New Year Resolution Updates and July Thursday Thankfulness

I saw these cool flowers on a walk.

So these were my new years resolutions and I'll let you know how I think I'm doing:

Exercise Four Times a Week and Stamp Every Day on My WiiFitU Calendar

Um. I stopped playing WiiFit because our neighbor went crazy on Hubs and said we were too noisy. My knee started hurting so I stopped running. I did discover that I had four paid for classes to use up at a local Yoga studio so I've been doing Yoga once a week. But, the only class that works with my work schedule is the gentle one, last week we didn't even stand up. I've started going on walks during my lunch at work in an effort to get up to 10,000 steps a day. I've also been using ClearSky's Pushup, Situp, and Squat apps. I will start doing more exercise after we move. I was so excited to read Ashliegh's post on the Darling Daily about Reflexion Yoga. I don't know if there's a Yoga studio in our new town so I'll sample their at home classes. 

Eat Less Sugar

Um. OMG so much stress eating and that's mostly sugar.

They do taste just like the girl scout cookies.
I did eat the whole box in one afternoon.
It was a rough day.

Use My Clarisonic Five Times a Week

I've been using it everyday I wear make up. So at least once a week.

I couldn't decide what dress to wear, so I wore them all.
#lillypulitzer

Floss 80% of the Time

Oh. I am so off track in this department. Like, I don't even know what floss is anymore.

My 4th of July OOTD
The fireworks were postponed 'til Labor Day Weekend.
The filter I used made it look sunny.

Drink 8 Cups of Water a Day

I think I am meeting this goal during the week thanks to my trusty camel bak. I've stopped tracking how much water I drink. I guess I need to get one of these fancy cups so that I don't have to self report.

I wanted this so bad and I found it on eBay!

Practice Gratitude and Minimize Envy

Um. I've been so bad with my good things journal as you can see below. I do think that I am slowly coming to terms with that fact that I am poorer money wise than I expected to be by this point in my life. Although I've been having mini freak outs since my cousin-in-law told us she was expecting. I am now officially too old to have the four kids I wanted spaced two years apart.

I love this blouse. It is machine washable silk.

SAVE $ FOR A HOUSE

Moving is expensive and we are moving to a new more expensive house. Hopefully the fact that our commutes will be shorter will help. I will recalibrate our budget once we move in and figure out how much the utilities there will cost. The house is being switched from oil heat to gas so we have no idea how much our heat will cost this winter.

Try to Spend Less on Beauty Products

I've tried out Boots Expert Sensitive Hydrating Eye Cream, Maybelline® Instant Age Rewind® Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in Honey, and e.l.f Mineral Face Primer. None of them irritate my skin. The e.l.f. primer is great for $6 and I will probably keep using it until after we've saved up for a house. I still prefer my tarte primer because it is more mattifying and it's made without "yucky" chemicals. When it comes to eyes I only care about what happens to my dark circles. Neither the eye cream nor the concealer seem to make my dark circles less noticeable over the long run, about a week. So I will probably test out a different eye cream after I use this tube up.

I'm also bummed because I've heard wonderful reviews of the Age Rewind Concealer and I'm not sure it will work for me. I actually like the applicator for the Age Rewind concealer, it seemed weird at first, but the color seems to be a bit too light for me and I am pretty sure I bought it in the darkest color offered. (And, I thought I was so pasty.) I can't try out a darker color and see if it works better. I think this might be perfect for me in February so I will hold on to it. What do you guys think?

My no makeup face!

Just the concealer in the same lighting.

My made up face in natural morning sunlight
and the morning fluorescent light of my office.

Is the concealer too light or is it just almost to light? I think it looks okay in natural light but hideous in office light. I've also tried layering my tinted moisturizer over it to tone it down a bit and that seems to work well but I had been applying concealer second to last so I have to rethink my beauty routine.

EDIT I've taken a picture comparing my old concealer, Lancôme Maquicomplet Complete Coverage Concealer in Caramel (right), to the new stuff (left).

Be Nicer to Mr. H.

I've been stressed out and mean lately. I really need to figure out how not to worry about the upcoming move and my parents.

This is a midday top underneath one of my favorite shifts.
I've had the top for years and haven't quite figured out
how to style it. I like it because it's like a sailor dress.

Don't Stop Myself Because of Fear

I have no clue. Hubs and I went to a presentation to learn about how to fill out the form to become foster parents.

I got this tweed jacket from the Talbots' Red Hanger Sale
(It's still happening and I think sale is 50% off!)

The Good Things I Managed to Capture in the Notes on my Phone this Month
June 27 - Quiet party in our apartment with friends.
June 28 - Maybe TMI! My period was unexpectedly heavy last night and I stained my new Lilly Pulitzer Lobstah Roll shorts. An overnight soak in oxy clean has them as good as new. I am so happy.
June 29 - I spent the day with Hubs and it was so nice. We saw X Men: Days of Future Past and I made muffins.
July 1- Hubs had dinner ready when I got home
July 2 - I had a fun day at work because everyone was in an incredibly sociable mood.

I loved the jacket so much I wore it two days in a row.
I work at a remote location with different people one
day a week so only the internet and I know I repeated it.

July 5 - There was a man withal parrot on his shoulder at the farmers' market.
July 6 - Hubs and I played Mario Kart together.
July 7 - I figured out what was going on with the templates on my work computer. I used terminal to I unhide all the folders and I found them and then I just changed that folder to be not hidden. So I can delete the templates that I make and do not like now.
July 29 - I found my pedometer in the couch. I thought I lost it at the beach.

My view right now. We start moving in to our new place tomorrow!

tabbar tabbar!

January Thankful Thursday and Resolutions Recap

I'm linking up with Katie Elizabeth, Mia at Make Me Up Mia, Kristal at The Strong Family, and Carly at Carly Blogs Here for this Thankful Thursday. I've saved up my thankfulness for the whole month and I'm letting it go today. Almost everyday so far this month, I wrote down what I was thankful for that day. Honestly, I forgot a couple of days and had to go back and reconstruct what I was thankful for.

1/1 Waking up next to my handsome husband's smiling face. He does so much for me.
1/2 SNOW DAY! I get to spend all day with Mr. Handsome.
1/3 (Another snow day) Watching a movie with Hubs and having him tell me how much he likes watching movies with me.
1/4 So grateful that I have a warm home and warm food. Keeping those without in my thoughts this coming week.
1/5 We stayed under budget doing our weekly grocery shopping! Money we don't spend on groceries can go towards a downpayment on a house.
1/6 Two things! 50º! It was so warm today. I am thankful all the ice melted off my car and our walkways. And, I thought I had a UTI and I was able to see a doctor right away and get a prescription for some antibiotics.
1/7 Fresh sheets are so nice.
1/8 I got to leave the house and go to the JLP Meeting and now I'm a co-chair for my subcommittee!
1/9 Made a up a new recipe that Mr. H loved.
1/10 Google Hangout with my sisters.
1/11 Skyping with college friends.
1/12 High of 60! We went for a walk because it felt like Spring.
1/13 I opened the windows and cleaned up half the basement.
1/14 Mr. H took such good care of me while my back hurt today.
1/15 I am going to see a psychiatrist on the 30th! Yeah! Trying to make an appointment to deal with my mental health concerns made me start crying last month so I am so happy about this. I thought I had anxiety issues but the survey I filled out now makes me think I might be depressed.
1/16 We've used less electricity so far compared with last year! My suffering hasn't been wasted.
1/17 Got to go shopping with Mr. H after dinner.
1/18 :(
1/19 watched a movie with Ben
1/20 I got into the psychiatrist early. There's nothing wrong with me, at least nothing so wrong that I should be medicated.
1/21 I wrote a cover letter.
1/22 We got to bed early and Mr. H and I got to read next to each other in Bed. Our house is so clean.
1/23 E3 came! I am 10,000 days old and I had cake!
1/24 :(
1/25 E3, Mr. H, and my BIL went to see Catching Fire.
1/26 We went out to dinner at the Sea Dog. I love their patio, in the summer.
1/27 E3 and I taste tested all the doughnuts in town! I love doughnuts. I finally got the ball rolling on getting the big scrape on the side of my car fixed.
1/28 Ben thinks I have what it takes to be a SAHM. I didn't think I had what it took but I really appreciate his support.
1/29 I think I'm almost done with the every week allergy shots!

Progress Towards My Resolutions

Exercise Four Times a Week and
Stamp Every Day on My WiiFitU Calendar
I did not get a stamp everyday since I didn't get a stamp before I hurt my back and there was no way I was going to subject myself to excruciating pain to weigh myself that day. Then my sister came and we were to "busy" for me to play. Then I gave up. I thought getting a stamp everyday would encourage me to exercise more than four times a week. This does not seem to be the case so I am I just going to try to exercise four times a week going forward. I think I may have failed at getting in enough exercise this week. I will have to redouble my efforts in February.

January
Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
			30 min
33 min	20 min	36 min	30 min			29 min
21 min		29 min	20 min
20 min	30 min	20 min

Eat Less Sugar
I haven't started yet but the candy from Christmas is pretty much all gone. We'll see how it goes in February.

Use My Clarisonic Five Times a Week and Floss 80% of the Time
The past week my skin has been so dry and sensitive so I gave it a break from the Clarisonic. Other wise I've done great.

I made a chart with stickers.

Drink 8 Cups (64oz) of Water a Day

January
Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
		36 oz	66 oz	42 oz	29 oz	36 oz
66 oz	66 oz	25 oz	76 oz	64 oz	75 oz	85 oz
64 oz	0 oz*	66 oz	88 oz	76 oz	65 oz	67 oz
64 oz	24 oz	64 oz	71 oz	72 oz	71 oz	48 oz
0 oz	63 oz	47 oz

*I did drink some water that day I was just in a lot of pain so I didn't record anything.

Practice Gratitude and Minimize Envy
See above. I started having a hard time remembering to write things down.

SAVE $ FOR A HOUSE
I called Comcast and managed to save $10 a month on our cable/internet/phone bill. This year we turned the thermostat down to 60º form 64º. Our suffering has not been for naught. Last January we spent about $193 on our electricity bill, we have electric heat, and this year we're on tract to spend $152. See also my review of my new face lotion and toner below. I'm doing freelance work and Mr. H has already done more tutoring work than he did last year.

I'm working on reducing our food costs by buying more in bulk, see my post on meal planning. But I still went over our grocery budget and spent $238. I was aiming for $160 but I would have been happy with $200. We still spent less on groceries than our average for last year. I am going to aim for $180 in February. And our "net worth" is still over $1,000 below where it was when I stopped working at my temporary job. Christmas was expensive but my mom said she'd reimburse me for my plane ticket to the Keys since Mr. H and I hadn't planned on me taking that trip.

Try to Spend Less on Beauty Products

The lotion is great! It is fragrance free so it smells like sunblock and reminds me of summer. It costs less than half as much as the Burt's Bees stuff I was using and it is twice as big. The cheaper toner feels so wonderful and moisturizing on my skin. There's slightly more in the bottle (6.7 oz versus 5 oz) and it costs way more than half as much as the $21 a bottle toner from Origins that I had been using. The only problem is that it's fragrance free so it smells odd because it doesn't have the lovely scent that the Origins United States toner has.

Target Toner for $4.19 and Face Lotion for $6.99

Be Nicer to Mr. H.
I think I'm being nicer. He never thought I wasn't nice to him to begin with so I didn't ask his opinion.

Don't Stop Myself Because of Fear
I checked out a book on accounting to learn more about hanging out my own shingle but I didn't finishing the book (or the other books I checked out about starting a business) before it was time to return them. I've been writing cover letters.

New Years Resolutions

I like New Years Resolutions. I like fresh starts on a new calendar (or a new month or new week). But starting up at the beginning of the year seems to lend a powerful synergy to setting new goals. The holiday season also messes up my routine so its a good time for me to restart my habits.

I try to keep my goals achievable while I assume I've gained a lot of weight over the past week (I think I've eaten the equivalent of three pizzas since last Friday). I am not going to resolved to lose 4 pounds instead I am resolving to exercise more and eat healthier because I can control what I do and I what I eat but I can't really control how much weight I lose.

I also like to make my goals specific if I can. Instead of saying exercise more I say exactly how many minutes of exercise I want in my life. Making my goals specific means I know when I am making progress. I also find that visually tracking my progress is really helpful and promising myself small (or not so small) rewards helps even more. Read Resolutions, Charts, and Carrots at Corporette for more on this strategy.

So here are my resolutions and goals for the new year . . .

Exercise Four Times a Week and
Stamp Every Day on My WiiFitU Calendar
I lowered my bad cholesterol significantly just by making some small changes in my diet (bye bye butter) and I hope that adding more exercise into the mix will lower it even more. I'd like each exercise session to be 20 minutes or longer and I'd like to exercise four days a week. I can do it. This is a goal I'll be tracking. If I make it through the first month I think I'll have to get some froyo as a reward.

Eat Less Sugar
I'll log my food intake in MyFitnessPal everyday (except for special days like when I'm traveling or there's a party) and try to make sure I don't go over 25 grams of added sugar 80% of the days (basically every business day). I may wait to start doing this in February after most of our Christmas candy is gone since I wouldn't want to waste that.

Use My Clarisonic Five Times a Week
I have a fancy machine to help me wash my face. It works very well to help keep my skin clear but I am too tired to use it when I'm getting ready for bed. I need to use it more often so I don't feel like I've wasted my money on it.

Floss 80% of the Time
My parents spent a lot of money at the orthodontist so I need to maintain their investment. I have no trouble brushing my teeth every night but I just hate flossing (it's so gross) and I do so between a third and half of the time. I want to floss more often.

Drink 8 Cups of Water a Day
It was so much easier for me to drink water everyday when I was at work. Now that I'm home I don't drink enough.

Practice Gratitude and Minimize Envy
I had been writing down what I was thankful for each day. I stopped. I need to start doing that again. I feel so ashamed because I am consumed by envy. I am so envious of my former classmates who have bought houses, who have dogs, who have children. I want to buy fancy purses, jewelry, nice clothes and am envious of those I know who have them. I have so much to be thankful for but I can't see that because I just think about all the things I don't have. I hope that by focusing on the wonderful things in my life I can help myself be less envious.

SAVE $ FOR A HOUSE
Mr. H and I want a house. We have a wonderful landlord. But we have neighbors (old hippies) who like to play loud music, I'd like to be able to paint the walls and pull out the carpet (to get rid of dust mites), and it would be wonderful to have space for children. I need to find a job (or make one), get serious about sticking to our budget, and buckle down and save the rest of the $40,000 we'll need for a down payment. I plan to have my next regular paycheck direct deposited right into our house savings account so that I'm not tempted to touch it and spend it on dresses.

Try to Spend Less on Beauty Products
I probably spend way more than I need to on beauty products. I did some math and my average hair product costs $32, my average skin care product costs $22, and my average makeup product cost $29! I'd like to bring my average down to $10 to $15 by next year by replacing what I do use with drug store brands or cheaper things from Sephora. I'm not going to stress if I can't find cheaper skin care products because my skin can be so sensitive sometimes. But I'd really like to find cheaper makeup since I don't usually wear it every day and I always end up throwing it out because it expires before I can use it up. The first thing I'll need to replace is toner. Any recommendations?

Be Nicer to Mr. H.
I am sarcastic. I don't need to be that way ALL the time. Mr. H shouldn't have to put up with that 24/7.

Don't Stop Myself Because of Fear
This one is a bit vague. There are so many things I don't do because I'm afraid that I don't know how to do them right. I need to stop thinking "I can't do that because I don't know how" and I need to start thinking "How can I learn how to do this?" There are other things I don't do because I am afraid of failing and messing up big time. I'm okay with making small mistakes (I make them all the time) but I am terrified of making a big mistake like getting in trouble with the IRS because my accounting is wrong or being sanctioned by the Board of Overseers of the Bar. I am incredibly risk adverse and I need to stop being so afraid of taking risks. Things probably aren't ask risky as they seem and there are probably ways for me to still take action while minimizing the risk.

Are there any changes you plan on making in your life this coming year?