Just a quick bullet point type post today of a few thoughts for Thursday.
~Can someone tell me why they sell my exact model of vaccum cleaner at Wal-Mart but they don't sell the replacement filters? They used to. Now I have to order one online. Big pain in butt if you ask me!
~Some of you might fall over and I assure you the world is not coming to an end, but guess what? I ate lettuce on a sandwich last night. GASP! Yes, it's true I love salad, but I just can't put lettuce on things. It's been a challenge of mine for a long time. But last night was the first baby steps towards being able to do it. And I survived. Look at me growing up. Ha ha ha.
~We went on a fantastic run this morning. Best one we've been on since getting back into it after I was sick. Reminded me of why I like doing this and why I want to keep going!
~Anxiously awaiting some numbers being crunched that might allow us to refinance the house. God if we could lower our monthly payments even a small amount I would do a happy dance of joy. Seriously, I'd do the Snoopy happy dance. Maybe I'll even video it and bring it here and you can all laugh at what a nerd I am. Then again, anyone who reads this blog probably already does that on a regular basis. Guess what? That's ok because I fully admit I am a Nerd!!
That is it for today!
7/29/10
7/27/10
Thrifty Tuesday
I had a fun new idea for some different kinds of posts. Since I talk here all the time about the deals I find at consignment and thrift shops, I thought maybe I'd share some of my finds here in pictures! So, Thrifty Tuesday/Thursday has been born! It might not be every Tuesday or Thursday, but if I think of it, I'll try to do it when I can. Today I realized every single thing I am wearing I got secondhand, but it all looks pretty darn nice and I bring it here to you in pictures. I will also share where I found each thing and if I can remember, the prices on each.
Ok so we all know I LOVE purses. I found this guy at a place I just discovered near my house (it's actually in New Brighton) called "Nancy's Nifty Thrifty Consignment Shop and Boutique". This purse only cost my $20. I'm pretty sure it came from Fun Sisters or something along those lines, but even one of those shops it was likely $40 or $50 new.
Ok so we all know I LOVE purses. I found this guy at a place I just discovered near my house (it's actually in New Brighton) called "Nancy's Nifty Thrifty Consignment Shop and Boutique". This purse only cost my $20. I'm pretty sure it came from Fun Sisters or something along those lines, but even one of those shops it was likely $40 or $50 new.These sandals actually cost me nothing. My mom picked them up at a thrift store in Austin, MN called "Twice as Nice". They only cost her $7.00. Unfortunately, she wore them a couple of times and felt they were not all that comfortable and we have similar sized feet, mine are just a tid bit smaller. Small enough that these fit me. Her loss is my gain. They are Issac Mizrahi brand from Target, which translates to these probably being around $20-$30 when new.
And finally, my entire outfit today (the pictures will get better next time, this was a very fast decision on my part today!) came from Clothes Mentor. The shirt is by Nine and Co (usually found at Herbergers) and was around $5.00. My mom and I added the lace you see because it was a bit too low cut. The capris are gray and pink plaid from New York and Company and I got them for about $12.00. New York and Company is pretty affordable when new, but these still would've run closer to $30.00 new most likely.
So there you have it! Who knows, I may get into posting all sorts of deals I find on other things too, such as things for Nate, things for the house, you just never know!
7/26/10
Best weekend of summer?
Just came off of one of the truly good weekends we've had this summer. Not that all of our weekends have been bad - but they've been busy or I was sick or it's been raining or something.
This weekend the weather was nice, we did do alot of things, but they were more on our own timetable and obviously we were both healthy, ha ha.
Saw some friends I do not get to see as often as I'd like, finally met my friend's beautiful new baby, saw a very strange and somewhat heavy movie in the theatre (we never go to movies in the theatre anymore!), ate some good food, and got some good work done around the house. All in all a successful and nice weekend. There was even a little bit of time for relaxing!
It seems life is finally slowing down just a little bit and I'm thankful. It's funny, I had been writing a post about how I was longing for fall because I haven't been liking the weather lately and because of how busy summer has seemed, but after this weekend I'm feeling differently about summer at the moment! We even had the air conditioner off for a large chunk of time yesterday and it was so nice to air out the house. Of course, it's going to be sticky and warm again this week, but this weekend was so, so lovely.
So, I'm feeling good about the upcoming week thanks to my wonderful weekend. It was much needed.
This weekend the weather was nice, we did do alot of things, but they were more on our own timetable and obviously we were both healthy, ha ha.
Saw some friends I do not get to see as often as I'd like, finally met my friend's beautiful new baby, saw a very strange and somewhat heavy movie in the theatre (we never go to movies in the theatre anymore!), ate some good food, and got some good work done around the house. All in all a successful and nice weekend. There was even a little bit of time for relaxing!
It seems life is finally slowing down just a little bit and I'm thankful. It's funny, I had been writing a post about how I was longing for fall because I haven't been liking the weather lately and because of how busy summer has seemed, but after this weekend I'm feeling differently about summer at the moment! We even had the air conditioner off for a large chunk of time yesterday and it was so nice to air out the house. Of course, it's going to be sticky and warm again this week, but this weekend was so, so lovely.
So, I'm feeling good about the upcoming week thanks to my wonderful weekend. It was much needed.
7/23/10
Good and bad, up and down
Well the good news is despite the one wall problem we have, the painting is going really well at home. We have finished most of the wall space minus the bad wall. Now I will go back and do all the trim while we figure out what we're doing with the bad wall. I SO love the color my walls are becoming. The lack of white space makes the house feel so much more homey. It's warm and happy feeling. I like it.
The bad news is Nate discovered on his way home yesterday that his breaks were failing, he's pretty sure it's the break line, he's had to replace it on just about every car he's owned so he knows the warning signs pretty well at this point. If that is what the problem is, it's a cheap, though time consuming fix. If it's worse, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
The good news is that while I wish we had already gotten rid of it, we still have the Taurus. So, he's putting insurance back on it for the month and can drive that in the meantime. So I guess it's good we've been dragging our feet on getting that thing out of our yard. And at least for right now the Taurus does still drive. So hey, it could be worse.
In more bad news, I think our bed is starting to kill my back. Or maybe it's the way I've been sleeping the last couple of days, but if this doesn't go away soon, well, we might have to look into options. Not something I want to do. But, I also want to feel good when I get up! The good news is that I have a gift card for a massage, so I think I'll be using that sooner rather than later.
And to end on a positive note, in more good news, thanks to a friend's resources, we are looking into refinancing options for our house which means saving money which would be a very nice thing. We didn't think we'd be able to afford it with closing costs and such, but there may be some options around some of that kind of thing that still lowers our rates. It's worth having the conversations I say! It can't hurt and who knows, it could actually help!
Up and down, up and down, we just keep going on our roller coaster of life!
The bad news is Nate discovered on his way home yesterday that his breaks were failing, he's pretty sure it's the break line, he's had to replace it on just about every car he's owned so he knows the warning signs pretty well at this point. If that is what the problem is, it's a cheap, though time consuming fix. If it's worse, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
The good news is that while I wish we had already gotten rid of it, we still have the Taurus. So, he's putting insurance back on it for the month and can drive that in the meantime. So I guess it's good we've been dragging our feet on getting that thing out of our yard. And at least for right now the Taurus does still drive. So hey, it could be worse.
In more bad news, I think our bed is starting to kill my back. Or maybe it's the way I've been sleeping the last couple of days, but if this doesn't go away soon, well, we might have to look into options. Not something I want to do. But, I also want to feel good when I get up! The good news is that I have a gift card for a massage, so I think I'll be using that sooner rather than later.
And to end on a positive note, in more good news, thanks to a friend's resources, we are looking into refinancing options for our house which means saving money which would be a very nice thing. We didn't think we'd be able to afford it with closing costs and such, but there may be some options around some of that kind of thing that still lowers our rates. It's worth having the conversations I say! It can't hurt and who knows, it could actually help!
Up and down, up and down, we just keep going on our roller coaster of life!
7/21/10
Things I've learned about running so far
We're back in the running groove. It feels good to be back. I hated being sick for a whole week and getting out of it for awhile.
I have learned some things since we have been doing this. They are things that help me. Might not work for everyone, but this is what I feel like I've learned from my experiences so far.
1. I am at my best for it early in the morning. Might seem odd, but I prefer going way early before work. Partially because I'm not awake enough yet to feel hungry (otherwise running on an empty stomach = not fun) and partially because with the hot humid days we experience here, it's still pretty cool outside at 5:45 am. And there is very little traffic on the road. It's peaceful. I like it.
2. Sometimes it helps to think in distance and not time. I know my neighborhood and how long it takes to get from A to B. So, I know so many blocks equals 10 minutes, etc. If I think in terms of the blocks I need to cover, it's easier to finish.
3. Good shoes make all the difference in the world. It is worth the money. I resisted for awhile thinking the tennis shoes I had were good enough. I had no idea until I got my current shoes. No idea at all.
4. Along the same lines - clothes that breathe are super important. I started out doing cotton shirts and I would feel like I was drowning towards the end of a run. I found a couple of cheap shirts made out of material specifically made to wick away moisture and let me tell you - helped a ton.
5. It's better to leave the iPod at home. Again, this is just me personally, but unless I have an outstanding mix of running music going, some songs slow me down or even discourage me. I had it on random one day and Tori Amos's "Crucify Yourself" came on and it was all over at that point! Plus, I don't have anything to clip the iPod to my body with so I have to carry it in my hand. I found as soon as I gave up on it I actually really, truly found my running groove.
I am amazed at how quickly we've bounced back after missing the entire week I was sick. We're not to where we were about a month ago quite yet, but I'm confident we'll get back there very soon, which considering it took us several months to originally get to that point, a couple of weeks is not too bad!
We'll keep at it!
I have learned some things since we have been doing this. They are things that help me. Might not work for everyone, but this is what I feel like I've learned from my experiences so far.
1. I am at my best for it early in the morning. Might seem odd, but I prefer going way early before work. Partially because I'm not awake enough yet to feel hungry (otherwise running on an empty stomach = not fun) and partially because with the hot humid days we experience here, it's still pretty cool outside at 5:45 am. And there is very little traffic on the road. It's peaceful. I like it.
2. Sometimes it helps to think in distance and not time. I know my neighborhood and how long it takes to get from A to B. So, I know so many blocks equals 10 minutes, etc. If I think in terms of the blocks I need to cover, it's easier to finish.
3. Good shoes make all the difference in the world. It is worth the money. I resisted for awhile thinking the tennis shoes I had were good enough. I had no idea until I got my current shoes. No idea at all.
4. Along the same lines - clothes that breathe are super important. I started out doing cotton shirts and I would feel like I was drowning towards the end of a run. I found a couple of cheap shirts made out of material specifically made to wick away moisture and let me tell you - helped a ton.
5. It's better to leave the iPod at home. Again, this is just me personally, but unless I have an outstanding mix of running music going, some songs slow me down or even discourage me. I had it on random one day and Tori Amos's "Crucify Yourself" came on and it was all over at that point! Plus, I don't have anything to clip the iPod to my body with so I have to carry it in my hand. I found as soon as I gave up on it I actually really, truly found my running groove.
I am amazed at how quickly we've bounced back after missing the entire week I was sick. We're not to where we were about a month ago quite yet, but I'm confident we'll get back there very soon, which considering it took us several months to originally get to that point, a couple of weeks is not too bad!
We'll keep at it!
7/19/10
Random thoughts for a Monday
Not enough to make a full post out of something today so it's time once again for Random Thoughts from me! Well, ok, not all random, but simply the latest and greatest updates I guess!
~Nate and I totally missed the storms this weekend. We were safe in our basement, watching a movie and kind of heard the thunder, but never heard sirens or were aware of tornadoes, hail and straight line winds! We did end up with a downed tree way in the very back of our backyard field, but it was a boxelder that was dying and needing to come down anyway, so Mother Nature saved us some work actually! Nate can cut it up later this year for our fall bonfire.
~My summer "bucket" list has changed direction a little bit. Less work outside the house, more going on inside - we started that painting project as I've discussed here and it is looking like it might become more involved than originally thought due to the mold issue. We'll see how things go. Slowly working our way through the fun things too though. Hard to believe the summer is half over already.
~I got my car washed on Friday and I think it was the first time I had washed it in about a year. I don't even care that it rained already and dirtied the outside again - the inside was starting to really gross me out and after I was no longer sick I decided it was just time to get that taken care of. I love the car wash I go to, it's a little spendy, but they do an awesome job. So worth the money sometimes.
~I had a busy weekend, but managed to hit up one of my favorite stores, Clothes Mentor, who was having a sale - 70% off summer stuff. I bought five new things for work and I only spent $16.00. Crazy. I should teach a class on how to find deals!
~And that's it. That's all I have today. Not too much going on this week which is nice, I would love for life to slow down just a wee bit for a few days anyway!
~Nate and I totally missed the storms this weekend. We were safe in our basement, watching a movie and kind of heard the thunder, but never heard sirens or were aware of tornadoes, hail and straight line winds! We did end up with a downed tree way in the very back of our backyard field, but it was a boxelder that was dying and needing to come down anyway, so Mother Nature saved us some work actually! Nate can cut it up later this year for our fall bonfire.
~My summer "bucket" list has changed direction a little bit. Less work outside the house, more going on inside - we started that painting project as I've discussed here and it is looking like it might become more involved than originally thought due to the mold issue. We'll see how things go. Slowly working our way through the fun things too though. Hard to believe the summer is half over already.
~I got my car washed on Friday and I think it was the first time I had washed it in about a year. I don't even care that it rained already and dirtied the outside again - the inside was starting to really gross me out and after I was no longer sick I decided it was just time to get that taken care of. I love the car wash I go to, it's a little spendy, but they do an awesome job. So worth the money sometimes.
~I had a busy weekend, but managed to hit up one of my favorite stores, Clothes Mentor, who was having a sale - 70% off summer stuff. I bought five new things for work and I only spent $16.00. Crazy. I should teach a class on how to find deals!
~And that's it. That's all I have today. Not too much going on this week which is nice, I would love for life to slow down just a wee bit for a few days anyway!
7/15/10
It starts as one project and then....
Well we're in the midst of a huge project at home - but one I am pretty excited about and therefore am motivated to get it done as soon as possible. As I mentioned we started painting the living room finally. Well, the interior designer in me just couldn't hold back any longer and now I have a grand plan for some simple redecorating ideas as well, while still maintaining things we like about the room.
All of our wall hangings will be redone/placed differently once the paint is done. I'm also finally getting an AWESOME piece of Muppet art framed I bought from a friend of mine who is extremely talented. It's going to hang over our piano and I think it's going to look awesome. We'll use some of our existing artwork and hopefully frame a couple of other things to hang as well.
Then we're going to get new curtains. The curtains we have were Aunt Helen's and while they are not terrible or anything, little Miss Taylor kind of snagged them quite a bit in our early days before she was declawed and I'm also just ready for a new look. These curtains just don't reflect our style. So we're going to try to go with the existing rod, and then get new sheers and new curtains and I think we've compromised on a concept.
The next part Nate's not terribly sure on, but I'm hoping to convince him - I want to rearrange our furniture a bit. We have one couch that was free to us but I don't like it. It's cushions are flat and never stay in place. The other couch was free to us too - it was Helen's as well, but I like that one. I'd like to keep that couch, but move it from the windows to the big wall. By the windows, I want to put these red chairs we have - with new covers on them that I'm hoping to purchase at Ikea, no sewing required! Then get rid of the couch I don't like and instead get a loveseat to put on the smaller wall.
I'm trying to do as much as this as I can for cheap. I'm going to scour some places that I know have good deals like Tuesday Morning and even thrift shops and I think I can turn the room into something quite lovely!
One minor set back - we discovered mold under one of our windows. We'd pulled back the curtains when working on another piece of wall and I saw the crack in the plaster and pulling it back a bit exposed a nasty little mess. We must have had some water damage at some point that we didn't know about (old windows, old house, bad seal). But, it sounds like Nate and my dad will be able to cut out the wall, spray bleach on the mold, put up new drywall, we'll paint some Killz over the area and then paint. Just a little more work than we'd like, but that's the last wall to paint anyway.
Here's the kicker - I want this all (redecorating included) done by late September when we plan to have our Oktoberfest this year. Nate's also in the midst of building his bar and we hope that will be done too.
So, we may not do as much outdoor work as I had planned this year - though there may be time for some of that this fall. I would rather paint the outside of the house when it's cooler anyway. Actually I'd love to just pay someone to do that, but it might be kind of spendy.
Anyway, one step at a time! I'm working on my patience with all of this and I'm pleased with where it's going.
All of our wall hangings will be redone/placed differently once the paint is done. I'm also finally getting an AWESOME piece of Muppet art framed I bought from a friend of mine who is extremely talented. It's going to hang over our piano and I think it's going to look awesome. We'll use some of our existing artwork and hopefully frame a couple of other things to hang as well.
Then we're going to get new curtains. The curtains we have were Aunt Helen's and while they are not terrible or anything, little Miss Taylor kind of snagged them quite a bit in our early days before she was declawed and I'm also just ready for a new look. These curtains just don't reflect our style. So we're going to try to go with the existing rod, and then get new sheers and new curtains and I think we've compromised on a concept.
The next part Nate's not terribly sure on, but I'm hoping to convince him - I want to rearrange our furniture a bit. We have one couch that was free to us but I don't like it. It's cushions are flat and never stay in place. The other couch was free to us too - it was Helen's as well, but I like that one. I'd like to keep that couch, but move it from the windows to the big wall. By the windows, I want to put these red chairs we have - with new covers on them that I'm hoping to purchase at Ikea, no sewing required! Then get rid of the couch I don't like and instead get a loveseat to put on the smaller wall.
I'm trying to do as much as this as I can for cheap. I'm going to scour some places that I know have good deals like Tuesday Morning and even thrift shops and I think I can turn the room into something quite lovely!
One minor set back - we discovered mold under one of our windows. We'd pulled back the curtains when working on another piece of wall and I saw the crack in the plaster and pulling it back a bit exposed a nasty little mess. We must have had some water damage at some point that we didn't know about (old windows, old house, bad seal). But, it sounds like Nate and my dad will be able to cut out the wall, spray bleach on the mold, put up new drywall, we'll paint some Killz over the area and then paint. Just a little more work than we'd like, but that's the last wall to paint anyway.
Here's the kicker - I want this all (redecorating included) done by late September when we plan to have our Oktoberfest this year. Nate's also in the midst of building his bar and we hope that will be done too.
So, we may not do as much outdoor work as I had planned this year - though there may be time for some of that this fall. I would rather paint the outside of the house when it's cooler anyway. Actually I'd love to just pay someone to do that, but it might be kind of spendy.
Anyway, one step at a time! I'm working on my patience with all of this and I'm pleased with where it's going.
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