Working on my fitness

Day 7

            Today marks the end of my first week of Free February so I decided to reward myself with Starbucks this morning…for FREE of course!  If you have never taken the time to read your packaging…and really why would you, it is fairly small and inconveniently placed for a reason…on every bag of Starbucks Coffee you purchase is a little note notifying you that you can trade in said empty bag for a free tall drip coffee!  Now I will admit, buying bagged Starbucks is not the cheapest coffee route to take without a decent coupon and say a Super Doubles sale at Harris Teeter BUT when you calculate in this little freebie (1.84 value locally) it does quite a bit to lower the overall price for the value, and its damn tasty to boot.  Nice way to start my day.

             Even though its only been one week I'm already seeing a shift in my habits.  I'm actually thinking before I spend! (I know I almost fainted too)  And beyond that I am looking for more economical (read FREE) ways to do things.  Including my exercise routine.  I have admittedly been, for the most part, a total waste of healthy space since this baby was born.  His sleep has been so erratic from day one that there was no real time to "plan" for a work out and if I'm being completely honest even thought I could now work out after he goes to bed at night I don't wanna.  Its already 8-8:30 most nights before I even sit down, exercising at that time of night, for me, just ain't happening, but something has got to give.  I am pretty fortunate that the building I work in provides a few nice amenities one of which is complementary yoga/Pilate's/ab classes on varying days of the week.  I have never really considered these for several reasons; one, my work schedule does not always allow for a "normal" lunch time, meaning making a 12:15 class is not always feasible.  Secondly, I used to work out like a normal person, at a real gym with a real trainer, not in an empty office space, so it just wasn't something I needed.  And finally I am not a tidy exerciser...I don't "perspire" I sweat!  And the thought of having to finish my work day and potentially meet with clients after this type of activity (with no access to a shower) is not the most appealing.  BUT as I mentioned before, something has got to give, and a gym membership isn't in the cards right now.  So I dug my yoga mat out of the closet last night and packed my gym bag to take Abs and more today.  And don't you know the teacher was a no-show!  They say its never happened before...I say it's a sign ;) So since we were already dressed we settled for a brisk walk instead, thank God I packed pants and not shorts!  Not the outcome I expected but I found myself excited about the idea of actually working out (which was the real sign today) so I will be back for more..I just hope the teacher shows up this time!

No hump day

Day 6

            It was a quiet money day around these parts which was a lovely change of pace.  I nabbed a leftover bagel at the office for breakfast (chocolate chip-SCORE) had lunch provided through a work meeting and we used a coupon for a free Papa Johns pizza for dinner last night.  Ahh the sweet sweet taste of redemption.  My poor check card doesn't know whats going on!

Embracing the "F" bomb...

Day 5

I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit that the "F' word is by far my favorite of all the curse words. Perhaps this is a problem in and of itself but that's a post for another day.  I use it far more often than I mean to, certainly more that would lady like, but considering there are scientific studies that show the physical and emotional benefit to using curse words as stress reducers I'm going to continue in the name of self preservation.
Today however the "F" bomb I'm looking to drop is a different one.  Today, my "F" stands for failure...

This is what got me today...only 5 days in.  When I went to pick up Buster from daycare I was told he had woken up with a fever this afternoon.  The good news, as far as I was concerned, was that he was acting pretty normal, fussy maybe, but still running around babbling his little head off.  So I told her we would monitor and keep her posted before we brought him back. As stupid as it may seem, taking this kids temperature stresses me out (and sometimes results in me utilizing my previously mentioned stress reducer).   Trying to get him to hold still while I attempt to press his little arm to his side to hold the thermometer in place for what feels like FOREVER has yet to really work for me.   The Hubs can do this no problem, but mom...not so much.  So ironically just a few days ago I had made the decision to finally get one of these instant read jobbies for both of our sakes but clearly I had planned on waiting until after Free February.  Why?  Because we already have a thermometer.  Rendering this one, albeit so much better...a luxury.  Crash.  Burn.
I spent a fair amount of time beating myself up for this tonight.  Despite the fact I have used it multiple times already with not only success but no incident what so ever makes part of me (the logical side) F'n happy.  But that other half, the half that is trying desperately to reconcile a failure on a 28 day project only 5 days in has struggled.  And then I told myself to get over it.  So what.  One failure does not define the whole experience, unless you let it.  I mean lets face it, without a fair amount of failure how does one learn to really appreciate success?  I might lose of few of you here but I take a pretty hard line on this concept.  I do not subscribe to the notion of "every kid gets a trophy".   I also don't think every kid should make the team/play/band whatever just because they try.  I really feel these things do a terrible disservice to our children because that is JUST NOT how life works.  You don't get a job just because you show up for the interview and you certainly don't get a raise/promotion just because you have good attendance.  As a parent, I get it.  We want to shield our children from pain and upset.  We work so hard to build their self esteem and sense of worth and it is torture to watch your hard work chipped away by someone who doesn't appreciate how fabulous they are.  But guess what not everyone they encounter in their lives is going to find them to be the little gems we know they are.  So yes failure sucks and it hurts but it also teaches.  It teaches us that we aren't invincible and that sometimes our best wont be good enough but that's ok.  The beautiful thing about failure is that it is just a comma not a period.  Its a pause in a path but not the end of a journey.  So you don't make the team the first time you try, you identify your weakness and work to grow stronger and you try again.  So you don't get the part in the school play, you keep honing your work and audition again and again until you find the part you were meant to play.  So you spend unplanned money on a thermometer to take care of your sick kid, you brush it off and give yourself a chance to do better tomorrow.  You embrace the failure because success without failure just isn't as sweet.

Shut the front door...

Day 4

Short and sweet today people.  Not only did I not spend any money…I FOUND MONEY!  Seriously check it out…it helps when you have as many aliases as I do…but whatever don’t judge, I’m getting paid!

Almost Made It...

Day 3 

I thought I might make it through the whole weekend without spending ANY money but of course life had other plans. For one it slipped my mind that we had planned on hitting Babies R Us this weekend to take advantage of their trade-in sale. Buster was using a car seat I got from a friend that really filled a gap for us, but had expired in December. And while many Americans might ignore an expiration date stamped on a car seat, when your Hubs has sat through 40+ hours of car seat training you are not afforded that luxury (and as an added safety commercial-you really shouldn’t ignore it-the plastic can degrade over time due to extreme temp conditions in your vehicle and it can really weaken the safety and effectiveness of your seat. So please, don’t ignore this date, it could save a most important life!). Couple this with the fact that we also reached the 30” mark and we had two car seats that needed to be replaced… OY. Thankfully we had been hording gift cards, some of which we received3 when he was born, that had been earmarked just for this purchase. So I am happy to report that after extensive research we selected our new seat (Times 2) and with the trade-in credit on one, a coupon for the second and a cash in of our gift card stash we only came out of pocket 125 bucks. Still no small day but this was certainly a necessary expense and we managed to do it at a time when we could maximize our savings so I’ll count it as a win.

Speaking of win, quite a game last night! I love football but I’m team agnostic. I have never, for whatever reason, formed a true sports allegiance. I tend to sort of pick and chose based on the game and who happens to be playing. I guess I had sort of aligned myself to the 49’s last night, due to the fan base that surrounded me, but I can enjoy a good play regardless of who makes it and there were lots of good plays last night…some fairly shitty ones too…but for the most part a really exciting game to watch. We ended up deciding, fairly last minute, to have a few friends over to watch the game (those of us with early to bed ankle biters don’t make the best guest for a party that doesn’t even start till 6:18) and I needed lunch supplies for my work week so a trip to the grocery was required yesterday too. This I will claim as my failure for the day. Not only did I not have a list (or any coupons) I had a sleeping baby in the car. So I got dropped at the front door and proceeded to play my own game of Supermarket Sweep. The combo of no list, no coupons and no time did not make for a very responsible grocery run. So naturally I get home to find that I had forgotten things I needed, surprise, surprise and I spent WAY more than I would have if I had planned and prepared properly…What’s that about the 7 P’s: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance…I got the last three down pat…

"Free"dom aint always fun...

Day 2:


I had the amazing honor of accompanying my bestie wedding dress shopping this morning.  If you have never shared this experience with someone before add it to your bucket list, really, you must.  (go camp out at David's Bridal if you have to, believe me every woman can use one more cheerleader!)  To see the excitement, joy, hopefulness that a wedding brings is really a beautiful thing.  Its one of the reasons I firmly believe we should all be allowed to remarry at least every 5 years.  Before you go gettin all crazy, you can totally remarry the one who brought you, but to have a chance to revive that spark, to look at that person, your person and remember why you said "I do" is really a gift...and fresh sheets and towels every 5 years seems about right to me too...
After such a successful trip, and lots of hard work, tummies were rumbling so naturally everyone wanted to grab lunch.  But wait...lunch outside of my kitchen falls squarely into the no-no zone....@$*#...So I had to bow out....which really totally blew (but not quite as much as the peanut butter and jelly I ended up having for lunch).  A not so pleasant reminder that often times when we spend those nonessential dollars its really driven by a social need over a material one.  I wanted more than anything to kick back over all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks and raise a very large, very frosty glass to one of  my most favorite people in the whole world, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Truthfully were I not openly sharing this endeavor I would have said screw it and gone anyway, which is precisely why I AM sharing this endeavor.  Accountability.  Like so much in life if no one knows your doing something then no one has to know if you fail.  Conversely if no one knows what your doing then there is no one to lift you up and offer you a had when you fall...Sigh...
So whether you intended to or not, thanks for the nudge to do the right thing today, consider your good deed done.

Damn you Zulily!

         Day one, 9:20 am and I already have to catch myself when I open my email and see Zulily has a Stride Rite sale today…CURSES!  Ahh the lessons come hard and fast.  I’m already seeing this may be more about recognizing how easy it is to spend money.  I mean the consumerism is everywhere, it’s even attacking me from my own inbox!  I guess crawling in an internet/facebook/email hole for the month fully defeats the purpose of this exercise though so the temptations live on. Here is just a little taste of what was in my mailbox before 9 am this morning:

Restoration Hardware:  Save Up to 25% on Bedroom & Bath Furniture, Linens, Lighting and More

BJ’s: Final Days for Special Offers

LL Bean: Save up to 60% This Weekend + Free Shipping

William Sonoma: Exclusive Online Offer: 10% Off

The Children’s Place: 25% Off Everything in the Store!

Gymboree: Rain, rain, go away…Rain Gear Shop now open! Plus up to 60% off sale ends Sunday!

Zulily: Up to 80% off | Stride Rite sporty kids' shoes, Pretty in Pink Collection girls' apparel & accessories, Petit Ami handcrafted smocking and more

It is defiantly time for an “unsubscribe” campaign.

            I took care of a few last minute “spends” yesterday, much like the junkie that needs one last hit before they leave for rehab, even got gas on my way home rather than on my way to work this morning.  I realize gas isn’t a “luxury” spend but somehow the first day will feel more successful if I don’t have to remove my check card from my wallet at all. :)

            In other news I actually packed my lunch today!  Only to get to work and remember that we have a chili cookoff at the office…oh well, the effort was made at least.

Daily Spending: I did have to send the check for our summer/fall CSA share today. But I hold no guilt as this is a grocery expense that will cover 23 weeks this summer!