the winds are a changing

Taking a few minutes for a quick status update and adding a personal (read secrete goal).

The plan is beginning to work; part of what I desired was a change in me in how I approached food and exercise.  I saw that change in action today - and in the venue of celebrating small victories I want to do a shout out and help encourage me to continue on this road.

Today I had the upset stomach from eating too little for breakfast and drinking too much coffee (caffeine) - I get that occasionally.   As per my usual behavior I started poking around the kitchen for something to eat.  Eating balances out the food to caffeine ratio in my stomach and resolves the upset stomach feeling.

I looked around and nothing looked good.  I considered making popcorn, as that is my usual substitution for chips, which is what I really wanted.  I considered having a ridiculously early lunch, which was a bad idea since dinner will be a bit later tonight.  But instead I ate some fruit (oranges) and veggies (the edamame pea pods).

That is EXACTLY how I want to change - going from wanting chips to instead eating fruits and veggies.

Yeah, this is day 3 so it's not that the battle is over. But this is a victory and it does need to be shouted out and celebrated.  Yea for me!

Secrete goal is the number 14.5 -- I'm not telling how this fits, what that measures, or giving you any other clue.  I'll keep this posted and updated as the progress goes.  It's not exactly what I would like - I'd love to blow past this goal and exceed it.  But I'm sticking with something that is both challenging and still realistic.   And I'll keep dreaming and pushing for even more!

Lent 2015 - working on transforming my world

I'm not sure where this will take me, but the journey always begins with a simple step - so here goes with some simple steps.....

I know I titled this Lent 2015 but these challenges are steps to a bigger change for me.  These may start with Lent and give me a time frame to track things, but this is bigger, much bigger than Lent for me.  Some challenges are more Lent specific than others.  All are steps in the right direction for me.

So here goes!

There are 6 and half weeks in Lent - 40 days if you don't count the Sundays.

1) Participate in 7 Lenten / Spiritual activities.
There are a ton of things that fit into this category - Stations of the Cross, walking a labyrinth, attending the Zion Passion Play, going to confession, etc
I think I can average one a week if I focus and make this a priority.

2) No purchasing of chips 

This is hard for me, and to be clear this is not no eating chips - it's no purchasing chips.  I can eat chips if it comes with a meal or at a party, etc -- but I can't buy them and bring them into my house.

3) Limited candy to the skittles on hand
I split the skittles into 7 containers and I can have one a week through Lent.  No purchasing of new candy - with the exception of some things for St Patrick's day.

4) 9 bags of frozen veggies 

This is a crazy non standard Lent challenge.  But like most Americans I don't eat enough vegetables. I first thought 2 bags per week but 12 bags in 6 weeks sound crazy, especially when it's just me eating them and a bag of peas can easily have 6 to 8 servings.   So I compromised and went with 1 1/2 bags per week - total of 9 over that Lent period.  Still a lot, but the point is to try to add them into more and more of my meals - replace snacks with veggies.  And to be clear, listing these as frozen veggies is just an easy way to count - but fresh veggies will count towards the total.

5) Be good to myself at least 7 times
Similar to the first challenge, I'll try to average one per week.   I tend to be too hard on myself and too cheap on spending on myself.   This is one of those longer term goals about needing to be good to myself and celebrate the small victories and celebrate the now (celebrate the season).  I need to make sure this is not only food treats and special meals, etc - just needs to be something I like to do or want to try.  

• There is at list one that is a food item I want to include - having a shamrock shake.  It's been years (maybe 10 years or more) since I had one.  I hear they are really different and very good.  Its time for me to try one and not worry about the calories - just to enjoy the very infrequent treat.  
• I also want to include a couple of movies - aiming to going to the theater 3 times.  That seams like too much and I'm not sure I can fit it 

5) Training

This is is the big one for changing my lifestyle into the type of person I want to be.  And is so very critical for the June hike with Luann.   I'm not sure how to start this.  I worry if I do too little I won't be prepared, and I worry if I try do too much I'll injury my knees and not be able to do anything.  So I'm taking a leap and committing to 4 times per week - that is 3 times with the Couch to 5K program and then 1 additional activity.  I think that is doable, if I keep focus on it.

So that's the plan - wish me good luck

I'll keep you posted on progress as time flies,

 

January Update

This is the first of what's planned as monthly updates for my 2014 Resolutions.   The hope is that having a monthly checkpoint will keep me accountable to myself and help me from slipping off the desired track.

 the Year of Use It or (and) Lose It
and my goals are:

• Lose 14 pounds - I am down 1 pound.  I think that is a good start.  January was a stressful month and could have lead to a lot of stress eating.  Also I was trying to clear out the pantry and freezer to prepare for my month away, so that was not as healthy as fresh fruits and veggies.  Overall this is a good start.  
• Keep bank fees under $50 for the year - I'm under but I'm already over half way through this budget ($26.08) in the first month alone!  Yikes!  I knew I was letting my quicken and bill paying slip.  I have enough automatic transactions in place to no longer get the dreaded late payment fee - but since the automatic payment does not necessarily cover the full balance sometimes (as it happened here) I get the finance charges.   I need to keep a better eye on this one.  Still good, but I've burned a lot of the workload already.
• Average $30 or less per week on Groceries - I'm well under this for January ($82.72) - mainly because of trying to eat from the pantry and freezer to clean out those areas before my trip so that nothing goes bad.  I expect the February number to be much higher because of the lack of a pantry for the rental - plus eating more prepared foods.  So I'm expecting this to even more out by the end of February.
• Average $400 or less per month on Household - This one is also well under (only $95.63), and again I think it's an impact from the Texas trip.  I was doing less shopping and trying to use up more from home as I prepared for the house to be empty for a month.   But since then I spent around $360 for lawn services for the year (prepaid to get a small 3% discount, but every dollar counts) so I can see how this category will have big swings in it from month to month.   
• Do not purchase soap before Nov 11 - I did purchase the planned exception for the after Christmas Bath and Body Works sale.  Other than that, nothing!  and I'm making use of some good soap I had been 'saving'.  Saving for what, I'm not sure.  But I'm glad I'm using it now.  It smells good and brightens my day.  

Overall a very good start to the year.  My world is thrown off by living and renting in Austin, TX for a month - I can see it affected, mainly in a good way, my January numbers.   I can only guess what it will do for my February numbers.

more on 2014 goals

Time to continue the annual resolution process.

Start with one of the most common and traditional goals - lose 14 pounds.  I was reading that you should limit this goal to 5% of your current weight.  This is slightly more, but I like having the goal be 14 in '14.  While I would love to lose a lot more, this is more realistic.    We are redesigning the Light Weigh group to start in January with on line meetings.  This group helped me before (but I regained weight when we stopped).   I've also restarted the running in the right way - I'm dong the Couch to 5K program with some friends through a facebook private group - this has helped keep me accountable and motivated.  I've signed up for the Ice Age Half Marathon again.   I'm optimistic and positive about this change.

Another common and traditional goal is financial based.  Overall my finances are in good shape - thanks mainly to delegating much of that to my financial planner.   But where I get sloppy is the more routine day to day stuff.   Last year I wasted about $175 on bank fees mainly on late payments - very frustrating for me.  I had the money.  There is little to no excuse for this waste.   So I'm setting the 2014 goal to be no more than $50 in bank fees.   I've added a 45 minute tasks every other week to my calendar to keep track of bills and updating quicken -- hopefully this will help to keep things in sync.   Also on my 2014 list is to get a new personal laptop.   The one I have is old and slow, and to be honest I know I would update my quicken more frequently if it wasn't such a hassle to work with that old laptop.

A third goal for myself is pay closer attention to my food usage.  I've been trying to eat healthier and cleaner - with less processed foods.   I also find I sometimes overbuy when its a good deal and then the stuff gets wasted.   I'm going to set a 2014 goal to spend $30 per week on groceries - this comes to about $130 per month (and note in 2013 I averaged $32.50 per week so this is not a big change) .   This is a bit hard to track and qualify because I don't break out my purchases - anything purchased at Aldi or Pick n Save is "grocery" and often those purchases include non grocery items - for example I just purchased 80 pounds of water softener salt with my last Aldi stop.    And anything purchased at Target type stores are Household, even if it includes grocery food type items.  Plus as I try to move even further from packaged food to more unprocessed foods it could have an impact on this number.   The ongoing resolution to eat cleaner is a higher priority than the grocery totals so this goal by go by the way side.  The goal's main focus is really to help stop me from overbuying and wasting foods. 

Last goal set up this one - spend $400 per month on Household.   The Household category is a bit of a catch all for me.  In 2013 I averaged $417 per month - so again this is not a huge change.  But in this category I also tend to over purchase, and with my on going goal to declutter the house - the year of use it and/or lose it - another tracking point will be to watch how much I'm spending on Household.  This number can greatly be influenced by the category selected - so I have to be careful that I'm not just reclassifying things out of the catch all category.   And up front I'm going to exclude a planned TV purchase.  The current one is about 12+ years old and is starting to go.   Normally a TV purchase would fit into the Household category - but I don't want that large purchase made once every 10 years, or so, to impact these numbers.

And don't forget the weirdest resolution ...  for the next year I will not purchase soap until Nov 11, 2014.

That should do it for me - so in summary:  this is the Year of Use It or (and) Lose It
and my goals are:

1. Lose 14 pounds
2. Keep bank fees under $50 for the year
3. Average $30 or less per week on Groceries
4. Average $400 or less per month on Household
5. Do not purchase soap before Nov 11

Those are the measurable goals.  I will (try) to post an update each month - that will help keep me accountable and also help me focus on the on-going numbers so that I can see when I stagnate and need more focus or need to change things up.  I have a google doc spreadsheet going to help me track this.

The unmeasurable goals are to live a healthier life - need to get back in shape for the hiking trip and general overall better health and to prepare the house for selling (declutter, organize and stage, and landscape).  This second goal is a long term goal - 3 to 8 years out.  But I do want to keep a focus on it and to have my annual goals help lead up to it.   By reducing my Household purchases this should reduce the amount of 'stuff' in the house, etc.

2014 - The Year of Use It or (and) Lose It

I wanted a theme for my 2014.  If your a regular reader, you know I considered The Year of Reduction but discarded it because I've used it before (and it really hasn't worked). 

I'm calling this year The Year of Use It or Lose It.   I've posted about needing to reduce the amount of clutter and excess that I have in the house.  And as in most year, I also have goals for weight lost - so the Lose It fits in nicely with that.

I'll post more when I have more time - right now I'm in the thick of organizing the Christmas stuff and making decisions on what I can part with.   But I've made up my mind for my year's theme and wanted to get it out to the world.

Weirdest Resolution

This is the weirdest resolution I've ever made.  But before I get it to it some background info....

I feel a bit overwhelmed with the volume of stuff I own.   I've written about my clutter before, and my attempts to reduce it.  I am conflicted by my frugality and not wanting to get rid of something that is still usable, and also conflicted because I still want to pick up 'good deals' even if I don't need it right now.  I've also written about my Zen side that makes it hard for me to donate my stuff when I'm not sure it will be treated with love and respect.  That's a whole different challenge to deal with. 

So back to the weirdest resolution ...  for the next year I will not purchase soap until Nov 11, 2014.

Weird!

I know - very weird.   But I have so much here and its time to use it up and reduce the stock pile.  I have a deep love for Bath and Body Works scented shower gels.  And my frugal side kicks in when the have a good sale and stock pile too much.  So I'm going to do something about it.  I'm not going to add more - I'm forcing myself to use it up. 

This includes the shower gels, bar soap ( have a ton of that too, especially gift and travel sizes), shampoo (I have a lot of travel size), and hand washing soap.   This does not include laundry soap, dish washing soap.

I can use it up, throw it out, or gift it away; but I can't purchase more until next year's bday or if I run out before that.  I will accept soaps when they are given to me or included with other items. 

I need to get rid of anything that doesn't work for me.  Some soaps try out my skin too much.  But it does me no good to keep them - so if they don't work then git them out of the house - donating, trashing, gifting are all possible options but they can't stay here. 

I am going to make one exception - holiday scented shower gel.  These do add to my enjoyment of the season.   And my frugal side kicks in to say I should purchase these at the super discounted day after Christmas sale.   Otherwise I would be purchasing them at full price around Thanksgiving - and that would bum me out.   So I'll do a check on what I've used up this year (I have more than enough for this year, maybe even enough for 2014) and see how much remains - then make a decision on if I need to purchase more for 2014's Holiday Season, or if it can wait till the 2014 day after Christmas restock.