Friday, February 18, 2011

Why Can't My Mom Just Make All of My Clothes?

So just to update you on the whole shopping thing.  I did go to Target for my prescriptions and Target sucked me in.  I almost bought a headband, but I didn't feel like spending money even though the head band would totally look sweet with my "new professional look".  I held it for a few minutes.  I also almost bought my sister a present and then decided I could do better than Target.  Then I bought a frozen pizza b/c it wasn't pepperoni, we try to have frozen pizza stocked b/c frozen pizza is cheaper than going out to eat when we're too tired to cook.  I also bought a nail polish...in my defense I returned a nail polish I bought last week.  I like this color better (the last one was clear...not sure what I was thinking!).  It's a metallic silver color.  Also, all of my nail polish has gone bad b/c it's been so long since I've bought some, so it's not like I'm buying something I already have fifty of...I only have one other workable color and it's Barbie Pink.  It does NOT add to my "new professional look".

While I was in Target and in Kroger yesterday (Taco toppings), I pretended like I was excited to pick stuff out, but I wasn't.  I was annoyed.  I wanted to be home.  I had my stripper boots on and they were hurting my feet and ankles.  I couldn't decide if 4 for 5$ for wrinkly almost rotten orange and yellow peppers was a good deal or not.  I walked back and forth through the veggies like 8 times changing my mind.  Is it worth paying $4 for a 4 lb. bag of smaller more delicious looking oranges or 5$ for an 8lb bag of large slightly less delicious looking oranges?  Dilemmas.  At least I already knew what sort of sour cream I wanted...the good kind.  Only one ingredient in it...Milk Cream.  In the Publix (Pube-licks) store, the sour cream had 10 different ingredients and one of the last ones was milk whey as the diary portion of the sour cream.

So picking out the best thing and making sure I love it when I go shopping does not apply to grocery shopping or target errands. I'm pretty sure I hate shopping actually.  I have a coupon for 10$ of $50 purchase a JC Penny tomorrow.  I need new summer clothes and I want to get an outfit for mardi Gras...but I don't know where to look for them and what makes good summer clothes?  And tank tops?  What am I suppose to get?  MAYBE I'll get work blouses, short sleeve, and black work pants at JC Penny, but go to the goodwill for fun clothes.  And TJ Max for dresses.  BUT has spring fashion started yet? Should I wait to the end for the sales?  I find that when I do this, I miss it, and there are no options or product left to purchase that fits me, and so I don't buy anything.  Then I'm depressed until the fall season starts and refuse to go shopping b/c I am spending all my money on vacations.

Do you know where I secretly want to get my clothes?  The Buckle.  Once they had a crazy sweater vest there for $40 and I didn't get it and I always wish I had. I think they match my attitude.  But I don't want to get branded, so I'll stick to the Goodwill.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Catch Up of Thoughts

I just ran 3 miles and Surprise! I feel great!  That's really pretty amazing.  I ran one mile straight without stopping to walk too.  So did Josh.

I spent last week in Washington DC for a work meeting and then I visited Adair for the weekend.  She lives with this amazing professor who teaches middle eastern politics or something like that.  She had just gotten back from Iran where she was the first female speaker at one of their top high schools.  She brought back real turkish delight, only she said it wasn't that, but it was the same (only more amazing and delicious) than the box of candies I get at TJ Max that say it's turkish delight.  I tend to believe her more than I believe TJ Max.  I also got to eat some real Iranian pistachios.  She is the nicest lady.  She opens her house up to strangers constantly and is the best hostess I've ever met.  In that even though it was her house, I felt perfectly comfortable in it as if it was my house.  One morning I got up before Adair, and made some cereal like she suggested I should the night before, and Irene (the roommate) talked to me a little, but then let me do my own thing and it wasn't awkward at all.  She has a little Shitzu dog named Coda with one eye.  Coda and I took a nap on the couch at one point.  Adair is like my mom and must always be doing something.  I figured I aughta do something, and then I realized I enjoyed sitting on the couch doing nothing a whole lot, then I fell asleep and stopped worrying about everything.

It was really nice to visit Adair and catch up.  She's quite mysterious and makes me and Irene laugh.

She also inspired me to make banana apple muffins.  She made banana rasberry muffins one morning and they were the tastiest things ever!  So when I got home, I had two perfectly brown mushy bananas and one almost old apple.  I cut up the apple and put it in with the bananas in my off brand magic bullet blender thing and it wouldn't blend!  Surprise surprise.  So I added one of the eggs to it for moisture which got it to blend and whipped the egg.  It made the thickest fluffiest muffin mix I've ever had and the muffins turned out to be some of the best muffins I've ever made.

Yesterday I also did the dishes and pick up some of my stuff.  Then I painted this tie rack I got at the goodwill and hung it up on the bathroom wall and hung all my long necklaces on it.  I feel like a real hipster now.  I also used my left over paint to paint a picture in my art notebook.  I used a technique I used to watch on a painting show a lot on PBS.  I forget what it's called, but you load two colors up on your brush at once and paint flowers that way.  I actually bought this paint and the brushes to do that style of painting years and years and years and years ago and this was the first time I actually did it.  Goal accomplished.

I wonder if you put joy into making purchases and choosing things to buy if you would buy more or less stuff?  I'll see if I can try that and let you know what happens.  It might take a while though because I'm not sure when the next time I go shopping will be.  Probably next Monday really.  We have enough food to last until then.

Is it cheaper to make my own bread or to buy the healthy $3.50 loaf of bread at the store?  To make my bread as healthy I would have to purchase wheat flour and other bread health fillings.  Not sure what yet.  I'd have to research it.  It would also involve time.  On the other hand I think I would really enjoy getting into bread making.  I have tons and tons of books on it.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

None Too Happy

Stress was high today at work.  Everyone else's stress anyways.  I was completely calm yet annoyed.  Stress and pressure causes adults to act like big babies, and I feel like they should just get over it.  Completely hypocritical on my part, I'm the biggest baby of them all.  BUT one person did cancel one of my print jobs, while I was standing right there waiting for the copier to finish printing, because he wanted to make a copy.  Then when I was trying to print it again, it jammed up the copier 3 times, and I had to fix it because people don't know how to follow the instructions on the little screen and do an incomplete job because, again, they are impatient.

Oh, and one person implied that since I'm married I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and he can't wait to try my food.  I don't know if he was joking to watch me get mad or not, but either way, I don't like it!

One lady did bring in delicious bagels though.

I also got a bunch of bags from a woman who was going to bring them to the goodwill!  Two are heavy carhart material and are big enough to be carry-ons on the plane.  Just what I needed!  They were both old USET bags from past meetings.  Then she had one she was getting rid of that is Rasberry Pink and leather, and full of lots of pockets!!!!  It's exactly what I was picturing when I imagined myself buying a new bag, which I've been imagining a lot lately!  Actually I was gearing up to purchase one in the next few weeks, and now I don't have to!!  It's definitely going to help my professional look.

I have this goal, that's been in my mind for a while now,  to not buy anything new.  Instead only find it at the goodwill, make it myself, or find something I already own that will substitute in its place for what I need.  It's pretty much working, except for makeup and face supplies, etc.  This basically only counts for household items, and maybe clothes/accessories.  If I do buy something new, it better NOT come from Target!  That's all I have to say on that.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Resolution Recap

Today I'm going to review my resolutions so far.

 

Resolutions

  • Budget - Fail.  I have done nothing towards this.  Josh and I did set a limit to going out to eat only once a month and we buy frozen pizzas and Trader Joe's Indian Food for the nights we don't feel like cooking. A frozen pizza may be expensive, but it's tons cheaper than delivery!  We also make an active effort at using coupons and making wise purchasing decisions.  I need to work harder on the decisions!
  • Be organized - this is on its way to success.  I'm working diligently, but slowly, on revamping my personal planner, as well as cleaning regularly.  I also put together, decorated, and hung up our newest spice shelf that we bought at Ikea in the summer.
  • Not to be ashamed to shop at Publix - we shopped there once.  It was good and bad.  Bad  because it was more expensive and bad because we bought the Publix brand of sour cream.  BLEH!  It tasted terrible and when I looked at the ingredients I realized it wasn't really sour cream, but stuff that looks like it and is reminiscent of the taste of sour cream.  From now on we will spend the extra money to get the good stuff, it was so bad.  Publix was good because they only have expensive sandwich meat choices, so we get tasty meat.
  • Live the life I imagined I would be living - this ties into the whole clean house thing.  I'm also working on doing my projects, and I drink tea sometimes.  I'm getting a haircut regularly, I wear makeup, and I blow dry my hair often.  It's a definite success so far.  Next I would like to reorganize the family room and the bedroom even more as well as have even more fires in the fireplace...though I think we are still doing a good job at that.  I have to get better at folding the laundry right away, not a week later.
  • Run Country Music Half Marathon - Success...we're training. I can do three miles.
  • Keep the house clean - half success, half fail.  This goes in spurts...sometimes I do a lot, sometimes I do nothing.
  • Floss daily - Utter fail.  My only grace is that this is my resolution every year and I fail every year.