Beginning Again

It's been a few years since I've written a blog. Just don't have the patience for it normally...either that or I just don't have a lot to say.

Well, I'm feeling a bit blog-ish today, so here it goes. :)

It seems that the new year's resolution idea really starts in the fall for me. With the change of seasons and school year starting for most people it is a better time to start new habits...at least that's what I think...

Anyway, a few of the new 'habits' that I'm trying to develop are

1. budget
2. meal planning
3. exercise

All great things...I just hope that they are things I can continue past Fall 2010.

The budget is really just beginning. Luke and I have been through the course "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey, but it didn't seem to be exactly where we were at. My feeling is that he expects you to be making tons of money and have debt so by the time you're out of debt you can put all that extra money into housing or something. The problem is that we don't have debt and we don't make a ton of money. So, we've taken a few of the ideas from Ramsey, like saving up 3-6 months of our expenses in case of emergency, but we're also looking at other ways of doing things.

I read a book, "The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples" by Larry Burkett which made so much more sense to me, and didn't lord-over the fact that he has money. He simply explains how to manage money. A lot of the principles are the same, just stated in a different manner.

Anyway, all that to say that I'm excited to have our budget coming together. :)

Next is meal planning. I started doing this about two months ago and it has really helped with grocery shopping, our budget, and my sanity. Having a list of dinner ideas keeps me from getting to 5:45pm and realizing, "I'm hungry, now...what am I going to make for dinner..." and then not being able to think clearly enough to: 1. find something healthy and 2. find something at home to eat.

Part of what makes this not just practical, but actually fun too, is throwing in a new recipe once in a while and posting it on my facebook group site: Dinner Ideas.

Last but not least in this 'resolution' list is the exercise.

I have tried working out before, getting on a schedule, working out like crazy, and seeing little to no difference. I decided to go for long term goals this time, and add a few more areas to keep track of.

The four areas are: running time, weight, and the measurements of my hips and waist.

After one month there is improvement in all areas. Not huge in all areas, but improvement. I am up from being able to only run barely 1.5 minutes at a time to around 20 minutes. I'll spare the details of the other improvements, but be assured there are some. :)

So, that's it for now...maybe I'll write again before another 3 years passes by... and if no one reads this it's nice to just send this out into the void.

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void." -You've Got Mail