Soooo....

I don't even know where to start. I got married, I had a baby (he is 6 months old now), I'm in school and about 8 months away from graduating.

Whew! That was a lot for one sentance. Life sure has been busy, busy, busy.

Life has also hit us some HUGE curve balls but we are chugging along.

I'm working on a healthier me right now and thought I'd fire the ole blog back up.

So I'm making daily goals.

Today my goal is to keep drinking more water and eat at least one healthy meal. That meal is dinner. We are having steaks, but a lean cut and these http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/4685 I'll let you know how they taste.

I worked out yesterday for 20 mins of the 30 min work out DVD I pulled out. Not too shabby.

I need to get to this thing more often....

the thing is though that I'm not sure what to write these days.

I should have blogged my whole wedding process what fun that would have been to look back upon one day!

Speaking of the wedding is in less than 3 weeks!

I'm going to make a huge effort to blog and maybe not have a real focus for now. I am thinking on having a specific focus for this blog but I haven't quite decided yet.

So what is it I have been up to?

I'm getting married that's what!

Proposal was magical and beautiful from my thoughtful man a few days before V-day this year and we plan on getting married August 27, 2010.

Wedding planning can be a lot of work, it can be stressful but also FUN! It doesn't have to be a lot of work though, simplicity is about it right now, simiple and frugal without tacky can be done.

Just thought I should update in case anyone ever still reads :)

We are thrilled and that includes dd as well.

Getting Healthy!

I have this goal, I want to be healthy. I've been sick on and off for some time now. Not really knowing why I am getting sick so often and not just your run of the mill cold, allergies, and sinuses. I've had weird things like mesenteric adenitis (and I had this fairly recently not as a child), or lots of bladder infections (like the one I have right now), and all sorts of other things pneumonia included. Because of other symptoms I had 3 years ago I've been tested for lots of things. They come back normal or borderline but not enough to give a diagnosis of any kind.

I'm gaining weight like no tomorrow. In one month time I gained 8 pounds, EIGHT, yes EIGHT pounds. I'm tired, I'm unhealthy, I'm unfit. I need to change what I can. Starting Sunday I'm going to be 'dieting' or eating way healthy, I'm also going to be exercising (oh lawdy help me, please). I have already been doing some of this but the scales say I'm not doing enough to even keep myself at the current overweight status I was.

I'd love to loose 86 pounds but I'd settle for even 70 pounds and then going from there and seeing how I feel and what not. Losing 70 pounds will put me right in the middle of my weight range for a healthy weight for my health, 86 pounds will put me at the low end of that range and will make me entirely happy.

I won't make this blog all about my weight loss goals and exercising but I will be blogging about it. I hope that I can count on some support through it all.

Goal setting...

I'm on a major goal setting kick lately, I think I feel inspired or motivated for some of these goals. I know though from past experience changing too much too fast will be a sure fire way for me to throw in the towel.

I have three major goals right now:

1) Getting my side business up and running
2) Eating healthier and exercising to start my weight loss goals
3) Getting my finances in order

With these things in mind, I'm trying to decide how to go about them best. I think blogging along the way about them will help keep me on track and stay motivated, plus be accountable. Can I count on all of you to help keep me accountable?

So what I've been doing lately to reach these goals

1) Getting my side business up and running
a) Did my first paid job, it wasn't much but it was something and asking for a testimonial
b) Making a mental plan to set up a website

2) Eating healthier and exercising to start my weight loss goals
a) Joined sparkpeople.com
i) Created my profile & personal page
ii) Set up my weight loss goals and target date
iii) Posted an intro on the introductory boards

3) Getting my finances in order
a) Blogging on my other blog, How I Became a Fiscal Fussbudget
b) Held a garage sale
c) Started work on an improved budget
d) See goal #1 ;)

Expect to see more from me in the coming days, weeks, months..... I want to make sure I'm goal setting. For now I'm just going to write down my goals and what I can do in the short term to reach those goals. I don't want to get overwhelmed with long term goals since organizing and this whole proper goal setting/reaching is newer to me.

Oh, and if someone can tell me how to do this whole indentation of my a),b),c) and i),ii), iii) that would be wonderful! I couldn't figure it out and its still too early to try to do so.

Frugal Vacation for the limited budget....

So I have vacation time scheduled in just about 2 weeks.

There is nothing planned, the money just isn't there. As a single parent I can't justify spending money that isn't there. Add in that Christmas is just really around the corner and YIKES!!!

We are going to have a staycation in a way but... a lot of people that do staycations jam pack it with local things to do. I don't know that we'll do much of anything.

My aunt and uncle have generously offered up their trailer at their camp ground for 2-3 days during the week and it isn't that far we may do that. All the equipment is there so really all I need is the cost to get in for each time we leave and come back (I think it is about $5), food, and gas money. Not so bad.

We also have a wave pool that is nearby it's $5 to get into the State park (I didn't get a pass this year) and $3 for each person to swim. We can bring our own picnic lunch.

When looking at it this way we'll have plenty to do and still have a relaxing time. Honestly... relaxing is what I want the most... my kid wants fun and adventure so we can have a combo of both.

We now live with my boyfriend and so it is a little easier to be able to spend a bit more freely with someone sharing the bills... but in order for us to all live together we had to upgrade the apartment, meaning I needed more than just one bedroom so we did that. Even with the added expense of the extra room its still cheaper in rent for me so thats good. That said things were just scrapping by most months and heaven forbid an emergency happens like the car breaking down. I'd rather make a cushion so I'm not living paycheck to paycheck and that's going to take quite a bit of time to do. Living as we were for as long as we were its easy to get excited and say wooohooo we can do so much more and my daughter can have so much more. Then I think about reality... reality is we could be alone again, I could struggle again... anything could happen and it'd be nice to have that cushion and THEN be able to say woohoo we can have a real vacation or YAY, I can buy my daughter x,y,z she really deserves it (although not lately with her preteen attitude lol).

Sooo, I'm not sure what we will do on vacation but I'm going to try to make it as fun and relaxing to appease everyone as possible.

What do other strapped for cash single parents do for things like this? How do you appease yourself (relaxation) and the kid(s) with excitement and adventure with limited to no funds to do so?

I'm still tired...

I think its time for another doctors visit. I keep getting shrugged off nothing is wrong. Recently they thought something major was wrong, thankfully I was tested and everything 'seems' fine.

Now I have new symptoms and the old one went away... turns out the old one was an infected cyst so there was something wrong just not the knee jerk reaction wrong that the doctor thought due to family history.

I feel like a hypochondriac, I find myself wondering is it that or is it the fact that I am just an odd duck and there is something there that isn't "classic case"?

*sigh* more weird symptoms... nothing is ever simple symptoms.

So here I am blogging about it because maybe they will go away that way. I've never been one to take my health serious enough until it gets bad. I ask for advice I don't take until it gets worse and then I see a doctor. I guess I just don't trust my gut when it comes to illness. As a child there are issues deeply imbedded and my relationship with ex has me questioning myself all the time too due to things he had said during our relationship.

Its funny, or rather not funny, that one can come so far in healing themselves but these things they always have a way of creeping up on you... you aren't really ever healed it just sits there. There really is no logical reason I don't trust my own instincts regarding my health and body but I have this fear that the doctors will think I'm the crazy and I'll walk out of there with the knowledge that others were right I am just over reacting or whatever it is that 'they' said. Time and time again most times I have had it proven to me I should have sought care sooner, like when I got pneumonia, I ended up really sick because I thought I just had a cold and was afraid to go to the doctor for fear I'd be laughed at for coming in for a wittle ole cold.

Stupid... yes, irrational... yes, there in my head keeping me in fear... yes. *sigh*

Anyone else like this?