Extended Meal Plan

The stress of finals has really throw my schedule out of wack... despite all my goals, I have NOT been working out, and I've been eating terribly (baking chocolate chip cookies for myself daily?!). My next final isn't until later next week, so I have some time right now to get my ducks in a row. We went shopping last weekend and have a lot of food set to expire, so hopefully this plan will ensure nothing goes to waste!

(side note: I have a lot of delivery on here because M has been coming home between 11-12 and is too tired to cook, and when I'm studying, I hate being distracted by cooking... but we're going to try to go for healthy! no picking up McDonald's or ordering pizza)

Monday:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - sandwich
Dinner - 2 baked potatoes

Tuesday:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - sandwich
Dinner - delivery?

Wednesday (day of final):
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - sandwich
Dinner - delivery

Thursday ( 5/6 - last day of finals):
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - sandwich
Dinner - delivery to celebrate end of finals; bottle of champagne! :)

May Personal Goals

Health

• Go to gym daily
• Go to yoga 2x/week
• Meet with personal trainer weekly
  
• Orthodontist appt (5/5)
  
• Dentist appt (5/11) - filling
• Orthodontist appt (5/12)
• Orthodontist appt (5/26?)
  
• Schedule appointment w/gyno
• Schedule appointment w/dr re: knee pain

Family

• Buy plane tickets to Arizona (for wedding #1)
  
• Buy plane tickets to England (for wedding #2 -- hopefully my ebay sales will fund this; otherwise will have to borrow from M again... sigh)
  

Finances

• Put purses/clothes up for sale on ebay
• Put furniture up for sale on Craig's List
  

Fun

• Go to amusement park (5/15)
  
• Go to spa (5/23)
  

Misc

• Get oil change; yearly maintenance; wash (5/8)
• Go to 2nd laser hair removal appt (5/29)
  
• Find an apartment!
• Evaluate if anything in the house needs to be thrown out/donated

School

• Plan out class schedule for entire year
• Buy summer school books (once I figure out my classes)
  

Special Occasions

• Figure out what to do for Mother's Day
  
• B-day present for sister - Xbox 360 :)
  
• B-day present for friend
• Figure out what to get for M and my dad - both of their b-days are the first week of June
  

Personal Training - is it worth it?

A couple weeks ago I was searching Craig's List for jobs, and for the heck of it decided to look for personal trainers. I came across one that seemed nice and I decided to e-mail her just to find out how much she charged. Turns out she normally charges $60/hr, but because of the economy, she's now charging $30. I told her I would get back to her when I felt I could afford it.

Assuming we move into a cheaper place, I was thinking of maybe contacting her again and trying out 1 or 2 sessions per month. Do any of you have personal trainers? Do you feel they have helped you? Were they worth the money? I also have no idea whether $30 is a reasonable price for one. Anyone have any thoughts?

I know my gym has personal trainers, but I like the idea of meeting down at the beach and going for a jog and doing some yoga (she's also a yoga instructor). I NEVER get to the beach on my own! And that's really sad, because one day it might not be so close.

I also like the idea of having someone holding me accountable for my lack of exercising and my food choices. I really want to lose at least 20 pounds by September (M's mom's wedding where I get to be scrutinized by all the family members I haven't yet met!), but my weight hasn't budged since Christmas (might've even gained a couple pounds). Hoping a personal trainer might jump start the process? And then I could stop seeing her once I've got the routine down? What do you guys think?

Apartment Hunting

2 months ago, I listed things that would make my apartment ideal... Since I'm now starting to actively look for places, I decided to make a more realistic list. ;)

Absolute Musts:

• At least 1 bedroom
• At least 1 parking spot
  
• Lease starts no earlier than June 15th
  
• Under $1550
  
• Bedroom can fit a king size bed, desk & dresser comfortably
  
• Laundry on site
• Within 1 mile radius of M's work (so he can bike/walk)
  

Wants:

• Under $1200
• Lease starts June 30th
  
• Under $1550 and a 2 bdrm
• Newer appliances/bathroom
• Flexible Lease
  
• Pool
  

(Probably) Unattainable Wants:

• Laundry in unit (why is this so rare for 1 bdrms??)
  

May Budget

Rent: $1050 / 1050 (already made rent deposit)
Cells: $0 / 120
Food: $0 / 200
Drugstore: $0 / 20
Health Ins: $0 / 100
Debt: $700 / 1139 (already made May's payment to M)
Gas: $0 / 40
Total = $1750 / 2669

Income
Loans = $1333/mo ($4000 for 5/15-8/15)
Paycheck = $1050/mo (assuming I work 15 hrs/wk)
Total = $2383/mo

I'll have an "extra" $1464 in May. $1200 of it will go straight to long-term savings so it can cover my half of the rent/deposit when we move into our new place in June. That will leave me with $264.

Hopefully from July on, my rent will decrease by $450, which will mean I'll have a $164 cushion every month - not much, but better than a deficit!

New Job!

I had an interview yesterday for a law clerk position. It's at a nearby firm and their specialty is something I'm interested in practicing after graduation. I thought it went pretty well... I could tell he really liked my resume. A couple hours after I got home, I got an e-mail - offering me the job! Hooray! :)

The pay isn't spectacular - $20/hr - but considering how few jobs are out there, and the fact that I could be hired on as an attorney after graduation, I'm pretty happy. :) It's a $6/hr pay boost from my current job, but it's going to entail a LOT more work (worth, imo, at least a $15/hr pay boost :p)... drafting wills, reviewing contracts, sitting in depositions, researching, etc (no more hours sitting around studying and getting paid for it). But I do need this kind of experience; it'll look good on my resume, and it'll (hopefully) be kind of fun.

I'm going to be working 15-20 hours per week (starting the Monday after finals end). I could've worked more, but I'm volunteering at a domestic violence clinic and have several summer classes, and I need some time to get in shape... I can up my hours to 30 at any time. At 15 hrs/week, this will net me about $1050 per month - enough to cover my rent (and then some, if we move to a much cheaper place).

It does still pain me that this is less pay (and more work) than when I was a legal assistant... but I guess I have to keep in mind that, in the long run, that position wouldn't have helped my career.

Review of April/May Goals

Week of April 20th

• Go to gym daily
  
• Finish memo (due 4/22)
  
• Continue W&T catch-up/review
• Read MP E&E
• Study for EL Final (read EL E&E)
• Take car in for oil change & yearly maintenance (moved to after finals)
  

Week of April 27th

• Go to gym daily
  
• Study for EL Final (do practice exams)
• Take EL final on 4/29
• Study for MP
  

Week of May 4th

• Go to gym daily
• Study for W&T
• Orthodontist appt (5/5)
  
• Take W&T Final (5/6)
• Take MP Final (5/7)
  
• Put things up for sale on ebay
• Schedule appointment w/gyno
• Schedule appointment w/dr re: knee pain
  
• Take car in for oil change & yearly maintenance

Happy Earth Day!

And happy done-with-paper day to me! Woo-hoo~

I have lots of studying to do over the next two weeks, but I feel fairly on top of things. :) Can't wait to get it all over with!

Hope everyone's having an... earthy... earthtastic... green-filled... ok, maybe just a good day! ;)

Joined Twitter

Everyone's always talking about Twitter, and after I read a comment from Krystal on Flirty Almost Thirty's blog (she said twitter was a good way to drive traffic to your site), I thought I would give it a try (and add another way to procrastinate). ;) I posted a little "follow me" button on my sidebar... feel free to check me out! Though be warned, I'll be moaning a lot about school the next couple weeks! heh.

Busy Busy

It was HOT this weekend... I wish I had been able to get outside and really enjoy it. :( Instead, I had to slave away at a paper I have due on Wednesday. Why didn't I finish this over spring break?? Ugh! So, I'm on about 1 page... 12 or so left to go! Gulp. I'll have to abandon blogging til I'm done. I also have to abandon Big Love... I don't know if any of you watch the show; I just finished the first season, and I'm hooked! :)

Anyway, at least I didn't spend anything this weekend (and won't be spending anything for awhile, since I won't be leaving the house)...

Hooray for Macy's

I received a letter in the mail today which partially explains why my credit score jumped a significant number of points.

It was a response to a letter I sent a couple weeks ago, requesting that they remove a negative mark on my credit report (posted over a year ago - no idea why it's taken me this long to try to get it fixed!). I mentioned that I had been a long-time customer, and recounted a (legitimate) reason for why my payment had been late. And they agreed to remove it from all 3 credit reports! :) Very pleased with them right now. I need to stop by my local Macy's and give them some business. ;)

Laser Hair Removal

I had laser hair removal done this morning, for the awesome rate of $50 (courtesy of SpaWeek). It was for the basic bikini line. I also scheduled 4 more sessions, at the same discounted rate, bringing the grand total to $250. This seems like a really good deal to me. Too good to be true, even. I've been reading that it normally costs everywhere from $800-1500... Is that just because I did the basic, and most people do more? The spa got a great score on Yelp, and the staff was super nice. The treatment itself wasn't bad at all; maybe 15 minutes total, and a pinch/rubber band slap feeling. There were no alarm bells that went off in my head. But why was it so cheap?! I guess I should just be thankful and move along. ;)

I'm thinking about doing underarms too (also $50)... I figure, in the long run, this will all save me money, time and frustration!

Fake Shampoo??

Back in December, my hairdresser convinced me to buy a bottle of Kerastase shampoo, because I was telling her I was having a hard time finding a shampoo in the drugstore that's good for oily hair. She in turn convinced the owner of the salon to give me a very large bottle of the stuff (at 50% off - from around $120 to $60 - he had bought too many bottles from Kerastase, so he needed to get rid of them). M and I have been using it ever since, and we love it (I use it every day; it makes my hair super soft, and it takes a lot longer to get oily). It lasted the both of us until just a few weeks ago (so about 4 months).


I went searching for a replacement bottle, and the first one I bought was TINY and $35!!! I was being stupid; I just assumed it was the size I wanted without checking.

I came to realize pretty quickly that the large size wasn't something sold in stores... it was for salons only. And then I came upon a site that had it, and with a coupon was only a few dollars more than what I bought it for in December. I was really excited... and then it arrived today, and I had to scratch my head. The packaging looks different from the large bottle I had... and looks different from the small bottle I bought recently ("for oily hair" versus "greasy hair", and the big bottle looks like the info is pasted on with a sticker, while on the small bottle the info is printed on and it looks glossy). What gives??

During my search for the size I wanted, I came upon a few sites that mentioned "fake Kerastase" (mostly floating around on ebay). I went back to the site I bought the shampoo from and saw this disclaimer: "Store is not associated or affiliated with L'Oreal and is not a licensed retailer of L'Oreal. L'Oreal guarantees this product only when sold through authorized retailers, and cannot guarantee the authenticity of any product sold by an unauthorized retailer." Ok, L'Oreal can't guarantee the authenticity, but shouldn't the store?? They don't know whether or not their own products are fake?

It smells ok... I'm hoping that instead of being fake, it's just old? (although, is that really any better? Does shampoo expire?)

Maybe I'm being punished for buying a $60 bottle of shampoo. :P But 4 months, between two people, isn't half bad... right?

Anyway, I'm ok with it, as long as it works as well as my other bottle... and I guess I should have expected that something was up, considering the price. I just got lucky getting it for so cheap at the salon. I should've bought 3 bottles right up front. :P If only I had known it was so awesome!

April (and some of May) Goals, revisited

I know this is the third goals post I've done this month, but I have a paper due next week, and finals the two weeks after that, so I'm trying to find ways to keep myself focused and on task. Hopefully this will help! I'm dividing out by week (since April is almost over... time flies).

Week of April 13th

Friday

• SpaWeek appointment (I'm doing what Little Miss Moneybags did)
• Bakery visit (there's this awesome bakery really close to the spa that I can't wait to go to! :))
• Continue W&T catch-up
  

Saturday & Sunday

• Continue W&T catch-up
  
• Continue working on memo
• Go to gym and/or yoga
  

Week of April 20th

• Go to gym daily
  
• Finish memo (due 4/22)
  
• Continue W&T catch-up/review
• Read MP E&E
• Study for EL Final (read EL E&E)
• Take car in for oil change & yearly maintenance

Week of April 27th

• Go to gym daily
  
• Orthodontist appointment
  
• Study for EL Final (do practice exams)
• Take final on 4/29
• Study for MP
  

Week of May 4th

• Go to gym daily
  
• Study for W&T
• Take W&T Final (5/6)
• Take MP Final (5/7)
  
• Put things up for sale on ebay
• Go to Disneyland
• Schedule appointment w/gyno
  

Apartment Problems?

Are we going to run into a problem over the fact that I won't have a job over the summer? Will landlords not want to rent to us? I've never searched for an apartment while I was unemployed, so it's making me nervous. I technically still have a part-time job (if I decide to keep it, that is - I'm really hoping to find something better); we just don't work during the summer. Can I claim my student loans as income?

M, on his own, could qualify nearly anywhere. I'm just worried that I will end up making us not get approved. I know we'll have to fill out separate applications, but will landlords look at his income and attribute it to both of us?

Bye Bye Braces

Ok, not quite. ;) But I have, at most, 3 weeks to go. The orthodontist put "chains" on a few days ago (the teeth are a little flared out, this is supposed to correct that)... this should be the final stage! I can't WAIT to have them off.

To give some perspective, this is what my teeth looked like in the beginning:





This is what they look like now, 6 months later:

They're not perfect, but they look a lot better than before. And pretty good for only 6 months. :)



For those of you considering getting braces, here's a summary of what I went through:
Cost - $5400 (probably a bit on the expensive side; but that's partially due to where I live. It's also sans insurance. in any event, I really liked my ortho and his staff, so I felt it was worth it :))
Length - 6 months (the ortho initially thought it would be 8)
Process - (1) Wisdom teeth removed (all 4); (2) 1 month recovery, 3 months of happily pigging out on crunchy foods; (3) thorough dental cleaning and check-up; (4) spacers in for 2 weeks; (5) braces placed; (6) monthly office visits for tightenings and adjustments
Most Pain - spacers (continuous aching for all 2 weeks - the process is fast, so the aching is intense); first week with the braces (not as bad as the spacers, or maybe that prepared me for the pain :p); tightenings (teeth ached for a week; but this was only the first 3-4 visits, afterwards I guess my teeth didn't need to move so much); elastics (rubber bands that hook around your brackets depending how your ortho wants your teeth to move; you need to change them 2x/day; near the end of the treatment); and power chains (not as scary as they sound; they're rubber bands chained together, used to close extraction gaps or, in my case, to pull your teeth back) .
How I Coped: Alot of chocolate ice cream. Alot of Advil. ;) I even tried a teething ring in the beginning. (didn't work as well as I'd hoped) LOL! Oh, and Little Miss Moneybags pointed out something I'd forgotten - chewing will help ease the achiness. A great excuse to go out and eat a burger! ;)

Wait... What??

My credit score increased... yet again. This is the third time in two weeks! I'm kind of... suspicious. I mean, I'm happy, but... can that be right?? This is coming from Credit Karma; I'll have to check my real credit report soon.

Suspicion aside....... I'm now at 716! *happy dance* :D Getting to 700 was one of my goals for 2009, so I'm thrilled I can cross it off the list!

The 5 Year Plan, Revised

I did a 5 year plan a couple months ago. There have been a few changes since then (notably that M told me he wants to go back to school - he has his AA, but wants to get a BA), so here's my revised plan... just for fun.

2009

• Lose the braces (~5/09)
  
• Move into a cheaper apartment (~6/09)
• Lose 20 lbs (@ 2lb/wk = 7/09; @ 1lb/wk = 9/09)
• M learns to drive (~7/09)
  
• Get a full-time job that pays at least 60k
  
• Visit England/France/Germany (9/09)
  

2010

• Go to NY for V-day
• Buy a condo or house
  
• Graduate from law school (either May or December)
• Finish repayment of loan #2 to M (~6/10)
• M begins saving for school fund
• Begin repayment of loan #1
  
• Take the bar (either 7/10 or 2/11)
• Find a job that pays at least 80k
  
• Begin student loan repayment (11/10)

2011

• Go to D.C. for V-day
• Buy a doggie??
  
• M begins school (~8/11)
  

2012

• Go to Portland for V-day
  

2013

• Go to Chicago for V-day
• M graduates (~6/13)
  
• Turn 30! Have a b-day bash :)

Meal Plan

I had a pretty quiet Easter - we slept half the day away. ;) Afterwards we had a really yummy brunch (chocolate banana french toast and croque madame, mmm) and went grocery shopping... so now I have plenty of groceries to make great dinners for the week! I've decided to be more adventurous... I have lots of fresh veggies, fish, chicken... Should be fun!

Sunday

• Chilean Sea Bass w/salsa
• Pasta
• Strawberries and dessert wine! :)
  

Monday

• Chicken, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Onion Stir fry
• Rice (extra two cups so I can make refried rice on Wednesday?)
  

Tuesday

• Tomato Cheese Melt
• Soup
  

Wednesday

• Baked potatoes w/bread crumb covered green beans
  

Thursday

• Fish
  
• Baked asparagus and/or Ham wrapped asparagus
  

Friday

• Eating out
  

In a Funk

I've been feeling kind of depressed lately... It might be because I'm PMSing, or maybe a combination of that and stress.

M has also been staying at work until midnight nearly every night for the past month and a half, AND going in on the weekends. In three months they're wrapping up a project, and he has tons of stuff to do. He says it's going to continue like this until the project is finished. I went through this two years ago, when they were wrapping up the previous project, but I don't remember it being quite this bad. (Although he's been promoted since then, and has more responsibilities... I guess that's why it's different) When he is home on the weekends, he likes to just spend the day on the computer, or sometimes we watch Netflix. He doesn't like to go out. If I want to, I have to push and push and push.

I'm struggling with being supportive... struggling with a selfish desire to demand he at least spend a full day on the weekend with me, going out into the fresh air, doing something new and exciting, or at least something that doesn't involve staring at a computer screen. I think it feels worse now because I'm only working part-time during the week; with the extra time to myself, I get kind of lonely. I put off eating dinner until he comes home so we can eat together. Sometimes I catch myself literally counting the minutes until it's time to pick him up.

But it's really weird... I know that if he was constantly asking me to go out somewhere with him, I would be more inclined to say no and want to study. The fact that it's hard to find time with him makes me to spend more time with him. Yearning for the things we can't have, right?

Maybe I just need to spend more time doing my own thing. Eat dinner when I get hungry, let him fend for himself when he gets home. Plan lots of outings with friends on the weekend. Go to the library so I can focus on studying. Let him be consumed with work for 3 months, and then once it's over, go back to normal life? It's just really hard for me to understand why someone would want to work that much... he has a passion for his job that I've never had for any of mine. I do hope that I find something I'm passionate about... but I still want to have balance in my life. My relationships will always be as important as my career.

Review of Spring Break Goals

My spring break is coming to a close (nooo! ;_;)... so I thought it was time to see what I got accomplished (or, uh, mostly didn't get accomplished).

Spring Break Goals, 4/4-4/12

• Finish memo - Starting on this Monday, 4/13.
  
• Get completely caught up on W&T reading - Trying to do this today, otherwise pushing it to 4/11-12.
  
• Read E&E for Marital Property - Pushing to Tuesday, 4/14
  
• Read MPRE Review to prepare for EL exam - Pushing to Wednesday, 4/15
  
• Go to the gym or yoga every day - SUCCESS! :) I've gone to the gym every day this week, and am going to yoga today and tomorrow.
  
• Put things up for sale on ebay - I'm gonna try to do this tonight!!
  
• Scrub the bathroom and kitchen - SUCCESS! I'm getting sick of cleaning :p
  
• Apply to any semi-desirable jobs - SUCCESS! I've been searching and applying for jobs everyday.

I read a lot this week... started and finished "Grave Sight" and "Shakespeare's Landlord" by Charlaine Harris (the author of the books behind True Blood - a HBO show about vampires, for those of you who haven't heard about it. I highly recommend it! :)), and am currently working through "20-something, 20-everything: A Quarter-life Woman's Guide to Balance and Direction." I don't normally read books like that, but it sounded interested, and it got almost 5 stars on Amazon, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I also went to the dentist, and had a temporary crown put in (they can't put the final one in until my braces come off). I also did some karaoke-ing with a bunch of friends (two of which I hadn't seen in a year). So I did get some stuff accomplished... basically everything that didn't have to do with school. ha! Oh well... this was supposed to be my break, right? I don't feel too bad. ;)

Cell Phone Discount

I got word from my school that they'd partnered with my cell phone provider for a discount. So in 1-2 billing cycles I'll be paying 7% less on my bill! :) It won't come out to too much ($10?), but every penny counts, right?

MPRE Results

...I failed. By 3 freaking points! Argh. I guess I'm not ethical enough yet. :p

So I'm all set to retake it in August... another $60 down the drain. I bought a Professional Responsibility prep book for my class final (which we were told is going to be exactly like the MPRE), so that should come in handy for the re-take as well.

Oh well. At least I'm almost ethical. ;)

Another Credit Score Increase!

I know I just checked Credit Karma a few days ago, but I got the urge to check it again. I'm glad I did, because my score increased another 20 points! I'm now at 686! I'm really thrilled!!! (hence all the exclamation points ;)) I think I can make it to 700 this year!

I should be thanking M, because this is really because of him. (Good thing I picked up lots of Jelly Babies and Easter candy today! It can be a little present ;))

This may also be partially because Macy's or Capital One decided to play nice? (I sent them letters requesting they remove the negative marks they left on my reports)

Well, whatever the reason, it's great news. :)

Apartment Update

Well, we saw the apartment this morning. I was initially a little... repulsed... by how small it was. I'm pretty sure it's the size of our living room. It would mean getting rid of a lot of furniture. I'm also not sure if our bed would fit in the bedroom (we have a california king). It comes with a parking space, but that (unsecured) space is in an alley behind another building. There's one closet. My clothes wouldn't fit (nevermind M's); I would have to either buy one of those standing closets, or put clothes away in plastic containers. We would no longer have a washer/dryer, we'd have to use the communal ones (not terrible, but a pain). The building is not secured, so strange people could walk right up to our front door (though that's the same as with a house).

So, there are all the cons. Pros are that it would mean a decrease of $800/mo in rent. We can do a 9 month lease, so we can buy and move into something of our own early next year. It's not available until June, so we have time to sell our excess furniture. It's right down the street so the move will be easy.

When I first moved up to LA, I was living with M in his parents' house. So we've shared one room before. There was a lot of tension... but it meant I went to the gym a lot more. ;) At least here we would have a living room and a bedroom to which someone could escape.

I'm really not sure what to do. What do you think? Do the pros outweigh the cons? Or should we keep looking? I took another look on Craig's List and there were some 1 bedrooms (in the area we want) for closer to $1100 (a savings of $950/mo!). Unfortunately, they were all available now. But that gives me hope for finding something like them come May.

Possible Apartment?

I wasn't planning to seriously look for apartments until next month (since we're not moving til June), but I have been looking on and off on Craig's List (since I was doing job searches anyway). And lo and behold... I think I found something! We're going to see it tomorrow. I'm excited because it opens up exactly when we want to move, it would mean a $400 decrease in rent for each of us, and it's close by, so the move would be easy. And they have a flexible lease!

I'd love to have a place secured this early! That would definitely take the stress off. :) But we'll see - for that cheap, it could be the size of a closet. :(

Fitness Splurges

When I was in high school, my parents paid for the occasional tennis lesson. I would really love to get back into the sport, and paying for private lessons would definitely be one way to do it. But... I have to face it that I really don't have the money right now. Maybe one day. :)

When that day comes, here's what I'd do:

• have an hr private lesson 2x/mo ($80/session)
  
• take classes 2x/wk ($120/mo)
• play doubles with friends on the weekend
  

As for right now, I'm thinking of taking a class at the local community college (in addition to doing the free option above - playing with friends :)). It would mean getting up at 7:30am, but it would only cost $20 (for the entire summer) and I think it would help me get my butt into gear. I'm also looking into getting a swim pass for a local swim complex... haven't been in the water in ages.

One of my problems is finding the motivation to get out and exercise by myself (because M never gains a pound and thus is never interested in exercising)... it's tough! I was going to the gym for awhile, but I suddenly stopped (I had a project due and convinced myself I had to stay in the house and focus). I know when I start up again it'll be much easier to do it the second, third, (etc) times. But it's doing it that first time that's so difficult.

How do you all get yourself motivated to go out and exercise? Does paying for classes, lessons, gym memberships help? And what works better for you - a morning routine or an evening one?

Lethargy

Spring Break started on Thursday night, and other than engaging in a few social activities (maybe too many?) I've been incredibly lethargic and unproductive. I somehow pushed myself to do the laundry, but when it was dry I just threw it haphazardly on the bed. (I hate folding and hanging! argh)

I was planning on having today be the first day of my no-spend week. (since I'm on break, I can eat all my meals at home and don't need to go anywhere, so don't need to use any gas) But M and I had a tiff this morning, and I felt like I had to settle it with the best way I know how... Cupcakes.

So 9 bucks went to three lovely, delicious, heart-mending cupcakes. I feel like it was money well spent. ;)

(Side note: the $31 I spent on books in the middle of the night, however, was not money well spent. I have to stay away from Amazon past 2 am. It's too easy to push "place my order" even when my eyes are half-closed)

Another Wedding

I think I've said before that M's mom is getting re-married in September, and that we'll be flying over to Europe to participate.

I learned today that one of my family members is also getting married soon, and M and I have been asked to attend. It's supposed to be a family reunion, because my great-grandma and grandpa are also flying down. (Although, there are so many family members already in that state (in the same city!), that they basically can have a family reunion every day of the week)

It's only one state over from mine, so it's not as much of a journey, and expenses will be kept low because we can stay with my grandmother. But... I'm already dreading it. I try to avoid going there (there being Arizona) as much as humanly possible (which means I haven't been there since I was a minor and dragged by my father).

I would like to apologize in advance to people from Arizona, because I'm sure there are plenty of nice, educated, non-racist, non-bible-thumper Arizonans, and positive aspects of living there (which I would be interested in hearing). But I haven't really come into contact with those fine people. I have come into contact with a lot of hicks (including some of my relatives); almost roasted under the sun; and found myself bored to tears staring out at the flat, dull landscape. I would pay $1000 not to go there.

So why, despite all that, have I decided to go?

1. I haven't been there in over 5 years. (maybe people have changed? maybe the city has changed?)
2. M hasn't met anyone on that side of the family other than my grandma.
3. I feel it necessary to keep up some ties with family.
4. Motivation to lose weight? If I don't, I know I'll get some wonderfully judgmental comments!
   

Anyway, that said... I have no idea how I'm going to get together money to pay for either of the trips. Arizona will just require gas and food (oh, and present); but Europe will on top of that require plane tickets, hotel, and transportation...

I just need to remain focused on getting the full-time (or well-paying part-time) job before the end of May. Even if that means going back to being a legal assistant or paralegal. That's an avenue I haven't really been pursuing... at this point, it won't enhance my resume at all (it may even hinder my prospects?). But money is money... I'll do what I have to do. (Which maybe means working over the summer full-time then quitting and leaving the job off my resume)

Credit Score Increase!

I am now at... uh... 666!? That's a little creepy. Not that I'm superstitious or anything. ;)

This is from Credit Karma, so I'm hoping my real score is a bit higher? Also, I'm not exactly sure why the score increased... I only just paid off my credit cards/car loan last week. Don't the credit reporting agencies take 30 days to take into account the changes?

I suppose I'll pay for my real credit score in May. That's when we'll be apartment hunting, so I can hand a copy to the landlords.

Anyway, I'm pleased. :)