so evidently the secret to making me want to blog is putting me in a really good mood. if it weren't for the fact that am a) 26 and b) at work, i'd totally be bouncing up and down in my chair right now. for serious. not really sure why i'm in such a good mood - it could have something to do with the fact that i have a 5 day weekend coming up, that i get to see some of my best friends in a mere 2 days back in the midwest, that it's gloriously warm and sunny but not too hot or muggy outside, and that i have a GIANT iced chai with lots of sugar and caffeine in front of me. oh my. i think i was bouncy before the chai, but it's definitely aiding the situation along quite nicely.
my in-laws got into town last night around 7:15 and had yogurt for dinner while we finished up our burrito bowls. (whatever!) flitty flew in this afternoon, which i'm also very excited about as i haven't seen her since last christmas and don't know when i'll get to see her again as we're going to my parents' in illinois this year for the holidays. (which i'm very much looking forward to as well, don't get me wrong.) i'm a huge fan of both of my sisters-in-law, and i don't think that i could choose a favorite between them since they're so different. we'll see all of them tonight, then i believe they're driving up to breck first thing in the morning for vacation, so we won't see them again until we head up there after we get back from wisco on monday.
things i found online
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labels:
opinion
have you ever heard of peopleofwalmart.com? i hadn't either, until cnn had an article about the site this morning. it's basically awesome. these guys were walking around walmart one day, realized how many crazy people shop there, started taking pictures ... and voila! hilarious. if you have a free minute and you enjoy laughing (yes, at other peoples' expense, whatever), you owe yourself a visit.
relatedly, as i was enjoying peopleofwalmart, i saw an ad for a jesse and the rippers t-shirt. jesse and the rippers! if you don't know who jesse katsopolis is, you won't enjoy that at all ... but i think it's pretty awesome. too bad it's $20, otherwise i'd totally be getting myself one.
and, completely unrelatedly, i was perusing msn when i happened across an article about how state revenue workers are using social networking to track down tax evaders and make them pay up. since i'm all about personal responsibility, i thought that was pretty well awesome. if you want the benefits of tax dollars - you know, minor things like policemen, libraries, schools, roads, government - you need to pay your taxes.
relatedly, as i was enjoying peopleofwalmart, i saw an ad for a jesse and the rippers t-shirt. jesse and the rippers! if you don't know who jesse katsopolis is, you won't enjoy that at all ... but i think it's pretty awesome. too bad it's $20, otherwise i'd totally be getting myself one.
and, completely unrelatedly, i was perusing msn when i happened across an article about how state revenue workers are using social networking to track down tax evaders and make them pay up. since i'm all about personal responsibility, i thought that was pretty well awesome. if you want the benefits of tax dollars - you know, minor things like policemen, libraries, schools, roads, government - you need to pay your taxes.
guilty pleasure
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labels:
opinion
so i have a confession, and you have to promise not to make fun of me for it. ready? here goes: i love looking at baby gear. it's true. totally not pregnant, but one of my secret guilty little pleasures for like the last two years is baby gear. there's just so much cute stuff out there: car seats, strollers, diaper bags, cribs ... oh my!
this week, i've been investigating the sub-culture of cloth diaper users. "sub-culture?" you ask. oh yes, my friend, sub-culture. they have giant message boards (which are actually really interesting - the faq post at the top of that board references lots of great resources), online distributors and shops, websites answering every question you could have on cloth diapering ranging from cost savings to accessories. there are heated debates on cloth vs. disposable to the point that i'm almost surprised no one's yet come out with tshirts labeled "team cloth" and "team disposable". there are even debates between the best styles or brands of diapers. do you go with the pre-fold, the all-in-one, or the pocket diaper? do you go one-size or fitted? fuzzi bunz or bumgenius? aah!
obviously i am interested in potentially someday using cloth diapers. i think the thought first crossed my mind because our budget will be tighter when we have a kid, and i was curious what the cost breakdown would be on buying a bunch of expensive but re-usable diapers up front versus paying as you go with disposables. turns out you can definitely save money using cloth diapers - how much depends on what type of diapers you go for; you save even more if you're able to use the cloth diapers for more than one kid. not to mention that while you are committing yourself to doing laundry pretty much constantly as long as you have non-potty-trained kids, you are definitely doing the environment a huge favor. i obviously have a while to figure out my strategy for cloth diapers, but there are some really neat programs that let you try out different types of diapers to see what fits best for you and your kid. once you, you know, have a kid and stuff. (they also have recommendations of what to use balancing what's most economical vs easiest.)
fascinating stuff, no? i was explaining my findings to scott last night and he called it interesting but pedestrian. pedestrian?? he said he meant that it was interesting on a purely factual level but that it didn't elicit any sort of emotional response from him. dictionary.com says pedestrian means dull, lacking in imagination and distinction, commonplace. i'm going to assume that a) he didn't know the full definition, and b) that he meant it about the topic rather than me and my interest in it. hmph.
this week, i've been investigating the sub-culture of cloth diaper users. "sub-culture?" you ask. oh yes, my friend, sub-culture. they have giant message boards (which are actually really interesting - the faq post at the top of that board references lots of great resources), online distributors and shops, websites answering every question you could have on cloth diapering ranging from cost savings to accessories. there are heated debates on cloth vs. disposable to the point that i'm almost surprised no one's yet come out with tshirts labeled "team cloth" and "team disposable". there are even debates between the best styles or brands of diapers. do you go with the pre-fold, the all-in-one, or the pocket diaper? do you go one-size or fitted? fuzzi bunz or bumgenius? aah!
obviously i am interested in potentially someday using cloth diapers. i think the thought first crossed my mind because our budget will be tighter when we have a kid, and i was curious what the cost breakdown would be on buying a bunch of expensive but re-usable diapers up front versus paying as you go with disposables. turns out you can definitely save money using cloth diapers - how much depends on what type of diapers you go for; you save even more if you're able to use the cloth diapers for more than one kid. not to mention that while you are committing yourself to doing laundry pretty much constantly as long as you have non-potty-trained kids, you are definitely doing the environment a huge favor. i obviously have a while to figure out my strategy for cloth diapers, but there are some really neat programs that let you try out different types of diapers to see what fits best for you and your kid. once you, you know, have a kid and stuff. (they also have recommendations of what to use balancing what's most economical vs easiest.)
fascinating stuff, no? i was explaining my findings to scott last night and he called it interesting but pedestrian. pedestrian?? he said he meant that it was interesting on a purely factual level but that it didn't elicit any sort of emotional response from him. dictionary.com says pedestrian means dull, lacking in imagination and distinction, commonplace. i'm going to assume that a) he didn't know the full definition, and b) that he meant it about the topic rather than me and my interest in it. hmph.
my budgeting woes
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labels:
personal finance
so for the past few years, we did the dave ramsey budgeting method with taking cash out for certain budget categories (we just do grocery and entertainment) to keep better control on spending and make you think about what you're actually spending the money on. i really like the idea of it, and i think it's effective, but we've fallen out of the habit in the past year or so. every month, usually within the first few days of the month but sometimes as late as the 15th, i'll download all of the transactions on our account from the past month and reconcile them, add up each category (love excel!), and type in the "actuals" to see how we did with the budget, then set a fresh budget for that month. i'm currently reconciling the transactions from august, and remembering another reason why i like doing cash instead of debit: number of transactions.
looking back at previous months' transactions - back in sept'07, when we were good at doing cash, there were about 55 transactions to categorize. this month, not doing cash - 99. last july, when we were buying a bunch of random house stuff, didn't take out cash, ate out a lot, AND took our big 10 day alaska vacation? 130. really, my attention starts to wane after about 60, and that's with scott having set up my spreadsheet to have a dropdown menu of category options so that i don't even have to type in each label. *sigh. (and yes, we do go to the grocery store way too often for our own good.)
looking back at previous months' transactions - back in sept'07, when we were good at doing cash, there were about 55 transactions to categorize. this month, not doing cash - 99. last july, when we were buying a bunch of random house stuff, didn't take out cash, ate out a lot, AND took our big 10 day alaska vacation? 130. really, my attention starts to wane after about 60, and that's with scott having set up my spreadsheet to have a dropdown menu of category options so that i don't even have to type in each label. *sigh. (and yes, we do go to the grocery store way too often for our own good.)
checkity check
we made an enormous to-do list on sunday, full of stuff to get done before scott's family gets here tomorrow. most of it is just general cleaning that needs to happen anyway, but a few things are projects that we've just been putting off. just little things, like shortening the blinds we bought and installed last year, and installing the new towel bars in our bathroom: towel bar installation - checkity check, blinds shortening - half of a check. anyway, we got a lot of the tasks done on sunday, so tonight is mostly just general cleaning - vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the bathroom vanity, etc. hopefully it won't take too terribly long?
in other tremendously exciting news, i picked out a shirt to wear to our friend's wedding this weekend! i got a cute pair of white capris at the outlets a few weeks ago that i'll wear with it, and gold flops. hey, the dress code is "look good, be comfortable, avoid jeans" - so i think i'll be fine.
my life is boring - house cleaning checklists and a new shirt. i haven't blogged in a week, and this is what i come up with? oh! i did find out last week that four people i know are pregnant! FOUR. that's a lot. i'm very excited for all of them (the women i know well, particularly), it's just a little crazy. talk about a baby boom!
in other tremendously exciting news, i picked out a shirt to wear to our friend's wedding this weekend! i got a cute pair of white capris at the outlets a few weeks ago that i'll wear with it, and gold flops. hey, the dress code is "look good, be comfortable, avoid jeans" - so i think i'll be fine.
my life is boring - house cleaning checklists and a new shirt. i haven't blogged in a week, and this is what i come up with? oh! i did find out last week that four people i know are pregnant! FOUR. that's a lot. i'm very excited for all of them (the women i know well, particularly), it's just a little crazy. talk about a baby boom!
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