Yearly Goals Update/ March Goals

My Goals for this year are :

1. Save money for emergency fund/pay down loans

2. Spend more time with my girlfriends (and make one more)

3. Look more put together on a daily basis

4. Do my chores Keep the apt clean

5. Talk less, listen more

6. Learn to cook by cooking one thing per week

So,...how am I doing?

1. Fail. I didn't track my spending well, and another loan creeped up on me. Will try again in March.

2. Success! Been pretty good about seeing those important to me, and keeping it down to one a week! Also, was very good about figuring out who was important, and saying no when necessary. I wasn't expecting that, but what a nice surprise!

3. Quasi-Success. Had a few rough days, especially with hair, but will continue in March.

4. Mostly success, especially with the major clean up halfway through the month and getting rid of stuff! 

5. Still going strong! 

6. Quasi- Success. I made  one thing completely by myself. But I am learning to cook more by helping C in the kitchen!

MARCH GOALS

1. Continue to Save money for emergency fund/pay down loans BY

• Set up a new budget 
• begin tracking my spending again
• proceed with Action Plan 

2. Spend more time with my girlfriends (and make one more)

3. Look more put together on a daily basis

4. Do my chores Keep the apt clean. Do another donation haul of spring clothes and problem areas.

5. Spend 8 hours a week working on new company

6. Continue to meal plan and learn cooking by doing

7. Exercise 2x a week

How did you do with your goals? Do you have any new ones? 

Weekend Highlights

Just a few tidbits from the weekend...

Friday: went to friend's birthday party at her place. Her hubby made a delish Mexican inspired dinner, and then we played a few games. I love game nights...seriously. But I don't like losing... like, at all. I'm usually not a sore loser, but that night I was. To sum up without too many details, C and I fought. But we made up by the next day. And once I changed partners I did much better!

Saturday: Got home around noon, and was a bit hungover. But, C agreed to make tangy Asian meatballs and I wanted to help. So we did that, and it was delicious. (Seen here!)

Sunday: We bought a food processor! This is a huge deal. See, I don't didn't cook, and C is the Top Chef in our apt. But we started making some changes lately, like adding meal planning to our lives, which has in turn lead us to want to try new recipes. I've been collecting recipes for a while, just for the heck of it. (Yes, I hoard allthethings, including recipes that may or may not be used!) Anyway, I had this recipe that required a food processor, and C had a gift card to Macy's so off we went! You like it??

Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor DLC-2A

Oh goodness. I just realized I'm 28 years old and terribly excited about a food processor. I feel so old!!

Menu Plan Monday

We just started menu planning last week, and really love it! It's so easy and inspires us to look into trying new and interesting recipes. For one this week, the spinach pesto one, we actually went out and purchased a food processor today! And we're super excited to try it! Welcome to our menu for next week!

Monday: Grilled chicken and...? 

Tuesday: Tacos and yellow rice

Wednesday: Have an event after work, so eating out

Thursday: Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir fry and white rice 

Friday: Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto 

Saturday: Chili, noodles, and bread

Link up with the Orgjunkie or just check it out for some yummy recipe ideas!

Sunday Night Chit Chat

I absolutely love this pic of C. It was taken at his aunt's birthday party, and his mom bought all these accessories for his two little cousins,... so he put them on! The ring and bracelet blink too!

Reading? Nothing at the moment.
Watching? The Oscars,... but mostly just to see what everyone wears!

Listening to? same.


Cooking/Baking? Had some amazing pork chops with stuffing, gravy, applesauce and bread for dinner. It was delish!


Happy you accomplished this week? Actually going to get my ashes, going to Zumba even though I was super tired (and very grateful that it was actually cancelled!), meeting with my mom and establishing an action plan to take care of some financial stuff, and staying pretty close to our meal plans!


Looking forward to next week? Finding out about a job opportunity, making some headway in the action plan, making some progress in our business. And more yummy meals!

Thankful for today? C, for pushing me to accomplish my goals. 

Here's looking forward to a productive week! And March! 

Want to link up? Join Carla!!

Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Last week was quite rough. I had so many balls up in the air, and then new crap coming from out of nowhere. It became hard to "look on the bright side." So, I decided to make a list (since I love lists so much!). Everyday for the past week, I jotted down a few things, no matter how small they may have been, that made me happy. I thought I would share that list with you today!

2/21: Registered business and got FEIN#! Received my fixed hat from my coworker! cute outfit inspired by Pinterest! Did all the dishes.

2/22: got my ashes, bought a file cabinet!! (Yay organization!) wearing my newly fixed boots, free clothes and DD coffee from mom, slept early, made up with C.

2/23: made my train!! Broccoli and cheese breadbowl from Panera, set Action Plan, gave mom her cards and presents for her bday, got "normal" seat on train coming home.

2/24: Sori (friend/old coworker) said yes to being a reference! Got to wear my Hunter boots, looking forward to A's game night. 

What do you do to cheer yourself up when things aren't going so well?

Weekend Highlights (from Presidents Day Weekend!)

Sorry this is a little...erm...delayed... but I wanted to give some highlights from this wonderful 3 day weekend!


Friday: I had an interview with a start-up staffing agency. At first, I was super excited, because the job description basically described exactly what I'm doing, but for higher pay and room for growth. But then I found out where it is, and realized I'm not able to get there via public transportation (and I don't have a car). So, I figured I would just try to do a good job so the recruiter who told me about it would look good. I was nervous, but I thought I did well. The interviewer was very nice and talked in a more conversational tone than just bombing me with questions. I'm supposed to find out about it soon.

I found out that my mom's good friend who usually does my taxes would not be doing them this year. He has been doing my taxes my whole working career. He just sent an email saying "I will not be able to do your taxes this year." No details. It was so strange. I know he and my mom got into a fight 2 years ago, but even last year he still did them for me. So, I needed to find a new tax person/company.

I was also able to make a deal with someone I work with who is selling his own sauces (like BBQ, Hot sauce, Teriyaki, etc.). I made him an order form, and asked if I could get $1 for every bottle that I personally sold. (Being that each bottle is about $4-5, this was iffy.) But he said yes! And then, with the order form, I was able to sell 3 bottles in about 10 min!! Hopefully this will continue!

Saturday: The stress of the week finally caught up with me. I slept in, watched movies, perused the internets, and ate. Love lazy days like that!

Sunday: Day of errands, but very productive!

• Got my taxes done! Woot woot! (I decided to go with H&R Block because they seemed reasonably priced and had an opening.) 
• Delivered 3 shopping bags of clothes to Goodwill! This was also a major accomplishment since they had been sitting in our living room for about 2 months. 
• We also decided to try meal planning. I had wanted to do this for awhile, but C is the resident chef in our house, so I had to wait to get him on board. Luckily, along with the idea of saving money and trying new recipes, he wanted to do it! And we were fairly successful, with teh exception of forgetting that Wednesday was no meat (religion). 
• Then normal stuffs- groceries, laundry, bank, etc. 
• Oh, and I designed my first logo for my company. Still needs work, but at least there was a draft.

Monday:  Finally went snow tubing! C had bought 3 Living Social deals that are going to expire March 1. He bought a bunch because we thought our friends would want to go too, but we tried for 2 weeks and none of them wanted to join us, so we finally decided to just go ourselves. The deal was $25 for 2 people for 2 hours of snow tubing- pretty good! So we reserved 2 time slots, from 10-12, and then 2-4.

I was a little upset to have to wake up at 6:30AM and be out the door by 7, to go up on a mountain, but it was still fun. We didn't get there until about 9:30, and tubing started at 10AM. The morning session was great- it was new and exciting, and the line went quickly. But then we went to lunch. OMG. The lodge was so, SO crowded, we had to circle several times just to find a seat. And then, my food was crappy. C had a delicious roast beef sandwich smothered in gravy- sooo goood. I had some dried up chicken sandwich and cold, hard fries. Ew.

Anyway, we had some time to kill, so we went back to the car for awhile to warm up without being smushed, and then went back up to the beer garden before getting back on the shuttle to the snowtubing area- or should I say the "DropZone". The 2-4PM session was not as great. It was overrun by small kids and their parents, or "too cool for this but I want to go down the hill with all my friends" pre-teens. Both of which were super annoying in their own ways. In 2 hours, we only got 3 runs in!!! In the morning we had closer to 10! But, I was glad we finally went!!

Menu Plan Monday

We just started Menu Planning in order to save money and find/try new recipes. It also helps answer that daily "what are we going to eat?" question! I've been wanting to do this for awhile, and was so glad when C agreed!

So I decided to link up with Laura's Menu Plan Mondays and share!

Monday: Ravioli and Garlic Bread
Tuesday: Cheeseburgers and fries/onion rings
Wednesday: (had a plan, but then remembered no meat today, so ordered pizza)
Thursday: Broccoli and Cheese Soup and crackers
Friday: Dinner at a friend's house
Saturday: Tangy Asian Meatballs, snap peas, and rice

Sunday: Breaded pork chops, stuffing, and applesauce

Do you menu plan? Link up with the OrgJunkie and share!

Sunday Night Chit Chat

I love this picture. This gift was what I found in our bedroom a few days before Christmas- it was apparently too big to hide, so C put a bag over it and this sign-- he knows me too well!

What are you...

Reading?
I'm on a break from reading The Girl Who Plays with Fire since they gave away part of the plot in the movie version of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. Currently reading documents about small business.

Watching?
DVR'ed episodes of Once Upon a Time in a little bit.

Listening to?
Myself typing, a TV in the other room.

Cooking/Baking?
Nothing currently, maybe tomorrow.

Happy you accomplished this week?
Finally went to Goodwill to drop off 3 bags of clothes AND went to get my taxes done! And cleaned and ran errands! Woot woot!

Looking forward to next week?
Snow tubing tomorrow! And my friend's birthday game night on Friday!

Thankful for today?
Finally taking advantage of some "Me" time :)

Wanna chat? Link up with Carla!

Tagged!

The lovely Jess from The Landlady Diaries tagged me in this a whiiiiile ago (sorry girl!). So, I decided to play along! However, I am not tagging anyone specifically. So if you wanna play along, just leave me a comment so I can read your responses!

the rules:

1. post the rules.
2. post eleven things about you.
3. answer the questions the tagger asked you.
4. write eleven new questions for your tag.
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Random Facts:

1. I have never broken a bone (knock on wood!)
2. I love traveling, and have had the pleasure of going to 12 countries.
3. I originally started playing the alto saxophone because Bill Clinton did, and I thought he was cool.

4. I played for 8 years- all through middle and high school. I was even in marching band. Yes, I was a band geek.
5. I was also Cheerleading captain until I quit to be a band geek.
6. I've seen Nelly Furtado in concert 2 times. She is the only repeat I've been to.
7. My very first concert was David Hasselhoff. I kid you not. The good news is, I didn't pay to see him. He was playing on the day I went to the local fair. The really good news, I got his autograph. (sarcasm!)

8. My favorite number is 12. My birthday is 12/12 (this year 12/12/12....HOLLA!!) and I was my grandparents 12th grandchild.

9. I have a valid driver's license, but haven't driven a car in about 5 years!
10. The first and only time I went to a horse race, I won $120. I bet on a horse named "Love That Danielle".
11. I am half Puerto Rican and half Indian, hence my nickname, Lil Desiqua... "Desi" is a term for Indians, and -qua from Boriqua, a term for Puerto Ricans. (And Lil because I'm short!)
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1. Dr. Pepper or Coca-cola?
Hands down, Coke. I have a can of coke every single work day... it's my ish.

2. who is your celebrity crush?
Old School- George Clooney. New school- Joe Manganiello (from True Blood)

how cute is that puppy too?!

yummm.

3. what is the best book you ever read?
Really liked Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

4. what makeup item could you not live without?
I don't wear make up very often, but when I do, I love my eyeliner.

5. what is your favorite sandwich?
Thanksgiving sandwich-- roast turkey with gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. It's called the "H1" at Lenny's NYC.

6. if you were a shoe, what shoe would you be?
probably black flats- you can wear them with everything, at any time, and they're comfy.

7. what's your idea of a THE perfect saturday?
ooh tough one. any warm, sunny day that I get to hang out with my friends or C... I think BBQ's and/or game day/nights are the best.

8. are you a cat person or a dog person?
Definitely dog... they're so friendly!

puggles are my favorite! *someday*

9. who is your favorite actress?
Julia Roberts- love love her!!

10. what's your favorite flower?
Oriental lillies

11. what are your top 3 favorite movies?
Love Actually, Brown Sugar, and Up

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1. What is your biggest time suck?

2. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

3. What is the best practical joke you've played on someone?

4. What is your favorite memory?

5. Who would you want with you (living or dead) on a deserted island?

6. What do you do when you're upset?

7. What is your biggest pet peeve?

8. What is your favorite dessert?

9. What's the best present you ever received?

10. If you won the lottery, what's the first thing you would do?

11. If you won the lottery, what's the first thing you would buy?

We Gave Each Other Crabs...

...At Joe's Crab Shack!

(did that grab your attention?!!)

I really enjoy Valentine's Day. Yes, it's a little sad that we need a designated day to show our love and appreciation for others, but I'm still glad it exists. This year, C and I decided to have a low key dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, one of our favorite restaurants. (We also had a gift card for there which we were saving for such an occasion!) Usually when we go, we have to wait at least 45 minutes to get a seat, so we were expecting no less on Valentine's Day. In fact, we had a back up plan in case the wait was longer, as all restaurants (especially those that do not take reservations) usually have a super long line on this day. However, we only had to wait 15 minutes! I guess getting crabs with your lover is not the ermm... sexiest... thing to do on this special day! But we fully enjoyed it!

We also set a spend limit on our presents for each other, being that we are on "super saver" mode. So, I took to Pinterest to find a great idea. (Have I mentioned my love of that site?) I found the perfect present for my boo, and recreated it! It's called the "Just Add Ice Cream Kit." (C looooves ice cream!) See:

My version:

kit includes:

sugar cones

waffle cone cups

mini chocolate chips

mini pretzels

gummie bears

sprinkles

Reese's peanut butter syrup 

Also, for my birthday, C took me to see Wicked on Broadway. We both loved it!!! However, I saw some major differences between the book and the musical. C was curious about these differences, so I got him the book! He is about halfway through, and really likes it!! 

C with his V-Day loot- still a bit camera shy!

So I did well if I do say so myself... got him somethings he really likes/wanted, and stayed within our spending limit! He, on the other hand, did not stay in budget, but he got me something off of my wishlist and I LOVE ITTTT!!! Well, I love looking at it- I'm still a little scared to use it! And I want to try it when I have some time to work with the serum. 

My loot:

3 stuffed animals!

2 cards (he always buys 2, one funny, one serious)

chocolates

a balloon (not pictured)

and... The coveted NAKED pallet by Urban Decay!

Overall, it was a lovely Valentine's Day! How did you spend this special day?

R.I.P. Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston had so many great hits, but this was my mom's favorite song of all time. It was sad to see the media take advantage of her struggles, but no one could deny that she was an extraordinary singer. My prayers are with her family at this difficult time. 

To Sell Or Not To Sell

That is the (current) question!

I need a little advice. You see, I have 3 large shopping bags filled with used clothes. I've tried to sell at Plato's Closet, but their policy is to only take clothes sold within the last 2 years, or that will resell well. They only took 2 of my items, both of which had tags, and gave me the rest back.

What I'm wondering now is it if would be smarter to try to resell it to another consignment shop, attempt to sell on E Bay (something I've never done before), or donate to Salvation Army and get a tax refund?

What would you do?

Only Tuesday?

true story.

Sooo... I've been a little MIA in these parts. My bad. I feel like my mind is in overdrive and my "to do" list miles and miles long. But I'm trying to get it together, and when I do, I'll be back in full effect!

In other news...anyone else feel like it should be at least Thursday already??

Oh well, at least there's Zumba tonight! Woot woot!

Hope you're having a lovely day!