Day 72

Update:

At the beginning of the year I had five goals for this year:

Get a passport, participate in a 5k, pay down debt and start saving, weight loss and get a new job. Here’s where I’m at so far…

I don’t have my passport yet but I do have a certified copy of my birth certificate hot off the press from the state of Arizona. I’ll need a certified copy in a couple years when my driver’s license expires and I don’t know where mine is; probably in a box somewhere.

I have been lax in training for the 5k. I have the registration printed out. It’s April 16^th. One week before my 41^st birthday. I’ll participate still. I have two goals for it. First, to not finish dead last and second, to finish in less than 90 minutes. That's about a 30 minute mile and seems well within my ability.

I discovered a wonderful website called SmartyPig. It’s an amazing tool for those of us who struggle to put money away and then not touch it when needed or when in need of a retail therapy day. You create goals and set a time frame in which you want to achieve them. They take the money out of your account and apply it to your goals. The nice thing about this is that even though the money isn’t readily accessible you can get to it if you need to and will only take a few days to get back to your checking or savings account. You also have the option of having the funds put on a card. That’s not a good option for me since cards are tempting for me to use. I currently have two goals set up. One is for Christmas and the other is for a house down payment. You can even have others donate to your goals. Pretty nifty site overall! I heard about it through Utah Saves and also through Debt Proof Living. If Mary Hunt likes it then it is probably a good idea! With my tax return I was able to pay off two of my four cards and eliminate my credit card debt by almost 2/3^rd. Woo hoo! Since they’re automotive cards and I have a new car I’m not likely to use them in the near future which decreases my debt to income ratio.

Weight loss is always a tricky one. Medication changes sometimes wreck havoc with our best laid plans. In other cases they help. I was on one and lost 12 pounds in 10 days. Yee haw!!! Then I went on a binger and had salty foods for about a week. All the weight came back. Darn you Chili’s and Taco Bell(fav is the 7 layer burrito). Mexican food is my go to food when I’m happy, sad, stressed, PMS-ing, in general whenever or if I need a meal, chances are its Mexican drive-thru fare. My wallet and the scale can attest to that weakness.

I did however rejoin Curves. Truthfully I do get bored with it sometimes. It’s the same thing over and over. BUT it works for my body so that's why I stay. My abs and my back side are where I usually see the biggest difference. But it is also good for your heart which makes my dr happyJ I also like that they do a monthly weigh and measure. It is a good barometer to see where you’re at and sometimes the smallest achievements feel huge! Plus exercising is good for your endorphins. It is truly a mood booster. I feel better, more relaxed and handle stress easier when my muscles are all warm and stretched out after I’ve been sitting on my bum all day.

Along those same lines I want to get outside more this year and am planning on buying a pair of rollerblades and fixing my bike. There are plenty of trails throughout the Salt Lake Valley that are begging to be explored. I am also getting a Kinect. The games are like a workout and video game all in one. I’m super excited!  The other cool thing is that our family is working collectively to lose weight. So far this year we've lost just over 90 pounds between 11 of us. Way to go family! Weekly weights are emailed to my BIL and he has this nifty spreadsheet that tracks us week to week. It is a fairly good barometer since I want to do well.

I interviewed for a new position within the company. It seemed like a decent idea and it’s never a bad idea to pass up an opportunity to freshen up your interview skills. It’s a Monday – Friday job. Salaried. Management. PERFECT! I can quit working two jobs 7 days a week. Alas, the job went to another person. I do honestly believe she was the better person for the position but it sure would have been nice to try something new. I guess this is where school comes in. I’m about half done. I graduate in June with an AS in Medical Specialties and am pursuing a job in the medical billing and coding field once I graduate. So if I just have a couple more months to go it seemed silly to take a new position that I would have worked my hardest at but would have seemed like a waste of schooling for the time being. …once I have enjoyed my summer off and hopefully have found a new job in my new field then I’m going back to get my BS in Hospital Administration which will take another 18 months or so. Then I will be able to cross that off my bucket list. Bachelors Degree, check.

Hmmm… my sister did a blog of what some things on her bucket list are…maybe I’ll do the same one day.