31 Days Left

Way back in January, I posted my goals for 2010. With just 31 days left in 2010, let's take a look at how things panned out. My goals are in red and my progress is in black:

1.Create a newlywed map. I meant to buy a map on eBay but got sidetracked in February... and then it just sort of didn't happen.

2.Plan monthly date nights. Real dates. Every month. This did happen... yey for us.

3.Go grocery shopping once a week, with no extra trips for "one or two things". Huge fail. I love the grocery store. I can't stay away. Also? I never buy enough ice cream on Sunday to last through the week.

4.Menu plan. I already know the first few weeks will be a huge pain in the ass, but it will be worth it. I did this on the blog for a while, and then kind of stopped. I always make a loose plan for the grocery store though, so I'd say this was a success.

5.Aquire one of those 10% WW key chains. This will be a 2011 goal. The 60 lbs I put on during pregnancy need to come off :-) I'm down 40 and have 20 to go!

6.Vacation: North Carolina August 2010. It was awesome.

7.Get rid of the crap in our house. Really pare down all of our "stuff". Take everything else to Goodwill. Success. When we were cleaning out the second bedroom to turn it into a nursery, I was making trips to Goodwill every single weekend. There's probably more we could get rid of, but overall, this was a huge success.

8.Take LOTS of pictures with our Canon Rebel. Complete a 2010 photo book. Done and done. Well, I'm working on the book, so it's not actually done... but it will be.

9.Get rid of our CCCS debt. I want it gone now. DONE. October 8, 2010.

10.Beef up our savings account. We'll be exactly where I want to be come Jan. 1!

So it looks like the only thing that I really didn't do was #1... not too shabby for a year's worth of goals. Oh, and Secret Goal #11? Accomplished.

Last day of vacation (or, Hell tomorrow)

After two solid weeks of vacation, work starts again tomorrow. I want to say that I'm excited to go back. I really, really do.

But that would be a huge, monsterous, terrible lie. And I'm not into lying this far into the new year.

For the past week, my wonderful husband and I have been holed up in our house, doing not too much of anything (except going to the spa and out for new years eve). And you know what? It was awesome. Not just cause we slept till noon, either. We actually had a chance to hang out, like we used to in college, alone with no distractions. We talked about stuff other than work and the evilness of our jobs. We laid around and made dinner together and did a few projects around the house.

And on more than one occasion, we looked at each other and said "I like hanging out with you".

Sometimes it's hard to remember that when there are bills to be paid and three jobs between the two of us, and there's just nothing in the house for dinner. Sometimes it's hard to think of anything other than the morons we've dealt with all day when we get home from work (neither of us are good at "leaving it at the door") or it's the day before Pay Day, or when we're trying to decide who's going to take out the dog at 11pm when it's 20 degrees out (Rock, Paper, Scissors that shit).

I did not think it was possible, but I'm starting off 2010 more in love with this man than I was on our wedding day. And that was a shit-ton; trust me.

So what are we doing on our last day of vacation? Working on #7 of our 2010 Goal List. So far I've put together 2 garbage bags of clothes and shoes to take to Goodwill and 3 bags of just garbage (including more make-up than I care to admit I've kept since college). We cleaned out the fridge, the linen closest (home of said make-up), and under the bed. I put some random stuff on eBay (and already made $75 in sales!). I'm feeling quite good about our progress, and quite sad that it's back to work tomorrow. So let's just not think about it till tomorrow at 8am. Till then, I'm snuggling with my husband and dog on the couch.

Anyone else working on their new years resolutions/goals yet?

***And hey, if you know any fall brides, pass this along - awesome fall wedding (or bridal shower) favors. And if you need more than 25 of these guys, just buy the rest of them from here. You'll save $49.50 off the full price if you buy them from me :-)

Goals for 2010

Here they are, in black and white: Things I Will Accomplish in 2010.

1. Create a newlywed map.
2. Plan monthly date nights. Real dates. Every month.
3. Go grocery shopping once a week, with no extra trips for "one or two things".
4. Menu plan. I already know the first few weeks will be a huge pain in the ass, but it will be worth it.
5. Aquire one of those 10% WW key chains.
6. Vacation: North Carolina
7. Get rid of the crap in our house. Really pare down all of our "stuff". Take everything else to Goodwill.
8. Take LOTS of pictures with our Canon Rebel. Complete a 2010 photo book.
9. Get rid of our CCCS debt. I want it gone now.
10. Beef up our savings account.

Wow, that's a lot of goals! Here's to the next 364 days!

First Post of 2010!

A new year, a new decade... another chance at shooting for the stars and dreaming big. Goodbye 2009. It's been real, but we needed a change.

Oh, and hey! It's my blogiversary! This little blog started waaaaaay back last New Years Day, and here we are, almost 300 blog posts later. Last year I had 3 solid goals:

1. Figure out a solid get out of debt plan.
2. Lose 15 lbs.
3. Find something I love doing and make money doing it.

So how did I do?

1. We paid off a credit card (!!!!), paid down our CCCS, and I got a second job. We made all of our payments on time, paid as much as we could, sacrificed some here and there to send more in towards our CCCS accounts, and tried some different things. Going in to 2010, we do have a solid plan to get rid of CCCS. We know what works and what doesn't. We know where we can scimp and where we can save.... and we know what our breaking point is and when we just need to go out for dinner. So all in all, I'd say we accomplished this one.
2. I'm 11.2 lbs down from last January... and 12.6 lbs down from my heaviest in April. I didn't hit 15, but I feel great and I still have 10 more weeks of Weight Watchers at Work. I'm looking to hit my goal weight by March!
3. Well, I did find something I loved to do, and made huge steps towards making our business a reality. I don't want to get my business tangled up in this blog, so let's calll this one a success and move on :-)

So what's next for us in 2010? Lots, but I'm not ready to post it quite yet. I'll be back later with our family goals for this year. For now, I'm going to join my husband on the couch and snuggle with our pup. Happy New Year, everyone!

Year in Review

I started this lil' blog 364 days ago... and here I am, closing out the year with post #293. Crazy!

2009 was truly a year in transition. We spent 2008 thrilled to be engaged and planned our wedding like crazy. We shared the happiest day of our lives that November, and spent 7 glorious days in Mexico, soaking up the sun and staring at our wedding rings. And then, broke from the wedding and honeymoon, we rung in 2009 together on our couch, excited about what the year would bring, but unsure as to where we were going.

What did 2009 bring us? In no particular order:

• A bigger house! We moved from our 1 bedroom (plus den) apartment in Baltimore to a 2 bedroom townhouse. We feel like real adults with an upstairs and downstairs (real adults who are afraid to have a mortgage, anyway). We even did some redecorating and building.
• A midwest road trip. It's funny how we were in such a hurry to get out of Indiana, and for our vacation this year, we chose to drive through Illinios, Indiana, and Missouri. It's funny how that works out. And Chicago is still my favorite city.
• I spoke with many, many, many, many cashiers who have too much to say.
• I got contacts. I'm 27 and have been wearing glasses since freshman year in high school. A little late to the game, I guess. And funnily enough, I still wear my glasses a lot.
• I went to San Diego by myself. I truly hate traveling alone, but it was nice to have a minute to miss my husband. And miss him I did... who wants to be standing with her toes in the Pacific sand alone, on the complete opposite side of the country? Not this girl, that's for sure. Oh, and I met the guys from Deadliest Catch.
• We went to 2 weddings - my brother-in-law and our friends from college. I love getting dressed up!
• I started working part time at the mall. A huge kill yourself, but the discount is killer. And the extra $100 a week is pretty nice, too. It was supposed to just be a summer thing, but now it's a "till I'm too pregnant to be on my feet for 4 hours" type of thing. No, I'm not pregnant. That's a 2010 type of thing.
• A blue lobster now lives in our house. I now play mom to a dog and a lobster.
• Marley May turned 5! She's been our girl for the past 4 years, but honestly, I can't remember our life without her. I'm pretty happy to say that her grey hairs are minimal (like, maybe she has 5 on her chin?), and thrilled to say (knock on wood) that she's healthy and happy as a clam.
• February Photo Shoot.
• We celebrated our first anniversary! We went back to the Loews Annapolis, took some pictures, had a great dinner, ate year old cake.... it was great.
• Started wedding album on May 15. Was able to narrow down photos to 80 for wedding album on December 15. Should receive it sometime in the spring. Approximately a year and a half post-wedding.

But 2009 wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. We talked a lot about where we want to be in the next few years, and we still haven't come to a consensus on if that's in NJ or MD. We looked at our finances and even though we've made so much progress on our CCCS accounts, sometimes it seemed like it was never going to end. There was lots of talk about jobs and careers and the kind of life we want for our family. And all of these tough conversations have truly made our marriage stronger... even though at the time, there may or may not have been some tears. But we did find our "roadmap" this year. We know where we want to go (though the NJ/MD debate is still up in the air) and how we want to get there. And we have some big plans for 2010.

This year we found our bearings. Next year we'll really begin our journey. But tonight? We're going out in DC to celebrate with our friends. We're doing it big this year, because who knows... next year maybe we'll be at home with a little one asleep in our arms.

Wishing everyone a very happy new year! I have my goals for 2010 ready to go tomorrow, so see you next year!