So last month I agreed to do a clean eating challenge with some of my coworkers. I honestly don't know why I agreed to it. Oh wait yes I do it is a good way to lose weight and get some healthier habits.
Needless to say we are only 5 days into it the challenge and I am struggling to get all of my requirements in and reach my calorie goals every day. I am supposed to get SIX, yes SIX servings of vegetables per day. I'm lucky if I got one in before this month, so that's tricky for me. I also need to get SEVEN servings of lean protein, which is also extremely difficult for me. I think I finally have the veggies down, five days in, but I am still struggling with the lean protein and second veggies (grains).
I bought some quinoa and wild rice to get in the second veggies. I have no idea about how to make the quinoa so I have to dig up some recipes for that. Also I can't wait for the new Planet Fitness to open. I signed up again for their membership but it is out of the way to get to the other one, especially this time of year when you don't know what the weather will do.
On another goal aspect...
I have bought supplies to start making some new items for my Etsy store. I got a few of them completed this weekend. I have a few things left to complete. I haven't gotten any of them posted yet but I look forward to adding them. I still have a few ideas of other things to make and add to the store as well. I am hoping these new items will add new interest to the store.
I also submitted one of my stories to a couple Beta Readers recently so I have been combing through their feedback and working on getting that done as well. I have a ways to go on it yet but once I get the chance to really sit down and work on it, it should go pretty quickly. I will sit down to work on that once I get all of my new items made and posted!
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Let your creative juices flow!!!
So this is just a quick post to well because I'm excited to have my creative juices flowing again.
So the other night I posted on Goodreads looking for Beta Readers for my completed short story. I had a couple people read it and I got some really good and honest feedback. So this weekend I plan on combing through all their comments and suggestions and getting to work on doing rewrites. I am going to go through some of the other stories I have started and post them for Beta Reads as well, a few chapters at a time. I haven't spent a lot of time writing but I've been feeling kind of creative lately so though I would see if I could get some words down on some of them.
Also I have started a few of the new projects for my Etsy page. This year I am adding magnets, wine glass charms and outlet/switch plates. All of which will be based around fandoms of a sort. Tonight I worked on some of the magnets actually. Last night I placed an order for all the charms and for a new bracelet/keychain series as well as charms and rings for the wine glass charms. I do need to find some small beads to add to them as well but didn't see any on the site I thought would go well. Here's to hoping it doesn't snow like it is supposed to so that I can make a trip to Hobby Lobby this weekend!
One final note...next month is the clean eating thing I was challenged to. It is also the start of The Weight Race which is a twelve week race through UPMC to help employees lose weight. Tonight I also placed an order to try a cleanse from It Works! which my friend just became a consultant with. So mesh those three things together and I will be working hard towards my weigh loss goal.
More soon because I do have other things to mention!!!
So the other night I posted on Goodreads looking for Beta Readers for my completed short story. I had a couple people read it and I got some really good and honest feedback. So this weekend I plan on combing through all their comments and suggestions and getting to work on doing rewrites. I am going to go through some of the other stories I have started and post them for Beta Reads as well, a few chapters at a time. I haven't spent a lot of time writing but I've been feeling kind of creative lately so though I would see if I could get some words down on some of them.
Also I have started a few of the new projects for my Etsy page. This year I am adding magnets, wine glass charms and outlet/switch plates. All of which will be based around fandoms of a sort. Tonight I worked on some of the magnets actually. Last night I placed an order for all the charms and for a new bracelet/keychain series as well as charms and rings for the wine glass charms. I do need to find some small beads to add to them as well but didn't see any on the site I thought would go well. Here's to hoping it doesn't snow like it is supposed to so that I can make a trip to Hobby Lobby this weekend!
One final note...next month is the clean eating thing I was challenged to. It is also the start of The Weight Race which is a twelve week race through UPMC to help employees lose weight. Tonight I also placed an order to try a cleanse from It Works! which my friend just became a consultant with. So mesh those three things together and I will be working hard towards my weigh loss goal.
More soon because I do have other things to mention!!!
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Growing Towards the Future...
So far the year is flying by and I haven't done as well posting to this blog as I had planned. I am however slowly working towards my goals. Next month I will be doing a Clean Eating Challenge with my team at work (4 of us total). I'm not sure how that will go at all. I have only eaten out (fast food) twice and one of those times was a healthy salad. Sadly the other was Wendy's and I only went because I was beyond starving.
Anyways, last year between Black Friday and Christmas my Etsy store did really well. I did a few sales so far this month as well. So this year I will be growing that business. Right now I am selling jewelry and blankets. Over the next few months I will be adding magnets and outlet covers for sure. I am also considering coasters and a few other items.
I plan to add a lot more of the Gilmore Girls related items because they were my best sellers last year. I will also be adding to my fandom items with some Firefly, Doctor Who and Marvel related items. There will also be some older fandoms and items for younger kids such as TMNT, My Little Pony and Disney Princesses.
I have lots of fun ideas flitting around up there it's just a matter of taking the time to complete the projects. The coming weeks will be a great time to sit down and build my stock. I may even stop in at Jo-Ann Fabrics to grab some new fabric to make a different kind of baby blanket (I just don't know if I have the patience to hand stitch anything right now).
Here's to hoping that things on the store front get better. I am also hoping to get a second draft of my finished story done. I have a second short story that I plan on sending through the Beta process. I have a couple other stories that I am working on as well. I need to start trying to finish some of these half finished stories that I have so that I can start the next steps in the process and eventually publish at least one of them.
On a whole different front I have started a new apartment hunt at last. I have found quite a few prospects in various different places but where I go will really all depend on what kinds of jobs I find and eventually where I get hired. Obviously I will be planning on having two jobs to start but what's new there.
I have a few different savings goals going on right now. Instead of doing the 52 week challenge I am saving every $5 bill and every quarter I get this year. I can usually do pretty good on the $5 challenge however the quarter challenge is new to me. Also all of my Etsy sales money and about 5% of my paycheck goes into a high interest savings account. I haven't had to touch the account in a couple months so it's slowly growing.
Needless to say I have a lot going on right now and I am extremely happy about it. I need something to keep my mind off the fact that I am still here and the weather is about to turn cold again. The last week has been so nice not needing a coat and all. I'm hoping the weather changes and stays warm the rest of the winter but chances are low.
That's all for now and I will hopefully update you all again soon.
Anyways, last year between Black Friday and Christmas my Etsy store did really well. I did a few sales so far this month as well. So this year I will be growing that business. Right now I am selling jewelry and blankets. Over the next few months I will be adding magnets and outlet covers for sure. I am also considering coasters and a few other items.
I plan to add a lot more of the Gilmore Girls related items because they were my best sellers last year. I will also be adding to my fandom items with some Firefly, Doctor Who and Marvel related items. There will also be some older fandoms and items for younger kids such as TMNT, My Little Pony and Disney Princesses.
I have lots of fun ideas flitting around up there it's just a matter of taking the time to complete the projects. The coming weeks will be a great time to sit down and build my stock. I may even stop in at Jo-Ann Fabrics to grab some new fabric to make a different kind of baby blanket (I just don't know if I have the patience to hand stitch anything right now).
Here's to hoping that things on the store front get better. I am also hoping to get a second draft of my finished story done. I have a second short story that I plan on sending through the Beta process. I have a couple other stories that I am working on as well. I need to start trying to finish some of these half finished stories that I have so that I can start the next steps in the process and eventually publish at least one of them.
On a whole different front I have started a new apartment hunt at last. I have found quite a few prospects in various different places but where I go will really all depend on what kinds of jobs I find and eventually where I get hired. Obviously I will be planning on having two jobs to start but what's new there.
I have a few different savings goals going on right now. Instead of doing the 52 week challenge I am saving every $5 bill and every quarter I get this year. I can usually do pretty good on the $5 challenge however the quarter challenge is new to me. Also all of my Etsy sales money and about 5% of my paycheck goes into a high interest savings account. I haven't had to touch the account in a couple months so it's slowly growing.
Needless to say I have a lot going on right now and I am extremely happy about it. I need something to keep my mind off the fact that I am still here and the weather is about to turn cold again. The last week has been so nice not needing a coat and all. I'm hoping the weather changes and stays warm the rest of the winter but chances are low.
That's all for now and I will hopefully update you all again soon.
Friday, January 6, 2017
A New Year and A New Dawn...
It's a New Year and while I don't make resolutions I do have a list of things I will be working towards this year. First of all I want to work harder on writing on this blog. I don't do it nearly often enough. So here are the things I plan to work towards this year and why in no particular order.
1.) Pay off the car loan. If everything goes as planned this will be paid off in just a couple short months (March or April). It is my largest payment of the month which impedes me having the money to pay rent and utilities as well as other debts. I am hoping that I can pay off the bulk of this debt with a tax refund but who knows what will happen this year. This is the most important step because with out it a few of the other things can not happen.
2.) Move out of Pennsylvania! I have never truly been happy here and I grew up here. Even when I was younger I knew I wouldn't be here my entire life. I have been thinking either Nashville, TN or the coast of any state from North Carolina to Georgia or New Orleans. The job searches in these areas will commence soon (maybe next month)!
3.) Pay off as much other debt as I can so that my credit score continues to climb! The last couple years I have been working hard to bring my credit score up yet I continuously increase my debt. It isn't a great way to work through anything but by paying off my debts I am increasing my score. I have however done well in the credit score aspect of this task if nothing else. A good score will help me get into a better place when a move does happen.
4.) Lose weight!!!!!! While I would love to get back down to where I was when I came home from Utah that isn't feasible anytime soon. So in place of that I am aiming for a healthier weight of the 160's range. We are only six days into the year but so far I feel like I have done well with my eating habits. I have been drinking lots of water or infused water and have not had any fast food yet. Instead of chocolate I have been turning to healthier alternatives as much as possible (this is harder than anything else).
5.) Then there is my reading goals obviously. This year I am stepping away from doing as many review tours so that I can catch up on all the many books I have in storage and/or on my kindle. I enjoy reading because it relaxes me and I need that more often than not these days. I actually get a lot of my reading done either in the car (audio books) or during work (using the text to speech function on my kindle). I have currently finished 6 books and am well into three others so far this year!!! I can't wait till I can get bookshelves built again and see all of my beautiful books neatly organized!
6.) Finally I am hoping to continue growing my Etsy store in order to grow my savings account faster. I did really well between Thanksgiving and Christmas but it has currently died down slightly. I expected this however and plan on working on some new items shortly! Because of my sales the couple weeks before Christmas my savings account is the highest it has ever been and that is a glorious thing.
So those are the things I am working towards this year. All of them will increase my happiness but most of them are financially related items. I will be pulling back my spending in other areas in order to complete these tasks. My December Book Outlet order was my last one until I achieve at least the first goal and then a small order will be my reward...lol. I tend to reward myself in books and movies. However, this year I will not do any major orders until the end of the year (hopefully) at least that's the plan. When it comes to clothes I will buy them only as I lose weight and only what is needed (basically it will be pants if I need to buy anything).
I look forward to making this my best year ever and with a little hard work it will be! I will keep you appraised of how things are going on these goals as often as possible!
1.) Pay off the car loan. If everything goes as planned this will be paid off in just a couple short months (March or April). It is my largest payment of the month which impedes me having the money to pay rent and utilities as well as other debts. I am hoping that I can pay off the bulk of this debt with a tax refund but who knows what will happen this year. This is the most important step because with out it a few of the other things can not happen.
2.) Move out of Pennsylvania! I have never truly been happy here and I grew up here. Even when I was younger I knew I wouldn't be here my entire life. I have been thinking either Nashville, TN or the coast of any state from North Carolina to Georgia or New Orleans. The job searches in these areas will commence soon (maybe next month)!
3.) Pay off as much other debt as I can so that my credit score continues to climb! The last couple years I have been working hard to bring my credit score up yet I continuously increase my debt. It isn't a great way to work through anything but by paying off my debts I am increasing my score. I have however done well in the credit score aspect of this task if nothing else. A good score will help me get into a better place when a move does happen.
4.) Lose weight!!!!!! While I would love to get back down to where I was when I came home from Utah that isn't feasible anytime soon. So in place of that I am aiming for a healthier weight of the 160's range. We are only six days into the year but so far I feel like I have done well with my eating habits. I have been drinking lots of water or infused water and have not had any fast food yet. Instead of chocolate I have been turning to healthier alternatives as much as possible (this is harder than anything else).
5.) Then there is my reading goals obviously. This year I am stepping away from doing as many review tours so that I can catch up on all the many books I have in storage and/or on my kindle. I enjoy reading because it relaxes me and I need that more often than not these days. I actually get a lot of my reading done either in the car (audio books) or during work (using the text to speech function on my kindle). I have currently finished 6 books and am well into three others so far this year!!! I can't wait till I can get bookshelves built again and see all of my beautiful books neatly organized!
6.) Finally I am hoping to continue growing my Etsy store in order to grow my savings account faster. I did really well between Thanksgiving and Christmas but it has currently died down slightly. I expected this however and plan on working on some new items shortly! Because of my sales the couple weeks before Christmas my savings account is the highest it has ever been and that is a glorious thing.
So those are the things I am working towards this year. All of them will increase my happiness but most of them are financially related items. I will be pulling back my spending in other areas in order to complete these tasks. My December Book Outlet order was my last one until I achieve at least the first goal and then a small order will be my reward...lol. I tend to reward myself in books and movies. However, this year I will not do any major orders until the end of the year (hopefully) at least that's the plan. When it comes to clothes I will buy them only as I lose weight and only what is needed (basically it will be pants if I need to buy anything).
I look forward to making this my best year ever and with a little hard work it will be! I will keep you appraised of how things are going on these goals as often as possible!
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