Update

I feel like my life is just crazy right now. Things have been very busy still. I am getting over being sick. I ended up having to go to the doctor. I really didn't want to. My copay was $20 for the office visit. I also had to spend $14 for two medications. I guess it was worth it though. I just hate spending money on doctor visits. I am trying to get back into working out. The doctor said to take a week off. I didn't listen. I have worked out twice, but they have been awful workouts. I am still exhausted and tire easily.

I have also been researching where to live. I have to give notice to my apartment management office by the end of the month. It started with me thinking about moving in with one or two friends. Their lease is up the month after mine. So, the debate was should I give notice for the end of May or pay one month extra (my rent goes up $190!!!) and have my lease end at the same time as theirs. Then we started looking at renting a house instead of an apartment. It has now turned into me getting a pre-approval for a mortgage and looking at houses!!!! I am very torn on what to do. I would love to buy something, but it scares me. I would have to use a little over half my savings to purchase a home. Part of my issue comes from living in a large metro area. I am finding homes I like further from my work place than I would like. I need to decide how far I am willing to drive to and from work each day. Any thoughts on this!?!

I have also been very busy at work still. It slowed down a little, but not too much. I am curious to see what happens over the next few months. Part of why I am worried about purchasing a home is because of the stability of the job market. I guess you just never know though.

I have still been searching for clothes which fit. It's a process for me. I am also trying to find good deals and not just buy the first thing I see. I am hoping to get a few more things in April. Discover has 5% cash back from April through June for department stores and clothing stores. So, I think I will look in April once I can get some extra cash back on my credit card.

I decided to sign up for a review course for the next part of my exam. It was a lot of money, but I will get reimbursed by my work as soon as the course is over. I just have to drive downtown once a week for 8 weeks and pay for parking. That will be a change for me. This is the part which freaks me out the most, so I think this will be a good thing. It will also force me to complete sections by a certain time. I am hoping to put some time in studying this weekend to get a head start before the first class this next week.

I would love to hear thoughts on purchasing a home. If anyone is in the Minneapolis area, I would also like to hear thoughts on locations. Thanks so much!!!

This Weekend

What a weekend it has been! I spent more than I intended, but it was well worth it. I had a great time with my family. It was nice to see them again. I got sick towards the end of the week, so I slept in for awhile on Saturday before my family got here. Even with the extra sleep, I still wasn't feeling that great. I am a little better today, but I think it might be a hard start to the week. I don't like being sick. The sore throat and coughing get old quick. I have no appetite, so I haven't had to spend much on groceries!!

My parents bought me some shoes and groceries this weekend. I am very appreciative of the purchases. I was able to stock up on a few things from Trader Joe's, so I won't have to worry about going there for the next few weeks. And I love the shoes I got. They are very cute tennis shoes.

I bought myself a track jacket which was on sale. Even though I need new clothes due to very few of mine fitting, I have a lot of tanks and tees that fit. I thought a track jacket would be nice for something to throw over them when it's a little cool out.

I have a lot going on this week. I will be spending some money, but that's okay. I am trying to find a balance between doing some activities which I enjoy and saving. It's hard. I think it will take some time.

I also need to figure out if I want to take a class to study for the next part of my exam and what to do with my apartment lease by Tuesday. I am very torn on what to do.

I want to take the class because it would force me to complete things by a certain time. The discussions would also be nice. It is expensive though. I would get reimbursed afterwards by work. I worry about the economy though and what if I were to get laid off before the class is over. My savings interest rates have dropped so low that it doesn't seem like it would really matter if I took the money out for the class. (I am very disappointed by my rates currently.)

As far as my living situation goes, I am very torn on this as well. I would like to save money on rent, but that means having roommates. I have been living alone for about 2.5 years. It's been nice, but at times it would also be nice to have someone around. I live very close to work currently and end up having to drive further to work each day. I am not used to driving in rush hour traffic, so this kind of scares me. It would be nice to not have to drive so far to spend time with my friends though. We have been looking at what's out there. I am not sure if there would be two or three of us. That's part of the problem currently. Three people is hard to get all of the things we want (being a garage spot for each of us). Two people is much easier, but I wouldn't save as much as with three.

Any suggestions are welcome!!

My Life Currently

I am completely exhausted right now. I have been working 12 hour days and then coming home and working a few more hours before going to bed. I have also been working at least one day each weekend. I can't wait for this time of the year to be over with. I want to get back to my normal life. I have been managing to work out at least 4 days a week still. I am making this a priority no matter what I have going on. I think work should quiet down a little bit after this week.

My family is coming to visit me this weekend. I have plans on Friday night with a friend. I think it should be a good weekend overall. I am hoping to do some shopping. I want to find some deals for items which are on my list of clothes I want to buy. I am slowly working at buying the items on my list as I find them on sale and that fit. I struggle to find clothes that fit me right.

I have started running at the gym. I am hoping to sign up for a 5k in a few months if all goes well. This will be a huge accomplishment for me. I really enjoy working out. I feel great lately. The cost is well worth it to me.

Due to working so much, I haven't spent much money lately. I have spent a little more on groceries than I probably should be but that's okay. I haven't spent it on other items, so that's a plus. I am still under budget.

I really want to start highlighting my hair again, but I am worried about the cost. I know I probably shouldn't, but I love my hair when it's highlighted. It has so much more body and it's thicker.

The boy . . . we haven't had time to do anything this past week. We are both very busy with work and other things right now. I am hoping after this weekend we can spend a little more time together and see what happens. I really enjoy spending time with him, so I hope it works out. You just never know though.

I will post after this weekend once I know how much I spent. I hope to stay within my budget!

Dating

I have met a few guys over the past two months. The first one ended up not working out. The second one I didn't click with. And now the third one. I am hoping we can do something again sometime soon. The problem is that I am not sure what to suggest we do. I haven't dated since college, so I feel out of touch. I usually just go out with my friends. I invited him over last night and we watched a movie. We also talked a lot, so it was a good night. I am not sure what to suggest if I call him again or if he would call. Due to my food allergies, it's hard to go out to dinner. I thought about suggesting that I cook something. I hate to suggest another movie. Any ideas!? I need dating help!d

Update

I have been awful at keeping up my blog lately. Sometimes I wish there was more time in the day. I am swamped at work right now. In addition to work I have been spending time with some of my best friends, working out, randomly dating, and working some more. I am also trying to fit in studying and some me time. I have stayed within my budget.

I have also started the process of rebuilding my wardrobe after cleaning out my closet and giving away all of my clothes which no longer fit. I was able to get some good deals last week. I made a list of everything I want/need clothing wise and how much I can spend on each item. Everything I bought last weekend was on my list and under budget. You can't beat that since I have a pretty big list.

I know a lot of the blogs I read have been mentioning date lately. I have not dated since college. This is for a variety of reasons. I am just feeling better overall now that I am working out 4-5 times a week, so I have been more social. I met a guy who was cute, but he ended up keeping some things about his personal life from me. So, I am not planning to see him again. And then there is a friend of a friend. Not such a great idea either. And now there is one other one. We'll see how this goes.

I have been considering moving in with some friends when my lease is up in order to save some time/money. I spend a lot of time driving to meet up with them (disadvantages of living in a bigger metro area). I am just concerned about going from living alone to having roommates again. I did live with one of them a few years ago and it worked out just fine.

We got more snow this today. I am not impressed. I really wanted spring to come. I have been itching to go on vacation. Somewhere with a beach, no shoes, and a book sounds amazing right now.

My Weekend . . . And Upcoming Weeks

This is the busiest time of the year for me. I am heading to work for awhile today. I hope for only a few hours to get some things done so I am caught up for Monday. I have plans later with a friend for a movie and shopping. (Neither of us have boyfriends to go out with for Valentine's Day.) I also hope to go to Trader Joe's and pick up around my apartment this weekend. I want to be ready for the next few weeks.

Next weekend is the first of a few required work weekends for my group. It will be very busy. I can't wait for it to be a month from now so that things quiet down a bit. Work provides lunch for us on the weekends, so that's nice. It will be hard to fit much else in, so the more I get done this weekend, the better off I will be. I just need to make sure I keep up my workouts. They really help how I feel, especially during stressful times.

I spent a lot more than I planned on groceries this week. There were some great sales on things I use regularly though, so I stocked up. I also need to stock up at Trader Joe's this weekend since I won't have time to go in the next few weeks.

I am hoping to find some tops on sale today when I am at the mall. I also have coupons to use. I am planning to go to Barnes and Noble as well to pick up a book I really want. I have a $50 gift card and a coupon for there, so I don't feel so bad about buying a book.

Have a great Valentine's Day weekend!

Lack of Updates

I know it's been awhile since I have updated. A lot has been going on. I have been reconnecting with some great friends, working a ton, working out, and just trying to survive. I feel very overwhelmed right now for some reason. I want to spend time with friends, do my best at work, study, and work out, but it gets to be a lot sometimes. I am working really hard at not spending too much money and keeping my apartment in order.

I cleaned out my closet last weekend and gave a bunch of pants that didn't fit to one of my friends. They fit her great. It was hard to part with the pants (and the money invested), but I was sick of looking at all these clothes in my closet which don't fit. I have lost weight this past year and really need to invest in new clothes. I have some money set aside in my budget, but I am having no luck finding anything that fits/can afford/I like. It's very frustrating. I just want clothes that fit well and I feel comfortable in but aren't too expensive. Clothes shopping is a very frustrating thing for me.

I am really struggling with food right now. The more time I spend with other people the harder it is to not eat foods that will make me sick. They all look so good. I just want real food which is healthy, tastes good, and is easy to prepare.

Sorry for the rant! I hope to get back to regular blogging this week.

On a side note, I had a date. This is not normal for me! Dating makes me nervous. I had a good time but found out later he still has a thing for his ex-girlfriend. I told him we would not be seeing each other again because I don't want the drama of all of that.