My normal routine involves taking our darling dog for a walk twice a day. It’s something I love doing when it’s warmer. It gets me out there smelling roses, fresh cut grass and of course dog poop as I clean up after her. In winter however, taking her out for a walk becomes quite a chore.
The first thing I do soon after waking up is turn on the Weather Channel to check on the actual temperature outside. Depending on that number I don several layers including thermals, long sleeve t-shirts, sweaters and the final topping ~ the hubs ski jacket. At the end of it all I look about as round as I am tall – a perfect sphere. Besides the fact that I am now waddling with all these layers on I’ve also lost several minutes of walk time in the morning. So Jo and I have to do a quick waddle down to the lake where she does her business. Then comes the fun part – maneuvering with all these layers involves a semi-squat, bracing my hands on the grass, scooping the poop and righting myself back up again all the while trying not to get a whiff of what can sometimes be a fairly smelly mess. The only upside to this in winter ~ disgusting as this may seem ~ is that compared to the cold weather around my blue doggie bag of poo is steaming hot. I know, I know ~ disgusting right?
I am so grateful for the days that the hubby is in town and takes it upon himself to take Jo for her morning walk. That little lie-in I get to enjoy is wonderful – particularly since he usually wakes me up with a steaming cup of chai after he’s back…. Needless to say since he’s been gone for almost 2 weeks now I’ve definitely got the blues…
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Resolution 2009
Yes, I know it is more than 3 weeks into 2009 but given that yesterday was a monumentous day for the United States & the rest of the world I figured this would be the perfect day to list my goals for 2009. So here goes:
Financial
1. Max out my 401 (k) ~ the IRS limit has increased to $16,500. Given the current Economic situation while it is tempting to not contribute at all I’m trying to remember that my contributions will buy me a whole lot more than in years past. Once I have this set up it should be fairly routine to check balances every 3 months and adjust future contributions.
2. Set up a Vanguard mutual fund and automatic contributions. While it is impossible to time the market reading all the financial advice out there indicates now is not a terrible time to start investing. Again, this should be routine once set up.
3. Refinance the mortgage on my Phoenix house and continue paying down the mortgage. The good news is that with my friends as tenants I know the house is being looked after and the basic mortgage is being taken care of come what may. However since I was on an ARM I do need to refinance with minimal closing costs before the ARM expires in April. While my contribution to the Principal varies each month depending on how much I have spent otherwise ~ in general I’m going to aim to paydown $250 each month. That will accumulate to a healthy $3000 for the year – not too shabby.
4. Refinance our Dallas home and start paying down our mortgage. Since we’re looking to stay put in this house for at least another 3-5 years refinancing makes sense particularly since we can shave just over 1% point from our current rate. Paying our mortgage down is something the hubby and I need to discuss. We know we want to accomplish this but we haven’t talked numbers as yet.
5. Ideally we’d like to get a handle on our Budget. In general, we do spend less than we make and yes, we do save a fair bit but at the end of the month we’re still not sure where the money’s going. I recently picked up a multi-pocket folder for stashing receipts from target for 1$. My goal for the next 2 months is to stash every bill/receipt in the folder at the end of the day. Hopefully that should give me some idea of where our money’s going.
Health
6. Preventive Health Measures – Schedule Annual Physical, Dental & Eye Exams for 2009.
7. Keep the bottles of Multivitamins readily visible so that we remember to take them every single day. While we do try to eat nutritionally rich food its hard to have every meal be a balanced blend of vitamins.
Losing Weight
Yes, this gets its own heading even though it is tied into Health. Watching all the new diet and fitness oriented TV shows out there has made me realize that achieving a healthy weight is extremely beneficial to my stress levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and all around well being. In an ideal world I’d love to lose about 20 pounds ~ that would however involve a whole lot of sacrifice on my part. Since I’m not quite at the mental stage to aim for that I figure I’ll start with 10 pounds. These goals should help me get to that number by my April birthday.
8. Keep a Food Diary. I’ve struggled with keeping this up but have finally found the perfect solution – a cute graphic book that fits into my purse that I take everywhere!! 3 weeks into the New Year and I’ve only missed (1) day.
9. Drink lots of water ~ Drinking water keeps you full longer, has ZERO calories, and most importantly is relatively Free. I have to admit that I do occasionally get bored with drinking plain H2O so I will have to get some of those Crystal Light sachets to add to my bottle…
10. Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Scientists have proved what I’ve been saying all along ~ I need my sleep. Women who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night are more likely to gain weight and have a harder time losing… enuf said….
11. Exercise 3x30 minutes a week. I do take my dog out for a daily walk (sometimes even twice daily) but that definitely doesn’t make me sweat. I need to start some serious Cardio and/or Strength Training. Right before the end of the year I was working out at least twice a week with a trainer at my local gym. Unfortunately she left the gym & I’ve yet to find a new trainer. Without a commitment to meet someone at the gym (friend, trainer or workout buddy) I find it much harder to succeed & I suspect I’m not the only one. Self-motivation isn’t exactly my cup of hot chocolate :)
11 GOALS ~ Whew!! I think I need a chocolate chip cookie to comfort me…. Nah, just kidding….. I’ll keep updating these Goals through the year though so watch this space. Let's hope I can win the Cookie War!!
Financial
1. Max out my 401 (k) ~ the IRS limit has increased to $16,500. Given the current Economic situation while it is tempting to not contribute at all I’m trying to remember that my contributions will buy me a whole lot more than in years past. Once I have this set up it should be fairly routine to check balances every 3 months and adjust future contributions.
2. Set up a Vanguard mutual fund and automatic contributions. While it is impossible to time the market reading all the financial advice out there indicates now is not a terrible time to start investing. Again, this should be routine once set up.
3. Refinance the mortgage on my Phoenix house and continue paying down the mortgage. The good news is that with my friends as tenants I know the house is being looked after and the basic mortgage is being taken care of come what may. However since I was on an ARM I do need to refinance with minimal closing costs before the ARM expires in April. While my contribution to the Principal varies each month depending on how much I have spent otherwise ~ in general I’m going to aim to paydown $250 each month. That will accumulate to a healthy $3000 for the year – not too shabby.
4. Refinance our Dallas home and start paying down our mortgage. Since we’re looking to stay put in this house for at least another 3-5 years refinancing makes sense particularly since we can shave just over 1% point from our current rate. Paying our mortgage down is something the hubby and I need to discuss. We know we want to accomplish this but we haven’t talked numbers as yet.
5. Ideally we’d like to get a handle on our Budget. In general, we do spend less than we make and yes, we do save a fair bit but at the end of the month we’re still not sure where the money’s going. I recently picked up a multi-pocket folder for stashing receipts from target for 1$. My goal for the next 2 months is to stash every bill/receipt in the folder at the end of the day. Hopefully that should give me some idea of where our money’s going.
Health
6. Preventive Health Measures – Schedule Annual Physical, Dental & Eye Exams for 2009.
7. Keep the bottles of Multivitamins readily visible so that we remember to take them every single day. While we do try to eat nutritionally rich food its hard to have every meal be a balanced blend of vitamins.
Losing Weight
Yes, this gets its own heading even though it is tied into Health. Watching all the new diet and fitness oriented TV shows out there has made me realize that achieving a healthy weight is extremely beneficial to my stress levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and all around well being. In an ideal world I’d love to lose about 20 pounds ~ that would however involve a whole lot of sacrifice on my part. Since I’m not quite at the mental stage to aim for that I figure I’ll start with 10 pounds. These goals should help me get to that number by my April birthday.
8. Keep a Food Diary. I’ve struggled with keeping this up but have finally found the perfect solution – a cute graphic book that fits into my purse that I take everywhere!! 3 weeks into the New Year and I’ve only missed (1) day.
9. Drink lots of water ~ Drinking water keeps you full longer, has ZERO calories, and most importantly is relatively Free. I have to admit that I do occasionally get bored with drinking plain H2O so I will have to get some of those Crystal Light sachets to add to my bottle…
10. Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Scientists have proved what I’ve been saying all along ~ I need my sleep. Women who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night are more likely to gain weight and have a harder time losing… enuf said….
11. Exercise 3x30 minutes a week. I do take my dog out for a daily walk (sometimes even twice daily) but that definitely doesn’t make me sweat. I need to start some serious Cardio and/or Strength Training. Right before the end of the year I was working out at least twice a week with a trainer at my local gym. Unfortunately she left the gym & I’ve yet to find a new trainer. Without a commitment to meet someone at the gym (friend, trainer or workout buddy) I find it much harder to succeed & I suspect I’m not the only one. Self-motivation isn’t exactly my cup of hot chocolate :)
11 GOALS ~ Whew!! I think I need a chocolate chip cookie to comfort me…. Nah, just kidding….. I’ll keep updating these Goals through the year though so watch this space. Let's hope I can win the Cookie War!!
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