I just wanted to post a quick link to my new travel blog:
http://www.travelplanningguru.blogspot.com/
I am trying to come up with a different URL but I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find something that hasn't already been taken. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Updates
This is probably going to be a really random list of things that have been going on, but in my attempt to do more writing this year, I thought a random list of things was better than nothing!
1. We are (well, I am) trying to enter the wonderful and overwhelming world of couponing. I am still a little overwhelmed, but I am learning. I am not getting everything for "free" yet but I am saving more money on things we buy. I know it is a process and it can take awhile to build up to that. I am hoping that by the time Baby Brother is here, we will have gotten to that point, or at least be really close. We've decided to concentrate on a couple of stores, such as Target, Schnucks, and CVS, with occasional trips to Walgreen's and Staples when they have great deals on items we would normally buy. As cheap as I know Walmart is, I just don't like to go in that place so I haven't been doing much there.
2. I found a year-long reading plan for the Bible. Starting Jan. 7, it gives you daily readings so that by the that day next year, you will have read the entire Bible. I am almost 2 weeks into it and I can't believe how much of this stuff I'm reading that I've forgotten about. It's really neat to be working on this project and I hope I can keep it up.
3. In my Resolutions post, I never really talked about our travel plans for the year, not that they are anything big (compared to last year). We will probably do our annual Anniversary weekend somewhere a few hours away from here. I would like to maybe do a winery weekend or day sometime this summer since it has been awhile since we have done anything like that. We have also decided to go to Chattanooga over my maternity leave. I know we are probably crazy to take an almost 3 year old and a newborn 4 and a half hours away, but I'm determined to get this baby boy acclimated to our lifestyle as soon as possible. We found a great deal on Groupon Getaways to be able to stay at Chattanooga Choo Choo. It has a New Orlean's style trolley that takes you around the "resort" area. There are five or six restaurants on site, along with several pools, one of them being an indoor pool. It is also right next to the free downtown shuttle that takes you downtown. We purchased 5 nights at around $93 (before tax) a night that also includes a daily $25 credit to any of the restaurants on site. We could have stayed on the actual train (that doesn't move) but decided we needed more room so we booked a standard room, which ended up being slightly cheaper anyway. We will be going sometime in mid-May.
4. We have been trying to find ways to save some money. I am not working as much anymore, which means we aren't bringing in as much income. It is not so much that we will go broke without me working a full time schedule, but we won't be able to do as much travelling and other "extras" if we don't find a way to cut some of our costs. We are in the process of evaulating our spending. So far, we have cut down on how much we spend eating out. We like to eat out and we still do it frequently, but we are trying to go to less expensive places and pay more attention to coupons and groupon deals, etc. We are also looking at getting rid of cable and setting something up through Netflicks and/or Amazon Prime. The start-up cost looks to be between $100 and $200 but would save us money in the long run because we would no longer be paying for cable. When our cell phone contract is up in the fall, we will also be switching providers to get a better deal and save some money there. And of course, there is the couponing that we are doing, which I think will save us more every week that we do it.
5. I can't believe that Baby Brother will be here in about 2 months or so...we started working a little more on his room this past weekend and I've started washing some of the clothes we have for him. Anya seems excited and keeps telling us things she wants to buy for him. I hope she is this helpful when he is actually here! Our friends are hosting a sprinkle for us in February so we are looking forward to celebrating the imminent arrival of our new addition!
6. I have been wanting to start a new blog about something other than our lives (and my Music Therapy blog) and I've finally set something up. I've decided to go with a travel blog where I can write about things like our own trips, cities we've visited, hotel reviews, ways to travel cheaply, eating for cheap in Europe, travelling with a toddler, etc. I have found a couple of blogs that are about travel and I'm hoping to make some connections there to promote my blog outside of just my circle of friends. I'm sure it will be a slow process with how busy I am, but you have to start somewhere!
I'm sure I will think of more later, but that's all for now!
1. We are (well, I am) trying to enter the wonderful and overwhelming world of couponing. I am still a little overwhelmed, but I am learning. I am not getting everything for "free" yet but I am saving more money on things we buy. I know it is a process and it can take awhile to build up to that. I am hoping that by the time Baby Brother is here, we will have gotten to that point, or at least be really close. We've decided to concentrate on a couple of stores, such as Target, Schnucks, and CVS, with occasional trips to Walgreen's and Staples when they have great deals on items we would normally buy. As cheap as I know Walmart is, I just don't like to go in that place so I haven't been doing much there.
2. I found a year-long reading plan for the Bible. Starting Jan. 7, it gives you daily readings so that by the that day next year, you will have read the entire Bible. I am almost 2 weeks into it and I can't believe how much of this stuff I'm reading that I've forgotten about. It's really neat to be working on this project and I hope I can keep it up.
3. In my Resolutions post, I never really talked about our travel plans for the year, not that they are anything big (compared to last year). We will probably do our annual Anniversary weekend somewhere a few hours away from here. I would like to maybe do a winery weekend or day sometime this summer since it has been awhile since we have done anything like that. We have also decided to go to Chattanooga over my maternity leave. I know we are probably crazy to take an almost 3 year old and a newborn 4 and a half hours away, but I'm determined to get this baby boy acclimated to our lifestyle as soon as possible. We found a great deal on Groupon Getaways to be able to stay at Chattanooga Choo Choo. It has a New Orlean's style trolley that takes you around the "resort" area. There are five or six restaurants on site, along with several pools, one of them being an indoor pool. It is also right next to the free downtown shuttle that takes you downtown. We purchased 5 nights at around $93 (before tax) a night that also includes a daily $25 credit to any of the restaurants on site. We could have stayed on the actual train (that doesn't move) but decided we needed more room so we booked a standard room, which ended up being slightly cheaper anyway. We will be going sometime in mid-May.
4. We have been trying to find ways to save some money. I am not working as much anymore, which means we aren't bringing in as much income. It is not so much that we will go broke without me working a full time schedule, but we won't be able to do as much travelling and other "extras" if we don't find a way to cut some of our costs. We are in the process of evaulating our spending. So far, we have cut down on how much we spend eating out. We like to eat out and we still do it frequently, but we are trying to go to less expensive places and pay more attention to coupons and groupon deals, etc. We are also looking at getting rid of cable and setting something up through Netflicks and/or Amazon Prime. The start-up cost looks to be between $100 and $200 but would save us money in the long run because we would no longer be paying for cable. When our cell phone contract is up in the fall, we will also be switching providers to get a better deal and save some money there. And of course, there is the couponing that we are doing, which I think will save us more every week that we do it.
5. I can't believe that Baby Brother will be here in about 2 months or so...we started working a little more on his room this past weekend and I've started washing some of the clothes we have for him. Anya seems excited and keeps telling us things she wants to buy for him. I hope she is this helpful when he is actually here! Our friends are hosting a sprinkle for us in February so we are looking forward to celebrating the imminent arrival of our new addition!
6. I have been wanting to start a new blog about something other than our lives (and my Music Therapy blog) and I've finally set something up. I've decided to go with a travel blog where I can write about things like our own trips, cities we've visited, hotel reviews, ways to travel cheaply, eating for cheap in Europe, travelling with a toddler, etc. I have found a couple of blogs that are about travel and I'm hoping to make some connections there to promote my blog outside of just my circle of friends. I'm sure it will be a slow process with how busy I am, but you have to start somewhere!
I'm sure I will think of more later, but that's all for now!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2013 Resolutions:)
There are various areas of my life in which I'd like to do things a little differently. I know that January 1 is just a date but there is something about the start of the new year that is motivating. Here are some of the things I'd like to do differently/change:
1. Weight Loss/Exercise - Obviously, while I am pregnant, there won't be any weight loss, but after the baby is born, I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight as soon as possible. Hopefully, I can be back to that weight by the end of summer, if not before. Instead of trying to do some unreasonable exercise plan, I think it is best if I just shoot to get some kind of exercise in twice a week, whether it's an exercise class, a video, walking on the treadmill, or just taking a walk. I'd like to focus on getting some movement in rather than what that movement is.
2. Reading - Last year, I read A LOT, but it was all mostly books for fun, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This year, I want to expand a little, so I'm hoping to read at least 16 books for fun, at least 2 books that are music/music therapy related (last year I only read one), and at least 2 nonfiction books about a topic I'm interested in, such as home organization, living simply, parenting, couponing, etc. This is a total of 20 books and last year I read 32, so hopefully I can make this happen. Now that I have a kindle, I have been downloading a ton of nonfiction books for free so I think there will be plenty to choose from for nonfiction. I also have some music-related books picked out, and I have a long, long list of fiction including finishing the Tudor series by Philippa Gregory, starting The Cousin's War series by the same author, maybe attempting to finish the Harry Potter series (not my favorite but okay once I get about halfway into the books), the Divergent series, the Delirium series (both young adult dystopian trilogies), and I've heard good things about the Game of Thrones series, so I may look into that as well.
3. Writing - This is the area that always gets pushed aside for some reason. This year, my goal is to just write something at least once a week. This could be a blog post (for my personal or professional blog), a writing exercise from one of my many books, or working on a creative writing project (poem, story, etc.).
4. My Business Goals - There are a couple of things I want to add this year:
A. Write at least 10 blog posts (last year I wrote like 2 of them).
B. Offer my Music and Wellness course in the 5-week format as well as at least one shorter mini-workshop about using music for relaxation. I have already started on getting this set up but still have to work on the details.
C. Add at least 1 more stable contract. I may also add a few more piano students.
5. House Projects - There are also several areas under this category as well:
A. Keeping the house clean - This past year, we hired someone to help with the housecleaning every other week. Now that I am not working as much, I have taken back all of those responsibilities. I know that people say the housework will be there tomorrow (and there is some truth to that), but keeping a clean and somewhat organized house has always been important to me, so I am going to do my best to keep up with the cleaning schedule I've given myself every week and to recognize that some weeks, I may have to postpone the cleaning if things come up.
B. Paint the fence - This may be a long shot with having two kids to take care of this year, but it definitely needs to be done.
C. Wash the windows - Somehow this didn't happen this year, so I know they need it.
D. Organization - This is a never-ending battle because it seems as soon as I organize something, it becomes organized. I have some ebooks about this very topic, so I'm hoping they will help make this task a little simpler this year.
6. Finances - Now that I am working less and we will have another child in 3 short months, I want to be better about our finances. We have dropped to part time daycare and have made a few other minor changes to soften the blow a little.
A. Eating Out - We spend so much money eating out that I don't even want to know how much it actually ends up being. We have agreed on an amount that we would like to stay under each week/weekend. I know this won't always happen when things come up (unexpected power outages, birthdays, etc.), but I'd like to at least be more mindful of what we spend eating out. We plan to bring Anya's food with us more often (she hardly ever eats much of anything we order her anyway) and rely more on coupons, groupons, and other deals to cut down on cost so we can still enjoy some dinners out.
B.Yard Sale - Our neighborhood has a yard sale each spring and we are hoping to take part in that this year. After being here for 4 years, we have replaced enough things and accumulated enough stuff that we are ready to part with some of it and hopefully make a little cash. We also have some bigger items (2 comforter sets, a girl comforter set along with a lamp, wall decals, etc., a ceiling fan, etc.,) that we are hoping we can sell on craigslist, as these are a bigger items that we might be able to make a little more by selling.
C. Saving Money - We typically save a fair amount of money each year to spend on things around the house, trips, bigger purchases, etc. I would like to continue doing this, thought we may not be able to save as fast as before with my workload being smaller. However, I would still like to be able to set aside a fair amount so that we can still enjoy these things.
7. Baby-Related Goals - These are all things that will obviously need to happen sooner rather than later!
A. Make a final decision about circumcision.
B. Get Baby Brother's nursery finished.
C. Schedule his baptism at our church.
D. Make casseroles, soups, etc., to freeze for after he is born.
There is no doubt that 2013 will be a busy one, with or without all the above. We have at least 4 weddings and lots of showers to attend coming up. We also hope to take a smaller vacation as a family either over my maternity leave or sometime in the summer. We're not sure where, though we are thinking maybe Gatlinburg/Asheville/Chattanooga. It definitely won't be as big of a trip as our European trip in May, but we want to do something. We will probably do our annual weekend anniversary trip and maybe one or two other weekend trips just to get away. Our plans are to stay in the US in 2013 but hopefully we can do something a little more adventurous in 2014!
These are just a few things on my mind regarding resolutions, though I'm sure they will have to be adjusted as I go. I just like to use this time to reflect on the past year and where I would like to be at this time next year.
1. Weight Loss/Exercise - Obviously, while I am pregnant, there won't be any weight loss, but after the baby is born, I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight as soon as possible. Hopefully, I can be back to that weight by the end of summer, if not before. Instead of trying to do some unreasonable exercise plan, I think it is best if I just shoot to get some kind of exercise in twice a week, whether it's an exercise class, a video, walking on the treadmill, or just taking a walk. I'd like to focus on getting some movement in rather than what that movement is.
2. Reading - Last year, I read A LOT, but it was all mostly books for fun, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This year, I want to expand a little, so I'm hoping to read at least 16 books for fun, at least 2 books that are music/music therapy related (last year I only read one), and at least 2 nonfiction books about a topic I'm interested in, such as home organization, living simply, parenting, couponing, etc. This is a total of 20 books and last year I read 32, so hopefully I can make this happen. Now that I have a kindle, I have been downloading a ton of nonfiction books for free so I think there will be plenty to choose from for nonfiction. I also have some music-related books picked out, and I have a long, long list of fiction including finishing the Tudor series by Philippa Gregory, starting The Cousin's War series by the same author, maybe attempting to finish the Harry Potter series (not my favorite but okay once I get about halfway into the books), the Divergent series, the Delirium series (both young adult dystopian trilogies), and I've heard good things about the Game of Thrones series, so I may look into that as well.
3. Writing - This is the area that always gets pushed aside for some reason. This year, my goal is to just write something at least once a week. This could be a blog post (for my personal or professional blog), a writing exercise from one of my many books, or working on a creative writing project (poem, story, etc.).
4. My Business Goals - There are a couple of things I want to add this year:
A. Write at least 10 blog posts (last year I wrote like 2 of them).
B. Offer my Music and Wellness course in the 5-week format as well as at least one shorter mini-workshop about using music for relaxation. I have already started on getting this set up but still have to work on the details.
C. Add at least 1 more stable contract. I may also add a few more piano students.
5. House Projects - There are also several areas under this category as well:
A. Keeping the house clean - This past year, we hired someone to help with the housecleaning every other week. Now that I am not working as much, I have taken back all of those responsibilities. I know that people say the housework will be there tomorrow (and there is some truth to that), but keeping a clean and somewhat organized house has always been important to me, so I am going to do my best to keep up with the cleaning schedule I've given myself every week and to recognize that some weeks, I may have to postpone the cleaning if things come up.
B. Paint the fence - This may be a long shot with having two kids to take care of this year, but it definitely needs to be done.
C. Wash the windows - Somehow this didn't happen this year, so I know they need it.
D. Organization - This is a never-ending battle because it seems as soon as I organize something, it becomes organized. I have some ebooks about this very topic, so I'm hoping they will help make this task a little simpler this year.
6. Finances - Now that I am working less and we will have another child in 3 short months, I want to be better about our finances. We have dropped to part time daycare and have made a few other minor changes to soften the blow a little.
A. Eating Out - We spend so much money eating out that I don't even want to know how much it actually ends up being. We have agreed on an amount that we would like to stay under each week/weekend. I know this won't always happen when things come up (unexpected power outages, birthdays, etc.), but I'd like to at least be more mindful of what we spend eating out. We plan to bring Anya's food with us more often (she hardly ever eats much of anything we order her anyway) and rely more on coupons, groupons, and other deals to cut down on cost so we can still enjoy some dinners out.
B.Yard Sale - Our neighborhood has a yard sale each spring and we are hoping to take part in that this year. After being here for 4 years, we have replaced enough things and accumulated enough stuff that we are ready to part with some of it and hopefully make a little cash. We also have some bigger items (2 comforter sets, a girl comforter set along with a lamp, wall decals, etc., a ceiling fan, etc.,) that we are hoping we can sell on craigslist, as these are a bigger items that we might be able to make a little more by selling.
C. Saving Money - We typically save a fair amount of money each year to spend on things around the house, trips, bigger purchases, etc. I would like to continue doing this, thought we may not be able to save as fast as before with my workload being smaller. However, I would still like to be able to set aside a fair amount so that we can still enjoy these things.
7. Baby-Related Goals - These are all things that will obviously need to happen sooner rather than later!
A. Make a final decision about circumcision.
B. Get Baby Brother's nursery finished.
C. Schedule his baptism at our church.
D. Make casseroles, soups, etc., to freeze for after he is born.
There is no doubt that 2013 will be a busy one, with or without all the above. We have at least 4 weddings and lots of showers to attend coming up. We also hope to take a smaller vacation as a family either over my maternity leave or sometime in the summer. We're not sure where, though we are thinking maybe Gatlinburg/Asheville/Chattanooga. It definitely won't be as big of a trip as our European trip in May, but we want to do something. We will probably do our annual weekend anniversary trip and maybe one or two other weekend trips just to get away. Our plans are to stay in the US in 2013 but hopefully we can do something a little more adventurous in 2014!
These are just a few things on my mind regarding resolutions, though I'm sure they will have to be adjusted as I go. I just like to use this time to reflect on the past year and where I would like to be at this time next year.
Books Read in 2012:)
The nerd in me compels me to post this every year....this was the year of the trilogies and the series. I ended up reading a ton of them.
Books Read in 2012
Books Read in 2012
| 1. The Historian | Elizabeth Kostova |
| 2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | Stieg Larsson |
| 3. The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins |
| 4 .The Girl Who Played With Fire | Stieg Larsson |
| 5. Catching Fire | Suzanne Collins |
| 6. Mockingjay | Suzanne Collins |
| 7. Rescue | Anita Shreve |
| 8. Keeping Faith | Jodi Picoult |
| 9. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest | Stieg Larsson |
| 10. Heaven Is For Real | Todd Burpo |
| 11. Something Borrowed | Emily Giffin |
| 12. Reclaiming Paris | Fabiola |
| 13. Fifty Shades of Grey | E. L. James |
| 14. Fifty Shades Darker | E. L. James |
| 15. Fifty Shades Freed | E. L. James |
| 16. House Rules | Jodi Picoult |
| 17. The Strain | Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan |
| 18. The Other Boleyn Girl | Philippa Gregory |
| 19. Something Blue | Emily Giffin |
| 20. The Fall | Guilldermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan |
| 21. Baby Proof | Emily Giffin |
| 22. Manage Your Stress and Pain Through Music | Suzanne Hanser and Susan Mandel |
| 23. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | J.K. Rowling |
| 24. The Night Eternal | Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan |
| 25. The Constant Princess | Philippa Gregory |
| 26. The Maze Runner | James Dashner |
| 27. The Scorch Trials | James Dashner |
| 28. The Boleyn Inheritance | Philippa Gregory |
| 29. The Death Cure | James Dashner |
| 30. The Queen's Fool | Philippa Gregory |
| 31. The Lost Girls | Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner |
| 32. The Kill Order | James Dashner |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)