I don't know what to write about lately, which is why I haven't been writing. I've also rather enjoyed being more productive at work. My to do list doesn't shrink as much as I feel like it should, but that's ok because if it gets too small I lose my momentum. Anyway, it seems to be the season of bulleting random facts about yourself on your blog, so that's something.
• My least favorite thing about myself, lately, is my social awkwardness. Perhaps I haven't quite learned or matured enough to interact with the people around me at a level where I feel like I'm cool. I have been walking away from most encounters feeling like I just failed that one, again.
• My favorite thing about myself -- lately -- is my brokenness. I'm at a low, but going to this new church and meeting new people, being reminded of the real stuff in life has made me realize that I'm at a place to grow more. In all this, I do look forward to that.
• I want kids one day, but that is one of the scariest things in the world to me. The only reason it's not the scariest ever is because I am married to Ryan and I know both of our hearts are in it and neither of us is alone.
• In my ideal future, I want to be wake up early in the morning and go out to my studio with all windows and white furniture. In the early morning light and quietness, I want to tie back my hair and put on my smock and just paint for hours. Have a sandwich for lunch, tend the garden in the afternoon, and fix supper with the fresh vegetables from it. Then eat supper when Ryan gets home and talk about our days and our non-routine plans. It does sound cheesy, but it also sounds nice (c:
• I want to be an entrepreneurial genius. But who doesn't?
• I have gained about 20 pounds since we got married. You can say that it's because I'm "comfortable" in my relationship now, but I am extremely uncomfortable in my jeans! But yeah, thus is the life of most women.
• I'm obsessed with financial planning and budgeting. Ryan and I keep a close watch on every penny. We have been proud of ourselves, but as we all know, pride comes before a fall, and we have fallen a few times into poor money management. Now we try to stay humble on that front... (c:
• My favorite food is tortilla soup. I try it every time we go to a restaurant that offers it, but my mom's is still the best. I can say that with all honesty!
• I love, love, love Calidad corn chips and On the Border mild salsa. Throw some sour cream in there, and I could it eat it all day, every day.
• Some of my childhood dreams were never realized, but I turned out okay. I blame Disney for making me believe that I wouldn't.
• People in my life who I thought I would be best friends with forever are fading. They're changing, I'm changing -- it's just inevitable. I didn't have the foresight to know that when we were kids and I just thought distance would be the only thing that ever separated us.
• I have gotten a lot better at telling salespeople, "No thank you," and "Not interested," in the past 3 years. Sometimes I still try to be nice but I have learned they don't appreciate that in the way a normal person would.
• I hate bigotry, so I take a lot longer than some to make decisions on controversial subjects. Issues like gay marriage and abortion I am still trying to work through. I know how I feel about them morally, but legally...?
• I like people who make mistakes and can laugh about them.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
I've Been Having Anti-Debt Feelings
In an article on Dave Ramsey's website:
Clever Ways to Get Rid of Debt
I was inspired by others.
• Make sacrifices. We have this one down pretty good, but it doesn't hurt to reevaluate every so often.
• Use your talents. This is something I want to do so badly, but have yet to capitalize on. One thing you can do is go on Etsy.com and look at handmade projects people are asking for and bid on them. I haven't done this yet, but I do want to get some work painting portraits.
• Think about a skill you can teach yourself and then offer it as a service to others.
• Buy things for cheap, fix them up, turn around and sell them for a profit. Very good idea, just, don't have a place to do this. Craigslist.com would be ideal for this.
• Don't be afraid of hard work. It feels good to get in there and use elbow grease on something for a little extra cash. OK, to be honest, I have been thinking of getting a second job here lately. I know that I could work at Sonic again in a heartbeat. Is it bad to wonder if that would look bad if my current coworkers found out? Would it make me seem like an immature teenager or someone who has to work two jobs because they don't manage their money well? The truth is that I could probably put an extra $500 a month towards loans if this were the case. I'd be kissing away my weekend freedom, maybe even some evenings. But would it be worth it for a while? Do I really want to smell like that again??!
I guess what holds me back from doing that is the thought of being able to make that kind of money with paintings. That is really and truly the best option. I just need to actually do it! OK, this time next week, I hope to have my first commission! Hold me to it!
Clever Ways to Get Rid of Debt
I was inspired by others.
• Make sacrifices. We have this one down pretty good, but it doesn't hurt to reevaluate every so often.
• Use your talents. This is something I want to do so badly, but have yet to capitalize on. One thing you can do is go on Etsy.com and look at handmade projects people are asking for and bid on them. I haven't done this yet, but I do want to get some work painting portraits.
• Think about a skill you can teach yourself and then offer it as a service to others.
• Buy things for cheap, fix them up, turn around and sell them for a profit. Very good idea, just, don't have a place to do this. Craigslist.com would be ideal for this.
• Don't be afraid of hard work. It feels good to get in there and use elbow grease on something for a little extra cash. OK, to be honest, I have been thinking of getting a second job here lately. I know that I could work at Sonic again in a heartbeat. Is it bad to wonder if that would look bad if my current coworkers found out? Would it make me seem like an immature teenager or someone who has to work two jobs because they don't manage their money well? The truth is that I could probably put an extra $500 a month towards loans if this were the case. I'd be kissing away my weekend freedom, maybe even some evenings. But would it be worth it for a while? Do I really want to smell like that again??!
I guess what holds me back from doing that is the thought of being able to make that kind of money with paintings. That is really and truly the best option. I just need to actually do it! OK, this time next week, I hope to have my first commission! Hold me to it!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Minty Fresh
So if you know me, you know that I am a little crazy about budgeting, finances, getting out of debt, etc. I have made spreadsheets so huge that the bounds of Excel could not hold them. I update our budget and our loan numbers almost daily. To do this, I have to visit all three of our banks' websites and two student loan sites, log in, copy the numbers over to my spreadsheets one by one, update my Google Docs, and then I usually run a few calculations on the updates to see where we stand. If I feel like wasting a whole lot more time, I make pie charts and histograms to get another angle on our spending habits. I've considered writing a monthly financial report, but I have managed to hold myself back so far on that one. Yes, this provides a great distraction from everything else I should be doing.
Ryan found a site that was probably founded by my clone, who is apparently much more advanced and much, MUCH more obsessed with budgeting than I am (maybe I am her clone? hmm...). The site is www.Mint.com. This site is AWESOME! It allows me to expand my powers and micromanagement of every single cent. It automates everything I have already been doing-- you give it your bank info and it shows you all of your bank accounts and transactions in real time, all in one place! Oh wait, it gets better. I can also connect it with my loans, so those balances show up in real time as well. As if that wasn't enough, there is the whole purpose of the site which is the budget feature. It allows you to set different amounts for different categories of spending like rent, groceries, etc. It's super smart and intuitive, too. It automatically categorizes your spending when the transaction comes through, i.e. it files transactions at Starbucks under "Coffee Shops" and transactions at Kroger as "Groceries" and Progressive as "Auto Insurance." It does a pretty good job, but of course you can go in and set them manually too in case it doesn't file it right.
Another way cool feature is that on some of the more popular businesses such as the ones I just listed, it will show you a bar graph of your spending compared with the U.S. Average. So you can be all like, sweet, I don't spend that much at Starbucks compared to the rest of America! Or, sweet, I pay a lot more on my student loans every month than the average American. You can also see which merchants you spend the most and least at and look at your spending trends over time.
One thing that we're going to really appreciate is that it sends you email updates when any of your accounts are getting low. You can also set it up to send you text message alerts for that. For some reason we're not very good at keeping track of this ourselves so that will be really helpful! You can set goals and customize the heck out of them and it calculates how much you need to set aside each month to reach your goal.
Anyway, if you like that stuff, check it out! It's legit (c:
Ryan found a site that was probably founded by my clone, who is apparently much more advanced and much, MUCH more obsessed with budgeting than I am (maybe I am her clone? hmm...). The site is www.Mint.com. This site is AWESOME! It allows me to expand my powers and micromanagement of every single cent. It automates everything I have already been doing-- you give it your bank info and it shows you all of your bank accounts and transactions in real time, all in one place! Oh wait, it gets better. I can also connect it with my loans, so those balances show up in real time as well. As if that wasn't enough, there is the whole purpose of the site which is the budget feature. It allows you to set different amounts for different categories of spending like rent, groceries, etc. It's super smart and intuitive, too. It automatically categorizes your spending when the transaction comes through, i.e. it files transactions at Starbucks under "Coffee Shops" and transactions at Kroger as "Groceries" and Progressive as "Auto Insurance." It does a pretty good job, but of course you can go in and set them manually too in case it doesn't file it right.
Another way cool feature is that on some of the more popular businesses such as the ones I just listed, it will show you a bar graph of your spending compared with the U.S. Average. So you can be all like, sweet, I don't spend that much at Starbucks compared to the rest of America! Or, sweet, I pay a lot more on my student loans every month than the average American. You can also see which merchants you spend the most and least at and look at your spending trends over time.
One thing that we're going to really appreciate is that it sends you email updates when any of your accounts are getting low. You can also set it up to send you text message alerts for that. For some reason we're not very good at keeping track of this ourselves so that will be really helpful! You can set goals and customize the heck out of them and it calculates how much you need to set aside each month to reach your goal.
Anyway, if you like that stuff, check it out! It's legit (c:
Trainwreck
Wow, remember me? I had completely forgotten about my blog. I was reading this blog that belongs to a friend and I thought, man, I feel like writing a blog. And then I remembered that I have one! Anyway, you must take a look at my anonymous friend's blog. I feel her pain because I used to date a guy who's mother was like this. Oh, how happy I am that I am not in those shoes now! And oh, how painfully entertaining it can be to read about someone else's monster-in-law.
http://chroniclesofamonster-in-law.blogspot.com/
http://chroniclesofamonster-in-law.blogspot.com/
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Twitter-Faced
Because of a couple of classes I took through the Chamber of Commerce this week, I feel immersed in the world of social media like never before. I used an AOL Buddy List in 1995 and signed "guestbooks," and now here we are in the explosion of sites that allow you to connect to people, businesses, causes and groups through posting, blogging, microblogging, liking, supporting, joining, friending, tweeting, commenting, tagging, on and on. I guess it's an identity thing. We now have more information about each other at our fingertips than we ever had before. No need to ask a person who their favorite band is, what their political views are, where they graduated high school, etc. if you can just access their Facebook page. Anyway, I'm not going to rant about it. I just want to start organizing my thoughts from a business point-of-view.
As soon as I can get a couple of hours with nothing pressing, I'm going to start writing a marketing strategy for the company I work for that takes advantage of these channels. I think about brands that I like to identify myself with that I'm loyal to, and I wonder, what will it take to get ABC there in the mind of somebodies? Some brands and companies I who's horns I don't mind tooting:
H-E-B
Google
Villa Montez
Hudson Printing
On The Border
Claussen (yes, the pickles!)
Honda
I follow H-E-B and Villa Montez on Twitter and have found them to have a good handle on it. I enjoy seeing their posts and have even get a useful one from time to time. The big thing that resonates with me is that these are local companies. I believe the company I work for has that exact same charm. I think it is a huge opportunity to give our loyal customer base a place to not only brag about us, but identify and take pride. I think we have already built a great foundation for that, we just need to encourage and provide an outlet for them to express it. What brands are you loyal to and why?
As soon as I can get a couple of hours with nothing pressing, I'm going to start writing a marketing strategy for the company I work for that takes advantage of these channels. I think about brands that I like to identify myself with that I'm loyal to, and I wonder, what will it take to get ABC there in the mind of somebodies? Some brands and companies I who's horns I don't mind tooting:
H-E-B
Villa Montez
Hudson Printing
On The Border
Claussen (yes, the pickles!)
Honda
I follow H-E-B and Villa Montez on Twitter and have found them to have a good handle on it. I enjoy seeing their posts and have even get a useful one from time to time. The big thing that resonates with me is that these are local companies. I believe the company I work for has that exact same charm. I think it is a huge opportunity to give our loyal customer base a place to not only brag about us, but identify and take pride. I think we have already built a great foundation for that, we just need to encourage and provide an outlet for them to express it. What brands are you loyal to and why?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Made for Me?
Wow, it's like my iMac (see below) but retro and orange!!! Orange must be a hot color right now in electronics. That's ok with me (c: There is only one thing I don't like about this juicy beauty. Make me one that runs OSX and I'll start saving my nickels (c:
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Newfound Respect for Apple
Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) has taken a stand against porn. He wants to have all porn-related sites blocked on all Apple products. Critics say he is taking away freedoms, but he says he is giving "freedom from porn."
I'm just so excited about this I want to reiterate the whole article, but you should read it for yourself!
http://marcestes.com/2010/06/08/steve-jobs-takes-a-stand-amen/
I'm just so excited about this I want to reiterate the whole article, but you should read it for yourself!
http://marcestes.com/2010/06/08/steve-jobs-takes-a-stand-amen/
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
May Photos
Last month we did some pretty fun things. I didn't get pictures of everything, unfortunately, but hopefully this will give a glimpse (c:
We went to see my cousin, Colleen, graduate from Sam Houston University in Huntsville. The man in a wheelchair is Attorney General Greg Abbot. He was a great speaker, and not too long-winded either so we give him props.
Now why I have a picture of him and not of my beautiful Colleen, I will admit is just plain wrong. #sad
The company I work for sent me on a business trip to San Antonio. They put us up in the Marriott on the Rivercenter. This is part of the view from our 16th-floor room. That's the Rivercenter, folks (c:
Ryan on the phone with his parents. They came to meet up with us shortly after we checked in at noon. Oh yeah, it was his birthday. How much fun is that???
Got to give the Marriott props for its linens. Although we didn't really like the three small pillows instead of just two regular ones. We spent a bit of time wondering how on earth this could be more efficient. *shrug*
Myspace photo op!
Another part of the view.
Went to see the fam in New Braunfels for Ruthie's performance in her school's The Wizard of Oz. She was a Jitterbug. Yeah, I don't remember that part in the story either. Regardless, it was a great part of the show! The play was at the Brauntex Theater which is right across the street from Seekatz Opera House, where Ryan and I tied the knot just a little over 11 months before. Coincidentally, some kids I knew from Tree of Life were getting married there right that very moment. Made me very nostalgic and kind of sad that my wedding was over (I don't plan to ever have another one). But then I realized that we were heading back to one of the most romantic cities in the world and staying in a froo froo hotel for the next two days (c:
I attended the conference all day on Sunday and Ryan used the time to visit his grandma in Kerrville. Then we met back at the hotel, cleaned up, and went to a cocktail party on the 2nd floor. It was actually in a hoity toity restaurant that they closed for our party. They could make you anything and it was all free (c: I learned what a Mabry was and promptly had two of them. We laughed and talked politics and business and oil spills with my coworkers and the Exxon Mobil guy. Then we and two of my coworkers accepted an invitation to dinner with a vendor. They whisked us away in a taxicab (I don't think I had ever ridden in one before) to one of the oldest buildings in San Antonio, the Little Rhein Steakhouse. Of course it was right on the river and we ate on the patio. The vendors wanted to splurge on us... so we let them. Ryan and I follwed Don's lead (he is my coworker who got us the invitation) and ordered what we wanted. It's definitely the most expensive restaurant I've been to. Ryan and I estimated that they spent at least $450 for six people that night.
How was the food? Ryan said his steak was superb. I ordered chicken though (my bad) and it was just ok. Ryan had red wine with his steak for the second time in his life. The first time was the day before at the Cheesecake Factory, where his parents took us to celebrate his birthday. This was turning out to be a good birthday weekend for him, indeed!
On Monday we stopped at the Witte Museum on our way out. I had memories of going there as a child and knowing that Ryan loves museums and Texas history, I felt he would really enjoy it. We visited the native Texans, mummy, and dinosaur exhibits, but his favorite was the Texas art. It was pretty fantastic.
The Witte Museum has a special exhibit for kids called the HEB Science Treehouse. It's 3 stories and a basement of themed science activities that are just so much fun. Since I had been there as a kid, there were several new things and I was really glad to know that it continues to be a feature at the Witte.
This is the pulley exhibit.
Yay, H-E-Buddy!
Treehouse.
The water system was one I always remembered.
Beautiful, HUGE cactus.
Hey honey, let's take a picture in front of the cactus! lol (the sun was really really bright!)
Ok we give up. Ryan doubles over with laughter whenever he sees that first picture.
Well there are more, but alas, it is late and I'm tired. Hope you enjoyed!
We went to see my cousin, Colleen, graduate from Sam Houston University in Huntsville. The man in a wheelchair is Attorney General Greg Abbot. He was a great speaker, and not too long-winded either so we give him props.
Now why I have a picture of him and not of my beautiful Colleen, I will admit is just plain wrong. #sad
The company I work for sent me on a business trip to San Antonio. They put us up in the Marriott on the Rivercenter. This is part of the view from our 16th-floor room. That's the Rivercenter, folks (c:
Ryan on the phone with his parents. They came to meet up with us shortly after we checked in at noon. Oh yeah, it was his birthday. How much fun is that???
Got to give the Marriott props for its linens. Although we didn't really like the three small pillows instead of just two regular ones. We spent a bit of time wondering how on earth this could be more efficient. *shrug*
Myspace photo op!
Another part of the view.
Went to see the fam in New Braunfels for Ruthie's performance in her school's The Wizard of Oz. She was a Jitterbug. Yeah, I don't remember that part in the story either. Regardless, it was a great part of the show! The play was at the Brauntex Theater which is right across the street from Seekatz Opera House, where Ryan and I tied the knot just a little over 11 months before. Coincidentally, some kids I knew from Tree of Life were getting married there right that very moment. Made me very nostalgic and kind of sad that my wedding was over (I don't plan to ever have another one). But then I realized that we were heading back to one of the most romantic cities in the world and staying in a froo froo hotel for the next two days (c:
I attended the conference all day on Sunday and Ryan used the time to visit his grandma in Kerrville. Then we met back at the hotel, cleaned up, and went to a cocktail party on the 2nd floor. It was actually in a hoity toity restaurant that they closed for our party. They could make you anything and it was all free (c: I learned what a Mabry was and promptly had two of them. We laughed and talked politics and business and oil spills with my coworkers and the Exxon Mobil guy. Then we and two of my coworkers accepted an invitation to dinner with a vendor. They whisked us away in a taxicab (I don't think I had ever ridden in one before) to one of the oldest buildings in San Antonio, the Little Rhein Steakhouse. Of course it was right on the river and we ate on the patio. The vendors wanted to splurge on us... so we let them. Ryan and I follwed Don's lead (he is my coworker who got us the invitation) and ordered what we wanted. It's definitely the most expensive restaurant I've been to. Ryan and I estimated that they spent at least $450 for six people that night.
How was the food? Ryan said his steak was superb. I ordered chicken though (my bad) and it was just ok. Ryan had red wine with his steak for the second time in his life. The first time was the day before at the Cheesecake Factory, where his parents took us to celebrate his birthday. This was turning out to be a good birthday weekend for him, indeed!
On Monday we stopped at the Witte Museum on our way out. I had memories of going there as a child and knowing that Ryan loves museums and Texas history, I felt he would really enjoy it. We visited the native Texans, mummy, and dinosaur exhibits, but his favorite was the Texas art. It was pretty fantastic.
The Witte Museum has a special exhibit for kids called the HEB Science Treehouse. It's 3 stories and a basement of themed science activities that are just so much fun. Since I had been there as a kid, there were several new things and I was really glad to know that it continues to be a feature at the Witte.
This is the pulley exhibit.
Yay, H-E-Buddy!
Treehouse.
The water system was one I always remembered.
Beautiful, HUGE cactus.
Hey honey, let's take a picture in front of the cactus! lol (the sun was really really bright!)
Ok we give up. Ryan doubles over with laughter whenever he sees that first picture.
Well there are more, but alas, it is late and I'm tired. Hope you enjoyed!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
In My Element
What would I be doing if I were in my element?
Sometimes I get so excited about something and I just want to drop everything and go for it! Usually they are entrepreneurial type things like paint portraits or open a resale shop. I don't know if anyone else gets a bug like this from time to time, but if you do, you know that it can be something different all the time. Which may sound haphazard, but when I take a closer look at my collection of passions, I realize they're all in the same vein.
Here I am in my cube sitting at my computer all day. I'm on my lunch break now so I'm using a little personal time to develop my thoughts by writing them out. I do things that I get excited about here and there, but nothing like the indulgent pleasure of dropping this and doing what I really want to do in this moment. If I were allowed to do these things the instant the idea hits me, what kind of person would I become? What would my world look like?
Today, I want nothing more than to garden. I want to tie my hair up, change into cutoffs and a tank top, and feel the sun on me while I dig in the dirt. I want to plant things and water them and work up an appetite, eat a good supper, then go to bed exhausted and sun-kissed. I want to physically work for it.
We have no yard. Only a cement-covered patio. There are a lot more obstacles to this dream, too. But I even savor making the plans to get there. Finish our lease. Move to a house with a yard. Begin work. I have started asking myself, "what's holding you back?" when I get excited about something. Overall, money, I guess. I hope once we're out of debt (3.5 years and counting down!) I'll realize the freedom to do these things.
I wonder if God gives me these bolts of ideas or if they're just the product of boredom. I tend to want to believe that he's giving them to me and, although I'm sure he understands my restrictions, he is calling me. I can feel it getting closer and if I look back, I realize I've already done some of the things that I used to consider out of reach. These are things that now enrich my life.
I wonder what the world would be like if we were all allowed to follow our passions? What's holding us back? Too much )c:
Sometimes I get so excited about something and I just want to drop everything and go for it! Usually they are entrepreneurial type things like paint portraits or open a resale shop. I don't know if anyone else gets a bug like this from time to time, but if you do, you know that it can be something different all the time. Which may sound haphazard, but when I take a closer look at my collection of passions, I realize they're all in the same vein.
Here I am in my cube sitting at my computer all day. I'm on my lunch break now so I'm using a little personal time to develop my thoughts by writing them out. I do things that I get excited about here and there, but nothing like the indulgent pleasure of dropping this and doing what I really want to do in this moment. If I were allowed to do these things the instant the idea hits me, what kind of person would I become? What would my world look like?
Today, I want nothing more than to garden. I want to tie my hair up, change into cutoffs and a tank top, and feel the sun on me while I dig in the dirt. I want to plant things and water them and work up an appetite, eat a good supper, then go to bed exhausted and sun-kissed. I want to physically work for it.
We have no yard. Only a cement-covered patio. There are a lot more obstacles to this dream, too. But I even savor making the plans to get there. Finish our lease. Move to a house with a yard. Begin work. I have started asking myself, "what's holding you back?" when I get excited about something. Overall, money, I guess. I hope once we're out of debt (3.5 years and counting down!) I'll realize the freedom to do these things.
I wonder if God gives me these bolts of ideas or if they're just the product of boredom. I tend to want to believe that he's giving them to me and, although I'm sure he understands my restrictions, he is calling me. I can feel it getting closer and if I look back, I realize I've already done some of the things that I used to consider out of reach. These are things that now enrich my life.
I wonder what the world would be like if we were all allowed to follow our passions? What's holding us back? Too much )c:
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