get a job I love – Still no word here. I am thinking about going back to school.
4. Take Cam to an agility class- no time or funds right now. But he did learn to “bow” recently (it’s so cute!)
5. Pay all my own bills (with no help from mom)- I plan on taking over my car insurance when I get a new car next year. (My lease runs out in April.) I’ll have to learn to budget better in order to take over the gas though, and hopefully prices will go down a little.
6. Ask out a crush- This would require an adequate crush. There are none at this point in time. Sad…I know!
7. Run a 5K- I might have to take a week off from training because I have the worst blisters on the back of my heels! Or maybe I could run in flip-flops?
8. Go to a water park and not feel self-conscious- luckily I don’t have to worry about this until at least next summer!
9. Kayak- too cold to kayak now, but I think a camping/kayaking trip in the mountains sounds fabulous!
10. Catch a fish- This can wait until summer
11. Open my heart to someone- Yeah, that would require a guy. (see #6)
12. Make a baby laugh- My friend in ATL is having a baby in Feb. Maybe I will get a chance to go out there to meet the little munchkin, act stupid and get a laugh out of him!
13. Change a diaper (no I have never done this) - I don’t want to think about this. But whatever baby laughs at me, I guess the least I can do to thank them is change their diaper!
14. Go on a mission trip- I found out about a mission trip to South Africa in December, but I looked it up on the website today and it costs $2500! That took the wind out of my sails!
15. Help a stranger- no strangers that need help have crossed my path yet
16. Find a doctor I trust- haven’t had time to investigate this yet, plus I have been pretty healthy, so there hasn’t been any motivation to do so.
17. Grow a plant- I’m going to wait until growing season for this (someone please let me know when “growing season” is!)
18. Upgrade one room in my house- My light fixture in my kitchen broke. I had already been thinking this would be the room I would re-do. So I guess I’ll do it one thing at a time. I’ll post some pics when I finally get a new light fixture!
19. Travel abroad- yeah money is an issue with this one. I might have to count Mexico as “abroad”!
20. Swim with a dolphin
21. Go skinny dipping- No…no desire to do this right now
22. Visit Washington, DC – I am trying to see if I can pull together a trip this spring to see the Cherry Blossoms.
23. Take a dance lesson- I did have a dance lesson from a 7 year old last week…does that count?
24. Sing Karaoke
25. Invest in the stock market- umm…have you seen the news? I don’t want to get on that roller coaster ride!
26. Kiss in the rain- Need I remind you? …THERE IS NO GUY in the picture right now. If I kiss my dog in the rain could that count? (Yet another reminder of how pathetic I am!)
27. Read the Bible all the way through- I signed up for this “Bible in a Year” email service. It emails you a selection each day and in a year you will have read the whole Bible! I also joined a Bible study group. We actually have to memorize a new verse each week. It takes me back to Bible School days!
28. Go see a movie at the theater- alone!- Nothing that I am dying to see right now
29. Attempt Surfing- Again…waiting for summer…too cold for the ocean right now!
30. Purchase 1 piece of expensive jewelry for myself- By the way, the other night I thought I lost one of my earrings and FREAKED out! It was just the icing on a bad day that I didn’t need! Luckily I found it in between the sheets on my bed. Note to self: Do not wear expensive earrings to bed anymore.

Oh and I finally finished my latest book! Check out my review of The Friday Night Knitting Club on my Bookshelf Blog!