Despite my best efforts, I am becoming a grown up. And I'm becoming a girl.
Well, I've always been a girl, I just haven't always cared about certain girly things. Unlike the majority of my lady friends, I didn't dream about my wedding plans, I had no idea what color I wanted my bridesmaid dresses to be, and there was no desire in me to try a new recipe, or attempt to become some kind of interior decorator. In college, I had no need (or time) to cook because staff ate for free at the athletic events I worked. I watched Sports Center while I got ready for school, not HGTV. Much to the horror of my college friends, I didn't watch TLC's Say Yes to the Dress.
I'm not sure how it happened. My best guess is that it began shortly after my move to Arizona. I couldn't afford cable, so Netflix was my saving grace for my evenings at home. I had watched all the seasons of Friday Night Lights (a TV series that follows a Texas high school football team) on instant watch and I needed a new show to occupy my time. I said yes to Say Yes to the Dress. I loved it! I finished seasons 1-4 in about two weeks. Thus started my slow decent into stalking weddings and DIY parties online, which also lead to home decorating sites and the like.
Then, there is the cooking. I genuinely believed that some people are naturally inclined to cook...and like it. I was not one of those people. In my efforts to be healthy, I decided to cook a healthy meal on Sundays and then I'd have the leftovers to bring to work for lunch. This began my subscription to AllRecipes.com.
The rest is history.
The words, "I just want to nest!" actually came out of my mouth last week as I excitedly spoke about my plans for the new apartment. Color schemes for the kitchen and living room are already dancing around in my head. I am acutely aware of how excited I get with every piece of furniture I buy, and every place mat or decorative element I choose. A few nights ago, when I couldn't sleep, I watched Sports Center for about ten minutes before flipping to Property Virgins on HGTV. Please, tell me, from two years ago, that it finally happened. While you are at it, tell her I made homemade stir-fry for dinner last night.
One of my new found life excitements is coupons. With the move to a new place, a car note, student loans, and bills piled up, I had been trying to think of ways to be able to make extra payments on my student loans, in an effort to pay them down quicker. Enter Jordy-Liz and her Kind of Extreme Couponing Challenge. She was my cube neighbor at my job in Arizona. Her blog is adorable and beautifully written. She recently started blogging about couponing. My cousin has a coupon obsession and has been trying to get me on board. After reading Jordan's coupon tips, I figured, what the heck, let's give it a try.
Oh. My. Gosh. It's like finding a $20 bill in street. I have only been coupon-grocery shopping once, but I saved $10.73 on a $50 trip! I even stacked (look at me with my coupon lingo) a buy one get one free coupon with a 75¢ off for my deodorant. Now, ten bucks doesn't seem like that much, so I started crunching some numbers. Right now I make minimum payments on my student loans. I calculated $10 to see how much interest it will accrue during my repayment period. It will double. Anything unpaid, if left until the end of repayment, will end up being twice the amount it is today. Sounds like any extra payments made are worth it. So I have started an excel sheet to track my coupon savings. At the end of each month, I will tack that amount on to my student loan payment. Hopefully, this is something I will stick to, because it certainly seems worth the time.
Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to get back to my search of decoration ideas my new kitchen. I am such a girl.
Well, I've always been a girl, I just haven't always cared about certain girly things. Unlike the majority of my lady friends, I didn't dream about my wedding plans, I had no idea what color I wanted my bridesmaid dresses to be, and there was no desire in me to try a new recipe, or attempt to become some kind of interior decorator. In college, I had no need (or time) to cook because staff ate for free at the athletic events I worked. I watched Sports Center while I got ready for school, not HGTV. Much to the horror of my college friends, I didn't watch TLC's Say Yes to the Dress.
I'm not sure how it happened. My best guess is that it began shortly after my move to Arizona. I couldn't afford cable, so Netflix was my saving grace for my evenings at home. I had watched all the seasons of Friday Night Lights (a TV series that follows a Texas high school football team) on instant watch and I needed a new show to occupy my time. I said yes to Say Yes to the Dress. I loved it! I finished seasons 1-4 in about two weeks. Thus started my slow decent into stalking weddings and DIY parties online, which also lead to home decorating sites and the like.
Then, there is the cooking. I genuinely believed that some people are naturally inclined to cook...and like it. I was not one of those people. In my efforts to be healthy, I decided to cook a healthy meal on Sundays and then I'd have the leftovers to bring to work for lunch. This began my subscription to AllRecipes.com.
The rest is history.
The words, "I just want to nest!" actually came out of my mouth last week as I excitedly spoke about my plans for the new apartment. Color schemes for the kitchen and living room are already dancing around in my head. I am acutely aware of how excited I get with every piece of furniture I buy, and every place mat or decorative element I choose. A few nights ago, when I couldn't sleep, I watched Sports Center for about ten minutes before flipping to Property Virgins on HGTV. Please, tell me, from two years ago, that it finally happened. While you are at it, tell her I made homemade stir-fry for dinner last night.
One of my new found life excitements is coupons. With the move to a new place, a car note, student loans, and bills piled up, I had been trying to think of ways to be able to make extra payments on my student loans, in an effort to pay them down quicker. Enter Jordy-Liz and her Kind of Extreme Couponing Challenge. She was my cube neighbor at my job in Arizona. Her blog is adorable and beautifully written. She recently started blogging about couponing. My cousin has a coupon obsession and has been trying to get me on board. After reading Jordan's coupon tips, I figured, what the heck, let's give it a try.
Oh. My. Gosh. It's like finding a $20 bill in street. I have only been coupon-grocery shopping once, but I saved $10.73 on a $50 trip! I even stacked (look at me with my coupon lingo) a buy one get one free coupon with a 75¢ off for my deodorant. Now, ten bucks doesn't seem like that much, so I started crunching some numbers. Right now I make minimum payments on my student loans. I calculated $10 to see how much interest it will accrue during my repayment period. It will double. Anything unpaid, if left until the end of repayment, will end up being twice the amount it is today. Sounds like any extra payments made are worth it. So I have started an excel sheet to track my coupon savings. At the end of each month, I will tack that amount on to my student loan payment. Hopefully, this is something I will stick to, because it certainly seems worth the time.
Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to get back to my search of decoration ideas my new kitchen. I am such a girl.
Comments
You go GIRL!!
Mom