Jen's Progress Report #2

Health:

The ankle is much improved.  I got in a nice 3 miler on Tuesday last week, a short run Saturday (along with yoga), and a longer run yesterday when the weather cleared up. 

Surprisingly, when I weighed in last week I was BELOW my initial target weight - the first time I've seen that number since last year.  I think it was a bit of an aberration though.  I'm pretty sure I'll be up if I weigh in this week.  I had mixed results on managing my calories over the holiday.  A pint of Liz Lemon frozen yogurt is partly to blame. 

This week:  The Hospital Hill 10k is this Saturday; my goal is to just have a solid finish.  My birthday is Friday, and calories don't count on your birthday, right?  Just so long as I don't let it careen out of control.

Financial:

I get stressy about money sometimes.  It happened again this weekend.  The original plan was for Josh and I to go buy an inexpensive gas grill.  I figured maybe we could split the cost.  Then Josh announced that he paid his bills and had no money left.  Even though we aren't married, we live together and have some joint priorities.  I felt a little of that emotional money score keeping setting in, as Julie so eloquently put it.  To be fair, he did have to put new tires on his car recently and that cut out pretty much all free cash flow this month.  I also have to remember I make a lot more than he does.  But we're the same age, and I wish he had better financial habits.  Like a rainy day fund that he could use to pay unexpected expenses like new tires.

Anyway, not only did I end up paying for the grill, I ended up paying for a much nicer grill than anticipated.  Don't get me wrong; I was a full participant in the decision making, and was okay with upgrading to a better grill that I think will last longer.  But I still stressed about spending a few hundred dollars on an unplanned expense.  I think this combined with the fact that I know I have an expensive trip coming up is why I got so stressy.

Josh and I just have different perspectives in general about money, probably just a subset of our life philosophies.  While we never went without when I was growing up, we didn't have a lot, either.  So now I like having money stashed away for the future.  It's not about greed; it's not about keeping up with the Joneses; it's about financial independence, control, and security.  Josh makes fun of me when I keep the half of the bread loaf that isn't moldy and throw out the other half, or when I squeeze the toothpaste tube till every last bit comes out.  I don't like to be wasteful.  It's just who I am. 

This week:  Don't worry unnecessarily about upcoming expenditures.  That's why I saved the money, remember?

Work:

I ended up having a conversation with a peer/coworker in which I unintentionally blurted out some truths I hadn't really vocalized:  If I stay put in this job, I'm at a 'hard place,' a place where my coworker was a few years ago, where she had to fight to grow and change and expand her role.  My boss is great, but she's a finance mind like me, and we have a tendency to think inside the box.  If it works now, why change it?  It will be an uphill struggle.  That doesn't mean it can't happen though.  We had a good chat last week about the roundtable I went to the week before.  She seems potentially interested in some of the ideas.  Baby steps.

I'm also still considering other opportunities, should something very compelling arise.  Unfortunately the external recruiter said I wasn't a fit for the job he was filling.  I'm actually just fine with that; it wasn't a particularly exciting opportunity.  It did feel like a bit of a letdown though since it seemed like a 'rejection'.  I'm going to have to get over that.

This week:  Get some work done.  I only have one short week and one full week before my sabbatical.  Also, finish that work reading I tried to get through on Friday.

Adultiness:

I've been really bad lately about attending to those nagging "adult" tasks. I'm happy to report I got several of those tasks done over the holiday weekend, like taking items to Goodwill, getting the patio umbrella set up, moving winter clothes to the spare closet, going through old mail, filing important papers, and actually putting a few decorations on the dining table.

This week:  Figure out why the washer isn't working and get it functional again (long story).  Sign up for the CSA.  Figure out how to change settings on my phone for my trip.

Julie's Progress Report II

Finance: Spend less, save more, pay off credit card. Week's focus: Don't spend all my mad money.

I have $7.32 left from my $20 mad money this week. Thursday we went to my niece's 8th grade graduation and I got suckered into buying Sonic for Tim, Lily and I. Tim was just talking about how his friend had paid back some money he owed and he suggested the Sonic stop. It wasn't until after we ordered that he looked at me to pay. I was more than a little annoyed by this unplanned expense. Which brings me to a major finance and adultiness thing I need to work on: keeping score. I am a big scorekeeper, especially in the area of money. No matter how I try to "not keep score" I always get irritated by little things like Tim spending his Christmas movie gift card on movies with his friends while I spend my Christmas Old Navy gift card on summer clothes for Lily. It doesn't matter how much I remind myself that it is my choice to try to save as much money as possible, I get super Hulk-level pissed when Tim decides to use the money his friend repaid him to save for a new Xbox instead of paying off his credit card. (Note: he is pretty responsible about using the extra money he makes to pay his credit card. I should cut him some slack if he wants to set aside 10% of his income in the past month to save for a new Xbox.)

In other spending news, coming into the last week of the month, we're looking pretty good. Other than a trip to Chipotle (for which we had a BOGO gift card. I counted this not from my "mad money" but from my "dining" budget line item.) and a couple trips to Hobby Lobby for school project supplies (We probably could have completed this school project cheaper, but when it comes to books and school projects, I'd rather not tell the kid no.) we didn't really have any excess expense.

So my goals for next week are to again, save my mad money and to figure out how to overcome my emotional money score keeping. I'm thinking that telling myself not to keep score only makes me feel guilty when I get upset. I think instead something along the lines of "even-ing" the score (allowing myself to put aside equal amounts of money for whatever I want) will be a better solution. I'm going to work on this one.  
 
Fitness: Train for marathon. Week's goals: Go the distance, walk less, explore soft surface trails.

If you count today, I'm three for three on this week's goals. Today we went to the Weston Bluffs Trail to walk. From the state park to Weston it's asphalt and from the park to Beverly it's gravel.

My back was sore on Monday and Tuesday so I waited to run until Wednesday. That meant four days of runs with no rests but that was ok. Good thing my mileage is still low. I ran all my short runs and cut my pace from about 13 minutes/mile to 10:45. I took two walk breaks during my 5-miles so I was clipping along pretty fast (for me) when I was running.

I figured out on Sunday that the reason my back was sore was because of my long run. I ran both long runs on a trail and my short runs on the road. My legs are sometimes a little different length because my lower spine gets out of alignment sometimes. I'm going to try a few different things before I go to the chiropractor.

Goals for next week: I was going to try to switch my running time to morning but that was before I cut half my fingernail and a bit of my finger off. Now washing my hair will be too difficult to accomplish after a morning run. That will have to wait until I'm healed up. So I'll just repeat my goals again and try to figure out some core/back exercises to try to get things straightened up with my legs.

Career: Have a better attitude. Week's goals: Focus on progress.

I have to say that I did a little bit better this week. I assume that is only because I have an intern setting in my cubicle with me now.

Goal for next week: I'm going in the deep end and shooting for a week of extreme nice toward my boss.

Adultiness: Accomplish home repair, waste time better, don't focus on bad feelings. Week's goals: Streamline upstairs storage, weed gardens, avoid sudoku and crosswords. 

I managed to do all of these things this week, just not all the time. I cleared out my closet and the clothing storage under my bed. I moved almost everything downstairs and if I haven't worn my summer clothes by the end of September, they shall not be spared from the garage sale pile.I also weeded gardens. This is a never-ending task in my house. Also, I noticed this week that weeding gardens is a good way to get my mind off bad feelings. Bonus!

I mostly avoided sudoku and crosswords. After I sliced off part of my finger and had already read as much Appalachian Trail thru-hiker blogging as I could take, I had to do something while sitting quietly with one finger in the air--so sudoku it was. Can you really blame me?

Goal for next week: Straighten kitchen cabinets, read the books I've started, do a chore when I feel moody.

Liz's Progress Report 2

Goal: De-Clutter

Not so great this week. I didn't add to the clutter, so thats good- but I really didn't get rid of anything, or go through anything. Didn't make my goal this week of going through my Gone with the Wind plates. I guess I should focus more on the fact I didn't add to the clutter. Jeff and I decided where we are moving, and when- so its now time to start packing and really cutting back on the clutter that moves to the new place. (We have found the apartment we want, and I go tomorrow to fill out the application-so we aren't guaranteed, but it will more than likely work out.)

Goal for next week: Go through the Gone with the Wind plates. Start weeding through the upstairs to start packing!

Goal: Lose Weight

I at first wrote "I really failed on this one." But I'm not so sure. I did not go to the gym three times- I went once. However, I had a really busy week at work that involved a lot of working outside. It's a good time to work at my job- I get to be outside all the time and I actually like the feeling of getting home from work exhausted and sweaty. We had Jeff's family in town all week- so there was a lot of going out to eat. I could only do what I could. I think I may leave Curves, it is not making me feel very relaxed when I'm working out. I may leave in July when we move. I'd like to use the money I am spending on my membership and put it into savings, and take advantage of more free options- like the workout room at my apartment complex- or walking. or my Wii. Nothing is set in stone yet, though.

Goal for next week: Go to the gym twice (I am only working 3 days this week, so that is more of a realistic goal.) Keep going outside at work.

Goal: Debt

Not so good this week. Again, we had family in town so it was a lot of eating out, so we spent more money than I wish we had. But- we did make some big decisions on where we are moving, and we are still keeping everything within out budget, we decided we don't need a townhome or a house- we just wanted a little more space and to be closer to areas we like to be in. We were able to find something just $45 more a month, much larger- and they pay for all gas (heat!). We will be on the ground floor, so it may mean in the future getting a dog which would bring on more costs, but-- thats ok! This afternoon Jeff and I are writing out our budget. Yep, we are going to sit down and look over everything and figure out what we have to spend and what we need to save.

Goal for next week: Live within the budget!

Goal: Career

It's a fun time to be at my work. I scheduled myself a lot outside doing programs-so I can focus on what I like about my job. I also have finished a few projects that I am actually proud of, so it's a good feeling (right now). I am happy that I am enjoying things right now.

I keep thinking about my future in general- and I am constantly wondering if this is what I want to do. I am really considering a change- not right this moment, but I like the thought of Jeff and I working together in the future. Wedding photography and planning? I really love the idea of working with weddings in some capacity. I've given a lot of thought to my strengths and what skills I have, and my personality traits. A lot of people I've mentioned this too think that my personality would work well in the field. Working with Jeff would be really fun. We would bring a lot to the table. It's not going to be an overnight change. I'm thinking really long term changes- and I'm still giving this a lot of thought.Next year I may look to intern with someone, just to see if I like it.  But, in the meantime, I'm keeping myself happy where I am at.

Goal for next week: Keep this up!!

Jen's Progress Report #1

Health:
Things were tracking along nicely until I sprained my ankle on Tuesday night.  This is what it looked like yesterday:

I'm not entirely sure the picture conveys the grossness of the bruising.  Even the bottoms of my toes are bruised.  Unfortunately I've injured this ankle before; fortunately it meant I knew how to treat it.  I'm not wrapping it any more, but I am wearing a brace to help protect it from re-injury.  I really wanted to run our Girls on the Run season-end 5k on Saturday.  But I looked to the wisdom of the Internet, and an article I found said you should rest a mild sprain for at least a week.  I did the adult thing and skipped the race.  So I haven't done any intense exercise since Tuesday.  I have been doing some walking to start to rehabilitate and hope to go to yoga tonight.  I have an easy run scheduled with a friend tomorrow over lunch and I'm hoping I can go ahead and do that.

Not getting in much activity + weekend fun means I didn't do too great on the calorie tracking either.  The proof will be in the pudding when I weigh in tomorrow.

Financial:
No real updates here.  Countdown mode for Europe trip:  less than 4 weeks.

Work: 
Two weeks ago I was super cranky at work.  I got an e-mail from an external recruiter about a job and decided to talk to him about it.  Ironically I also got an e-mail from another recruiter shortly thereafter.  So last week I had short phone calls with both recruiters.  Basically I gave them an overview of my background and opportunities that might fit with that.  I sent them my resume as well, so they have it to match against future placements.  While I don't think anything will come of these initial conversations, it opens up the door for future things.  It also helps me level set the external environment so that I know whether I'm qualified/prepared for an external job search if I decide to truly do that at some point in the next year.  I also had a conversation with our recruiter internally and she is going to share my qualifications with the recruiters that fill positions outside of finance.  All of this makes me feel like I'm doing everything that's within my control.

In addition, I went to a roundtable event last Thursday that was made up of people from other companies in the metro area that do a function similar to mine.  The purpose is to try to create a networking group where we can all learn from each other and advance what we do at our companies.  My boss wasn't able to go, so I'm planning to share some of the discussion with her. Hopefully she will be open to some of these ideas.

Liz's Progress Report 1

Goal: De-Clutter

I did pretty good this week! I sold a lot on Craigslist and right after our latte meeting I dropped off two bags of books at Half Price Books,and a trunk full of junk at a donation center. I don't know why, but I get panicked when I do that, and constantly think I should be keeping things. But, I did it. Jeff said he was very proud of me because the apartment was actually looking nicer. Yay! What was (kinda) funny was that after all these errands last week, Jeff realized he was missing his wedding ring. I really panicked, thinking we just donated his ring to Goodwill. After searching for a bit we found it on the patio (apparently after he tripped on the chair the night before and fell, he dropped his ring. weird.) Anyway, I'd like to continue this progress next week.

Goal for next week: Start going through my Gone with the Wind collection, especially the fifty or so plates I have and weed out the duplicates.

Goal: Lose Weight

I really failed on this one this week. Jeff's family is in town so we went out to eat more than usual. I also did a show on Friday night so I didn't go to the gym on my usual MWF. I looked up the Couch to 5k program, so that is a start. I spent a lot of time thinking of my goals and how to achieve them, if that makes sense. I am also contemplating joining a different fitness center- one maybe with classes. I like Curves, but I never really feel "relaxed" when there, just going through the motions.

Goal next week: Work out your usual three times, and try one day of running. Keep eating healthy. Jeff's other set of parents are coming into town next weekend, so I am sure we will be eating out a lot, again.

Goal: Debt

It's hard to focus on this one when we are in the process of trying to figure out what we're doing and our next step (that sounds confusing, I know). I sold a lot of my junk, so I had cash to spend on things, but we also spent $20 on powerball. (Waste.of.money) We only ate out with Jeff's family, good and bad-- good because we didn't need to buy more groceries this week. Bad- because eating out was expensive (but delicious.) We are also looking to move to a house. So, we're having to look at the debt and figure out the budget moving forward. We also figured out what debt we are going to hit first. Now we must hit it.

Goal next week: Go out to eat just with family. Start paying down the debt we decided to pay down. Choose a house within our budget. (House will equal dog, so better save for that!!)

Goal: Career

I spent a lot of time thinking about my job and what I'm thankful for. I enjoyed being outside working with kids this week, I enjoyed asking a first grader what games they played and I loved her answer "I get my toy microphone out and pretend I'm a rockstar in front of my stuffed animals." It was fun this week. I also worked on some projects I am actually proud of.  I've also given a lot of through to my big picture goals and realized what I want to work for. I had some bad moments too, but texting J helped.

Goal next week: Keep this up.

Julie's Progress Report I

Finance: Spend less, save more, pay off credit card.

This was a pretty successful week in terms of staying within our budget. Of course, we bought a few things we could have done without. Namely, the subscription to Backpacking magazine for me and the Lego mini-figures for Tim, a couple of McFlurry runs, a mid-afternoon cookie, and a gas station trip that consisted of three taquitos, a fountain Coke, and $6 worth of Powerball tickets. (We won $4 back. Lucky number 11.) If all goes according to plan these next two weeks, we should have money left over for an extra credit card payment and to pad our savings. 

Every week I start the week with a $20 for things like McFlurry runs, Cokes, coffees, candy, cookies, lunch out with friends, etc. My mom used to call this practice, “mad money.” I ended up this week bumming McFlurries and taquitos off Tim. I definitely could do better managing my cash. My wallet and my waistline will be grateful.

Goal for next week: Don’t spend all my mad money!

Fitness: Train for marathon.

Man, I am sore today. I got back into a pretty good routine to ramp up mileage to officially start marathon training soon. I worked out five days this week. Two hours and forty minutes of yardwork (trimming bushes), nine miles of run/walk, and 4.5 miles of “hiking.”

A word about my pace: I am so far behind where I have been in the past on pace. For my two, mid-week short runs (two miles), I didn’t wear a watch but I did take walk breaks. For my long run (five miles), I wore my watch and started with a solid 18 minutes and then did the rest at a combo 5 minutes run-5 minutes walk. That averaged out to about 13 minutes/mile. That’s 3+ minutes slower than my pace when I was in shape and could run miles and miles. These are the consequences of laziness!! I figure if I just keep putting the miles in at whatever pace, my legs and lungs will catch up eventually.

Goals for next week: Put in all my miles and less walking. Find more soft surface trails to walk with Tim. (His back doesn’t do well on paved trails. His leg goes numb.)

Career: Have a better attitude.

Man, oh man. I didn’t do well on this goal this week. Sorry feminists, but I have to chalk it up to PMS.

Goal for next week: Focus on progress, not the little annoyances.

Adultiness: Accomplish home repair, waste time better, don’t dwell on bad feelings.

I trimmed our forsythia bushes on Friday and Saturday. Saturday morning, the village police truck pulled up and three fellow villagers offered to help me load up my trimmed branches and haul them off. (It was village dumpster day.) This is apropos of nothing goal-related. It just put me in a “I love people/I love my village” mood.

I commute an hour each way. I resent this on many fronts: price of gas, impact on the environment, toll booth fees, two hours wasted every day, two hours to engage in rumination (see paragraph below). One way I alleviate these bad feelings and waste this time better is to get audiobooks from the library. Because I’m not very adulty, I don’t make it to the library regularly and I’ve also checked out most everything that seems interesting. (I prefer nonfiction audiobooks to fiction. That limits the options.) Plus, I haven’t been to the library lately because I’m avoiding paying my fines. (See above re: not very adulty.) So, I used some OLD iTunes giftcards and downloaded a favorite book A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. The story of Bryson’s quest to hike the Appalachian Trail makes me consider my overall goals and puts me in a mindset to save more and follow my training plan. And that is a much better waste of time.

I added that last goal since starting this project. I realized that this is a MAJOR fault of mine. Whenever my mind isn’t occupied, especially during my shower-get ready routine, I have a tendency to ruminate on whatever might be going wrong. (Usually the cycle of thoughts is “we have no money-Tim needs to get a job-why did he buy that thing.” Also, I ignore my role in the small amount of irresponsible spending we do these days. "Woe is me/I'm a victim" is the typical and very unhelpful theme of these rumination sessions. NOT very adulty.) All this accomplishes is putting me in a sour-aggressive-angry mood before I even leave the house. It sucks, is unfair to those around me, and I’m going to work on it.

Goal for next week: Streamline upstairs storage, weed gardens, avoid Sudoku and crosswords.