... or proficiency begets efficiency begets promotions begets responsibility begets everyone and their mom putting things on my To Do list and it's driving me crazy.
Ok, this is not supposed to be a brag-fest about how awesome I am at stuff, which, obviously I AM, but you know. Mostly, I'm upset today and need to rant about how it is completely unfair for people that are responsible and accountable and get things done (and get them done well!) are constantly being asked to take on more things that are not their responsibility because the people that are supposed to be doing them are not... let's call it "competent"at their own jobs and don't get them done, or get the done but badly.
I have no issue with helping people out sometimes, but right now I feel like things are getting to the point where projects are being thrown my way and I'm just expected to take care of them. Not fun. I was lamenting to one of my managers about this earlier in the week and he pointed out that people know my reputation is to get things done well, quickly and correctly. That's how I operate in most areas of my life. I'm trying to set boundaries so that this doesn't keep happening, but boundary setting is not the most fun thing in the world and usually it upsets people (which is not preferable, but also I'm not opposed to having to upset them in order to set a healthy boundary).
Currently I'm working 4 large group trips for work, 1 large meeting that will be happening in March, 1 meeting that is happening tomorrow, and then my normal work stuff for my new manager which is getting a bit complicated because I'm still being shared by him and my old manager until they have the head count to get someone else in here. All of the aforementioned is my job, so no big deal, it's just a lot on it's own. Then we have a few of my new manager's team that keep asking me to help out with their team projects because "it used to the person's job who had your job before you to do it"- but the thing is that when I was promoted my new manager rewrote my job description. We even had a discussion about it during one of his team meetings to let his team know what it is I will be doing and what I DO and DO NOT handle. So they are aware of what I do, and there is someone whose new job it is to do all of the things that I don't handle because they reorganized the entire team for it to work that way.
... ugh... just having a tough time handling all of it on top of everything going on at home. Sorry, I totally feel like this is turning into a "ugh, my job" post, which it is not! Just to clarify, I LOVE my job and wouldn't trade it for the world and I absolutely love the team I work with. Transition is hard.
Speaking of everything else going on:
We had our house inspection yesterday and everything looked great! The inspector pointed out a few things he thinks we may want to "fix", but they were more suggestions for things like scraping off the old caulking on some of the exterior walls that surrounds some of the entry points for cable, etc because they may be getting a little too old. Ok, we can handle that! While we were there for the inspection, BF and I walked around and made a list of the things we needed to do so we know what sort of budget to set for some minor things we want to work on before moving in. I also measured the walls so I could calculate how much paint we needed to get to touch up some areas and to add color to our main living spaces. I'm starting to get SUPER EXCITED to get moving, but it's also stressing me out a little. We will get our appraisal later this week and hopefully land on a closing date!
Oh yeah, and wedding planning! We are definitely in the throes of WP, and I'm starting to freak out a little despite having most everything planned and done. For one, I did not realize how expensive photography is! We found someone we like and are hoping to be able to schedule, but we cannot meet with him until next month so we will see what happens. I am also still looking for a florist and a bakery to make a very small cake (since we don't really want cake but our parents have insisted that we need a cake to cut for photos and for the tradition). On Sunday I took my sister and BF's sister dress shopping and we found our Bridesmaid dresses! I placed the orders and sent our findings to my MOH in Utah so she could do a little shopping and find something that will match (ish, I don't need them to match exactly). I'm also on the lookout for cute table decor ideas and have found some good ideas I may use. I downloaded a pretty sweet App for my iPad that helps organize my wedding plans in one place, without paper, which is nice because now all I have to do is bring my iPad with me places and I've got all my plans and ideas there! I've also been perusing Pinterest for ideas which is awesome and very easy for me to get lost in!
Anyway, more house updates to come. I'm feeling much more Zen after ranting about work, so thank you!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
I'm Adding One More Thing To Our To Do List... for the Love of Food
... and it's making our own yogurt.
So here's my issue. I love yogurt and I love that it's pretty good for you, but when you really stop and read the labels I found that the companies that make the yogurt are adding some not-so-great-for-you ingredients to something that should be pretty healthy.
BF and I have been sampling different varieties trying to find ones we love that don't have all of the added icky ingredients (high fructose corn syrup, Red Dye, etc). We have found some good ones, but the ones we love had a ton of added sugar. I don't feel as bad since it's ACTUAL organic cane sugar, but added sugar isn't that great for you either. I've tried the plain, unsweetened varieties that sound good on paper, or rather sound good on the ingredient list, but they taste AWFUL! Some are super sour I don't know how people eat them and the less sour ones taste a little off... almost like vomity, if that makes sense. Anyway, I'm tired of trying to eat yogurt that I don't love... this whole thing has turned one of my favorite snacks into a snack I'm starting to avoid.
Anyway, so BF is so cute and looked up how to make your own yogurt and it is shockingly simple and that way we can make a big batch of it and put it into little containers to take to work and add our own stuff (fruit, honey, granola) to so we know exactly what goes into it!
I'll definitely document the process to let you know how it turns out!
So here's my issue. I love yogurt and I love that it's pretty good for you, but when you really stop and read the labels I found that the companies that make the yogurt are adding some not-so-great-for-you ingredients to something that should be pretty healthy.
BF and I have been sampling different varieties trying to find ones we love that don't have all of the added icky ingredients (high fructose corn syrup, Red Dye, etc). We have found some good ones, but the ones we love had a ton of added sugar. I don't feel as bad since it's ACTUAL organic cane sugar, but added sugar isn't that great for you either. I've tried the plain, unsweetened varieties that sound good on paper, or rather sound good on the ingredient list, but they taste AWFUL! Some are super sour I don't know how people eat them and the less sour ones taste a little off... almost like vomity, if that makes sense. Anyway, I'm tired of trying to eat yogurt that I don't love... this whole thing has turned one of my favorite snacks into a snack I'm starting to avoid.
Anyway, so BF is so cute and looked up how to make your own yogurt and it is shockingly simple and that way we can make a big batch of it and put it into little containers to take to work and add our own stuff (fruit, honey, granola) to so we know exactly what goes into it!
I'll definitely document the process to let you know how it turns out!
Living the American Dream...
... scares the crap out of me but is also very exciting.
So BF are going to be homeowners (barring the house passes inspection, which we think it will, fingers crossed) and I am so relieved and happy! When we started looking back in November I got a little down because I was hoping the Good Neighbor Next Door program house in Southeast would work out, but it wasn't meant to be. We looked at MANY homes, some good, some downright awful and then a few that we loved. We made an offer on one we adored a couple weeks ago, but it was a short sale so we knew that it may be months before we even heard anything.
From the get-go things seemed to be working for us as we heard the next day that our offer was accepted by the seller and given to their bank to review (again, necessary in a short sale). We were then told that it no one could guarantee when we'd hear back from the sellers or their bank and that the average wait time for these was close to 2 months. Luckily last week they updated us that things were moving along just fine and that we should be expecting the paperwork, etc from them shorty. This week we got the paperwork, sent it back and started scheduling our inspections and appraisals!
I have a really hard time being patient when I want something (which I've really tried to work on the past few years) so I had resolved that we may not have a house until late Spring/ early Summer and there was nothing I could do about that. Just when I was getting used to the idea of waiting, no more! I am so grateful for that blessing because Heaven knows I might have lost my mind.
BF and I have all of our decorating ideas noted and cannot wait to get started! What I am dreading is moving our stuff. I absolutely hate moving, but am willing to do it since it will be to a home that we OWN and will hopefully be in for a while.
So on our To Do List is:
1. Buy paint for the downstairs (right now every wall is white, so we want to paint before moving in).
2. Buy a dog door for the back door- no more taking the dogs out at 4 am!!!
3. Buy a medicine cabinet with mirror for the bathroom- BF loves them and the downstairs bathroom has no sort of storage in or near it.
4. Shop for a smaller dining room table- the one we have is pub height and much too large for this space (and our current space) but it can wait until we are settled and can shop for a cool used one or one we really love.
5. Get rid of things we don't need or use because I don't want to have to move them!
6. Start packing up the house!
7. Bookshelves- with our libraries combined, BF and I have a hefty collection that we don't have enough room for. I'll be trolling Goodwill and antique stores for used ones first since we do not have any built-in shelves in the new house and definitely want to keep all of the books we have and be able to find them easily.
I'm trying to devise a plan for packing and labeling so that things are easily moved and easy to locate and unpack. What I've landed on is colored tape. I will assign each room in the house it's own tape color and use that tape for the boxes. For example the Master Bedroom tape color will be Blue so that I don't even have to read the label on the box(but there WILL be labeled so when I unpack I know what is in each box) to know where it goes, I just know to pile it in the bedroom.
My color coding looks like this:
Master Bedroom: Blue
Kitchen: Yellow
Living Room/ Main areas: Green
Bathrooms: Purple
Office Stuff: Black
Necessary Items to Unpack FIRST: RED
I'm also trying to get everything packed up, taped and labeled first so we can put the boxes in the very front of the moving truck (by the cab, so I guess the back of it if you are looking from the back towards the front) and the furniture in last so that we unload the furniture first and then not have to try to move furniture in and around piles of boxes.
Any good tips or tricks you've found while moving?
And just for your reference we are definitely planning on having a House Warming Party so everyone can swing by and say hello!
So BF are going to be homeowners (barring the house passes inspection, which we think it will, fingers crossed) and I am so relieved and happy! When we started looking back in November I got a little down because I was hoping the Good Neighbor Next Door program house in Southeast would work out, but it wasn't meant to be. We looked at MANY homes, some good, some downright awful and then a few that we loved. We made an offer on one we adored a couple weeks ago, but it was a short sale so we knew that it may be months before we even heard anything.
From the get-go things seemed to be working for us as we heard the next day that our offer was accepted by the seller and given to their bank to review (again, necessary in a short sale). We were then told that it no one could guarantee when we'd hear back from the sellers or their bank and that the average wait time for these was close to 2 months. Luckily last week they updated us that things were moving along just fine and that we should be expecting the paperwork, etc from them shorty. This week we got the paperwork, sent it back and started scheduling our inspections and appraisals!
I have a really hard time being patient when I want something (which I've really tried to work on the past few years) so I had resolved that we may not have a house until late Spring/ early Summer and there was nothing I could do about that. Just when I was getting used to the idea of waiting, no more! I am so grateful for that blessing because Heaven knows I might have lost my mind.
BF and I have all of our decorating ideas noted and cannot wait to get started! What I am dreading is moving our stuff. I absolutely hate moving, but am willing to do it since it will be to a home that we OWN and will hopefully be in for a while.
So on our To Do List is:
1. Buy paint for the downstairs (right now every wall is white, so we want to paint before moving in).
2. Buy a dog door for the back door- no more taking the dogs out at 4 am!!!
3. Buy a medicine cabinet with mirror for the bathroom- BF loves them and the downstairs bathroom has no sort of storage in or near it.
4. Shop for a smaller dining room table- the one we have is pub height and much too large for this space (and our current space) but it can wait until we are settled and can shop for a cool used one or one we really love.
5. Get rid of things we don't need or use because I don't want to have to move them!
6. Start packing up the house!
7. Bookshelves- with our libraries combined, BF and I have a hefty collection that we don't have enough room for. I'll be trolling Goodwill and antique stores for used ones first since we do not have any built-in shelves in the new house and definitely want to keep all of the books we have and be able to find them easily.
I'm trying to devise a plan for packing and labeling so that things are easily moved and easy to locate and unpack. What I've landed on is colored tape. I will assign each room in the house it's own tape color and use that tape for the boxes. For example the Master Bedroom tape color will be Blue so that I don't even have to read the label on the box(but there WILL be labeled so when I unpack I know what is in each box) to know where it goes, I just know to pile it in the bedroom.
My color coding looks like this:
Master Bedroom: Blue
Kitchen: Yellow
Living Room/ Main areas: Green
Bathrooms: Purple
Office Stuff: Black
Necessary Items to Unpack FIRST: RED
I'm also trying to get everything packed up, taped and labeled first so we can put the boxes in the very front of the moving truck (by the cab, so I guess the back of it if you are looking from the back towards the front) and the furniture in last so that we unload the furniture first and then not have to try to move furniture in and around piles of boxes.
Any good tips or tricks you've found while moving?
And just for your reference we are definitely planning on having a House Warming Party so everyone can swing by and say hello!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Time is Moving Way Too Fast, But Also Way Too Slow!
Oh, you guys, January is flying by and I feel a little like I'm drowning in a To Do list at work. But then again, BF and I are waiting to hear back from the bank regarding a short sale home we put an offer on, which could take a few weeks/months so at the same time every day feels like a week.
Also, I haven't really posted anything since that first week of January and there are definitely things to talk about!
So this is a short post letting you know that I'm still here and that my plans for this week are to dig myself out of my To Do List pit of despair at work and then to get caught up here on the old blog.
More to come soon!
Also, I haven't really posted anything since that first week of January and there are definitely things to talk about!
So this is a short post letting you know that I'm still here and that my plans for this week are to dig myself out of my To Do List pit of despair at work and then to get caught up here on the old blog.
More to come soon!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
So I've Been Reading A Lot and Thinking...
Mostly a few Michael Pollan books. If you aren't familiar he's written a few little books like "The Omnivore's Dilemma", "In Defense of Food", and "Food Rules".
Let's go back a bit, though, to about 11/2-2 years ago when I decided that I was going to "clean up" how I was eating. I'd tried diets, etc before, but nothing really stuck or worked as well as I thought that it would. When I started out I just wanted to lose weight and feel more healthy. I started going to the gym and originally lost 20-25 lbs by using portion control and BF's knowledge of nutrition and fitness to tailor my eating/fitness routine. Typically it was more heavy in lean proteins and veggies with smaller portions of whole grains instead of white/refined ones. It worked well, but I've found it to be a boring routine with little room for introducing new things.
This past year I also worked on phasing out of home and personal cleansing products that are harmful to the environment and to me. We've replaced the majority of our household cleaning supplies with natural or homemade solutions or have found some great eco-friendly sustainable replacements (LOVING the BioKleen line of products) and have simplified my beauty routine to include only items that I know aren't harmful to my health and are sustainable and ecologically sound. We touched on doing the Nothing New challenge last year and are renewing it in full force for 2012. It only makes sense that I would find more to improve upon in my journey to better myself and that's where Michael Pollan's work comes into play.
Many of my friends and acquaintances have read at the very least "The Omnivore's Dilemma"and it wasn't anything that seemed to pique my interest terribly. I did some research regarding CSA's and I've always felt that eating organic and eating local are the best way to go when you can, but it wasn't a huge focus for a few reasons- partially financially, partially ease, and partially because I hadn't thought enough about the whole issue of food. Well, I had thought about it, just not as in depth as I recently have.
This past summer I started becoming more focused on buying organic and/or locally grown foods stemming from my motivation to eat healthful foods that aren't grown in a way that harms the earth and provides more nutrition for my body and also from sources that support the local economy. BF and I did a pretty good job picking organic and local when possible with our produce. It was this line of thinking that lead me to rethink reading some of Michael Pollan's books, so when I was out and about this past Fall I picked up a copy of his "Food Rules" and began thumbing through. I was enthralled.
What was shocking to me was that he wasn't trying to tell me EXACTLY what to eat and HOW to eat it for each meal to be healthy (most diets seem to be more of prescription saying "eat precisely this in this amount at this time"), he was using tried and true guidelines- the type my grandmother used to keep in mind when preparing meals and purchasing food- to help shape one's thinking about food and how/what to eat. Basically what it all boiled down to for me was that we aren't really eating food, we are eating products that imitate food and cause a myriad of issues when we could avoid almost all of them by just switching back to the actual foods. This lead me to read Michael's other two books which really solidified to me how much we have let companies, industries and the government dictate what we eat, how we eat, with whom we eat, and how much of eat we will eat.
BF and I decided that one of our commitments this year (and going forward) would be to eat as locally and organically as we can and to focus on purchasing ACTUAL FOOD- no processed foods, nothing containing high fructose corn syrup or preservatives or dyes, no foods with a list of ingredients we cannot pronounce and don't know the origin of, etc. We have switched to butter or olive oil instead of cooking sprays and "heart healthy" spreads (which probably aren't really that healthy), whole organic milk instead of skim organic milk, foods with ingredient labels that are few in ingredients in general (think no more than 6 for the most part), and more seasonal fare instead of whatever we are in the mood for.
The books detail the "whys" of this food attitude/culture adoption much better than I can, but briefly the things I learned and then examined and found myself agreeing with are:
1. We should eat more like other cultures (think Asian diet, French cuisine, Mediterranean)- other cultures have vastly different ideas regarding what REAL food is than Americans do. We tend to treat food as a necessary obligation that shouldn't involve pleasure, real fats and dairy products or social time. Not only do other cultures have a completely different attitude (which I will touch on in a minute) but they eat REAL FOOD- real butter and dairy and none of that non-fat/low-fat stuff, real meats with real animal fat instead of de-skinned white meat, hearty fresh baked breads and finally a nice glass of wine (or the like). Why is it that we seem to have such a huge issue with obesity when other places in the world eat butter and whole mike and pork belly and don't? And guess what! They enjoy doing it.
2. You should know your food chain- I feel like we are getting pretty far removed from our food sources. We go to the store and pick up what we need and we never meet the farmers who grew the produce or ranchers who raised the cattle for our steaks. Not only do I want to know where my food comes from, but I want to make sure that I am putting money into the local economy so that the little guys who are running their farms/ranches/fishing ventures responsibly and sustainably are able to continue to do so. I want to know that my beef was from cows that ate field grasses that their bodies were made to digest and are healthy. I want to eat an apple that was grown in the town next to mine and that wasn't sprayed with harsh chemicals and picked too early. The more you know about your food the more informed decisions you can make regarding them.
3. Our attitude about food- for whatever reason, we Americans have some odd attitudes about foods. Some of those include ideas like we need to eat "Good" foods and not eat "Bad" foods, but what really makes something good or bad? We also tend to be obsessed with nutrition and health, but at the same time we eat much larger portions than most other cultures. And we seem to be the only ones who has to have guidance from the government as to what and how much of a food we should be eating daily. I feel like I need to look at food as what it is- something that tastes excellent and should be fully enjoyed and just happens to nourish my body (a plus, really!) but also sets aside time in my day to be social with my friends and family. I don't need to rush to eat or cram as much food in my mouth as possible; I can just relax and take in the blessings that I have.
4. Industrial Agriculture, Ranching and Unsustainable Practices- I don't even want to open this can of worms, but I will touch on it briefly. We aren't being smart in these areas. We are putting chemicals and toxins into the earth and thus into our food chain. We are depleting resources while we build stock piles of commodities that aren't going to help us. We are processing things that do not need to be processed. It's all just so complicated. And cruel in the case of industrial live stock. Again, I want to know that what I'm eating was grown in an earth-friendly way and is full of actual nutrients and not just corn products and that it was well taken care of.
"Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants," is the way Mr. Pollan summarizes (and simplifies) his thoughts and "rules". I fully agree.
If you haven't read any of his works, I highly recommend them!
Thanks for letting me get it out there!
Let's go back a bit, though, to about 11/2-2 years ago when I decided that I was going to "clean up" how I was eating. I'd tried diets, etc before, but nothing really stuck or worked as well as I thought that it would. When I started out I just wanted to lose weight and feel more healthy. I started going to the gym and originally lost 20-25 lbs by using portion control and BF's knowledge of nutrition and fitness to tailor my eating/fitness routine. Typically it was more heavy in lean proteins and veggies with smaller portions of whole grains instead of white/refined ones. It worked well, but I've found it to be a boring routine with little room for introducing new things.
This past year I also worked on phasing out of home and personal cleansing products that are harmful to the environment and to me. We've replaced the majority of our household cleaning supplies with natural or homemade solutions or have found some great eco-friendly sustainable replacements (LOVING the BioKleen line of products) and have simplified my beauty routine to include only items that I know aren't harmful to my health and are sustainable and ecologically sound. We touched on doing the Nothing New challenge last year and are renewing it in full force for 2012. It only makes sense that I would find more to improve upon in my journey to better myself and that's where Michael Pollan's work comes into play.
Many of my friends and acquaintances have read at the very least "The Omnivore's Dilemma"and it wasn't anything that seemed to pique my interest terribly. I did some research regarding CSA's and I've always felt that eating organic and eating local are the best way to go when you can, but it wasn't a huge focus for a few reasons- partially financially, partially ease, and partially because I hadn't thought enough about the whole issue of food. Well, I had thought about it, just not as in depth as I recently have.
This past summer I started becoming more focused on buying organic and/or locally grown foods stemming from my motivation to eat healthful foods that aren't grown in a way that harms the earth and provides more nutrition for my body and also from sources that support the local economy. BF and I did a pretty good job picking organic and local when possible with our produce. It was this line of thinking that lead me to rethink reading some of Michael Pollan's books, so when I was out and about this past Fall I picked up a copy of his "Food Rules" and began thumbing through. I was enthralled.
What was shocking to me was that he wasn't trying to tell me EXACTLY what to eat and HOW to eat it for each meal to be healthy (most diets seem to be more of prescription saying "eat precisely this in this amount at this time"), he was using tried and true guidelines- the type my grandmother used to keep in mind when preparing meals and purchasing food- to help shape one's thinking about food and how/what to eat. Basically what it all boiled down to for me was that we aren't really eating food, we are eating products that imitate food and cause a myriad of issues when we could avoid almost all of them by just switching back to the actual foods. This lead me to read Michael's other two books which really solidified to me how much we have let companies, industries and the government dictate what we eat, how we eat, with whom we eat, and how much of eat we will eat.
BF and I decided that one of our commitments this year (and going forward) would be to eat as locally and organically as we can and to focus on purchasing ACTUAL FOOD- no processed foods, nothing containing high fructose corn syrup or preservatives or dyes, no foods with a list of ingredients we cannot pronounce and don't know the origin of, etc. We have switched to butter or olive oil instead of cooking sprays and "heart healthy" spreads (which probably aren't really that healthy), whole organic milk instead of skim organic milk, foods with ingredient labels that are few in ingredients in general (think no more than 6 for the most part), and more seasonal fare instead of whatever we are in the mood for.
The books detail the "whys" of this food attitude/culture adoption much better than I can, but briefly the things I learned and then examined and found myself agreeing with are:
1. We should eat more like other cultures (think Asian diet, French cuisine, Mediterranean)- other cultures have vastly different ideas regarding what REAL food is than Americans do. We tend to treat food as a necessary obligation that shouldn't involve pleasure, real fats and dairy products or social time. Not only do other cultures have a completely different attitude (which I will touch on in a minute) but they eat REAL FOOD- real butter and dairy and none of that non-fat/low-fat stuff, real meats with real animal fat instead of de-skinned white meat, hearty fresh baked breads and finally a nice glass of wine (or the like). Why is it that we seem to have such a huge issue with obesity when other places in the world eat butter and whole mike and pork belly and don't? And guess what! They enjoy doing it.
2. You should know your food chain- I feel like we are getting pretty far removed from our food sources. We go to the store and pick up what we need and we never meet the farmers who grew the produce or ranchers who raised the cattle for our steaks. Not only do I want to know where my food comes from, but I want to make sure that I am putting money into the local economy so that the little guys who are running their farms/ranches/fishing ventures responsibly and sustainably are able to continue to do so. I want to know that my beef was from cows that ate field grasses that their bodies were made to digest and are healthy. I want to eat an apple that was grown in the town next to mine and that wasn't sprayed with harsh chemicals and picked too early. The more you know about your food the more informed decisions you can make regarding them.
3. Our attitude about food- for whatever reason, we Americans have some odd attitudes about foods. Some of those include ideas like we need to eat "Good" foods and not eat "Bad" foods, but what really makes something good or bad? We also tend to be obsessed with nutrition and health, but at the same time we eat much larger portions than most other cultures. And we seem to be the only ones who has to have guidance from the government as to what and how much of a food we should be eating daily. I feel like I need to look at food as what it is- something that tastes excellent and should be fully enjoyed and just happens to nourish my body (a plus, really!) but also sets aside time in my day to be social with my friends and family. I don't need to rush to eat or cram as much food in my mouth as possible; I can just relax and take in the blessings that I have.
4. Industrial Agriculture, Ranching and Unsustainable Practices- I don't even want to open this can of worms, but I will touch on it briefly. We aren't being smart in these areas. We are putting chemicals and toxins into the earth and thus into our food chain. We are depleting resources while we build stock piles of commodities that aren't going to help us. We are processing things that do not need to be processed. It's all just so complicated. And cruel in the case of industrial live stock. Again, I want to know that what I'm eating was grown in an earth-friendly way and is full of actual nutrients and not just corn products and that it was well taken care of.
"Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants," is the way Mr. Pollan summarizes (and simplifies) his thoughts and "rules". I fully agree.
If you haven't read any of his works, I highly recommend them!
Thanks for letting me get it out there!
Monday, January 2, 2012
2012: Big Plans
As I've discussed a little on this blog, BF and I have a lot of plans in the works: Wedding, buying a house, etc. We thought it was important to sit down and draft a plan of what we wanted to achieve and how we were going to get there.
First we started with wedding stuff since we started that before any of the rest of the items, but that proved to be pretty easy. Here's what we have done for the wedding:
1. Dress- picked out, tried on, ordered and now stored safely in a secret location! Along with the veil, accessories, etc.
2. Location- Wedding rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception locations are all picked and a down payment made.
3. Menu- picked, even though our picks aren't due until July. Hey, we know what we like!
4. Music- picked and put on a playlist! Ceremony, reception, etc.
5. Bridal party and Groomsmen- done and notified!
6. Guest List- mostly done, just verifying some family members.
Really the only few things left are:
1. Picking and officiant.
2. Picking a bakery for the SMALL cake- we don't want to feed everyone cake, but still need a little one for the cake cutting and pictures.
3. Bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen colors. Not that worried about it since they don't need them until September.
4. Invitations. Still, not worried since we won't be sending them out until late spring/early summer.
5. Flowers- but we really only want flowers for my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets and the grooms'/groomsmen's boutonnieres.
6. Photographer.
I'm hoping to get a bunch of this stuff figured out during the Bridal Show next weekend where I can meet vendors, etc.
The next thing we are working on is buying a house. Since the market is so low right now and paying a mortgage is about what we already pay for rent we figured it just made sense to do it now. We've currently viewed about 20 homes and made a few offers. I'm hoping we hear back from our favorite house soon and get things going!
We don't have a "to do" list for our home yet since we aren't sure which home we will end up with, however I've already gone paint shopping and picked out a palette that both BF and I like a lot for the main living spaces. We already know that no matter what house we get we will probably repaint the inside to our tastes.
Because we don't have the house yet, we have decided that this is the perfect time to start "Nothing New 2012" because it will deter us from buying things that we will just have to move to the new home anyway (we both HATE moving) and also help us save money for possible home projects (like paint or a backyard make over!). Here are our rules for Nothing New 2012:
If we think we need something, these are the questions we must first ask:
1. Can we borrow it from a friend/family member?
2. Can we get it used?
3. Is there a sustainable alternative?
4. Do we really NEED it? Or do we WANT it?
5. Does it have a home? Meaning does it have a place to be stored or be kept permanently if we do get it.
The items that we know we will be buying that are MOSTLY exempt:
1. Groceries
2. Toiletries/ household cleaning items
3. Dog food/treats/medications
4. Prescriptions/Vitamins/Supplements
5. Undergarments- you never realize how quickly men's undershirts wear completely out until he cannot find a suitable one to wear one day!
6. Experiences- travel or entertainment. You should spend money on fun memories that build your relationship rather than consumables and knick knacks.
The reason I qualified this list as MOSTLY exempt from the rules is that there are items that we buy regularly that I've been trying to phase out and replace with more sustainable ones and also items that I'm starting to question that we even need (ie. vitamins and supplements- they cannot hurt, but research shows that they don't really make you healthier, your food and lifestyle do that... which is a whole other post).
Once we have the house stuff settled and the remainder of the wedding expenses paid for we will continue the Nothing New because we feel that it's just a good practice. We don't need to fill our home with unnecessary stuff and we don't need to fill landfills with trash. As we go we will just start setting goals on what to save for next- a trip to Europe, a weekend kayaking excursion, cooking classes, etc.
Here's hoping we hear about the house soon and that 2012 will be an amazing year!
First we started with wedding stuff since we started that before any of the rest of the items, but that proved to be pretty easy. Here's what we have done for the wedding:
1. Dress- picked out, tried on, ordered and now stored safely in a secret location! Along with the veil, accessories, etc.
2. Location- Wedding rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception locations are all picked and a down payment made.
3. Menu- picked, even though our picks aren't due until July. Hey, we know what we like!
4. Music- picked and put on a playlist! Ceremony, reception, etc.
5. Bridal party and Groomsmen- done and notified!
6. Guest List- mostly done, just verifying some family members.
Really the only few things left are:
1. Picking and officiant.
2. Picking a bakery for the SMALL cake- we don't want to feed everyone cake, but still need a little one for the cake cutting and pictures.
3. Bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen colors. Not that worried about it since they don't need them until September.
4. Invitations. Still, not worried since we won't be sending them out until late spring/early summer.
5. Flowers- but we really only want flowers for my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets and the grooms'/groomsmen's boutonnieres.
6. Photographer.
I'm hoping to get a bunch of this stuff figured out during the Bridal Show next weekend where I can meet vendors, etc.
The next thing we are working on is buying a house. Since the market is so low right now and paying a mortgage is about what we already pay for rent we figured it just made sense to do it now. We've currently viewed about 20 homes and made a few offers. I'm hoping we hear back from our favorite house soon and get things going!
We don't have a "to do" list for our home yet since we aren't sure which home we will end up with, however I've already gone paint shopping and picked out a palette that both BF and I like a lot for the main living spaces. We already know that no matter what house we get we will probably repaint the inside to our tastes.
Because we don't have the house yet, we have decided that this is the perfect time to start "Nothing New 2012" because it will deter us from buying things that we will just have to move to the new home anyway (we both HATE moving) and also help us save money for possible home projects (like paint or a backyard make over!). Here are our rules for Nothing New 2012:
If we think we need something, these are the questions we must first ask:
1. Can we borrow it from a friend/family member?
2. Can we get it used?
3. Is there a sustainable alternative?
4. Do we really NEED it? Or do we WANT it?
5. Does it have a home? Meaning does it have a place to be stored or be kept permanently if we do get it.
The items that we know we will be buying that are MOSTLY exempt:
1. Groceries
2. Toiletries/ household cleaning items
3. Dog food/treats/medications
4. Prescriptions/Vitamins/Supplements
5. Undergarments- you never realize how quickly men's undershirts wear completely out until he cannot find a suitable one to wear one day!
6. Experiences- travel or entertainment. You should spend money on fun memories that build your relationship rather than consumables and knick knacks.
The reason I qualified this list as MOSTLY exempt from the rules is that there are items that we buy regularly that I've been trying to phase out and replace with more sustainable ones and also items that I'm starting to question that we even need (ie. vitamins and supplements- they cannot hurt, but research shows that they don't really make you healthier, your food and lifestyle do that... which is a whole other post).
Once we have the house stuff settled and the remainder of the wedding expenses paid for we will continue the Nothing New because we feel that it's just a good practice. We don't need to fill our home with unnecessary stuff and we don't need to fill landfills with trash. As we go we will just start setting goals on what to save for next- a trip to Europe, a weekend kayaking excursion, cooking classes, etc.
Here's hoping we hear about the house soon and that 2012 will be an amazing year!
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