Something hit me the other day while combing through my financials. I’ve been kind of careless about money and haven’t really been watching my spending as much as I did when I lived with my parents the year after I graduated college. My only concern was saving to move out and now that I’m out, I kind of find myself kind of living paycheck to paycheck. Sure, I have a comfortable amount in savings, but if something major were to go down, I’d only be good for 3-4 months.

I’m fine when it comes to all my bills, but food is the killer. I can go the majority of the month without dining out, but when a certain time rolls around all I want is greasy food and it’s easier to make a stop as opposed to going to the grocery store. When I actually go to the store, food is so expensive especially if you want to eat healthy and if you have any special dietary needs like I do.

My plan is to comb through my January spending, then tackle a budget for February. I’ve tried spreadsheets, but I think keeping a notebook on me will work better for the first couple of months. By doing this, I’ll always have my budget at my finger tips if I need to readjust or if I need to see where I am before I stop somewhere. After I have what I spent in January and what my February goals are, I’ll post them here as another form of accountability.

I’m also going to attempt to have a weekly meal plan. I’m going to get up bright and early on Saturday morning and go grocery shopping. I normally trash the grocery store ads that are placed in my mailbox, but I’m going to make a list from the ads and from the coupons I clipped and make my rounds. I’m going to write down my different options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks with the hope that it keep me from making that stop to pick something up especially if I keep a copy in the car.

The first week of the new year has been a hellacious one. A little stressful, but I made it through. We had record low weather in the teens and I had the heat going more than usual. When I got off of work on Thursday night my heat wasn’t working. After calling emergency maintenance, I was told that based on my description of the problem, he would need to replace the fan and he didn’t have anymore after using the last one earlier in the day. After deciding between staying at a hotel or my parents house, I packed a bag and made the drive to their house and my rent will be prorated for the night I couldn’t stay here.

After arriving home after work on Friday, I discovered that the problem had been fixed but then a new one arose. I realized that my apartment was being overheated when I woke up in the middle of the night and it was 80 degrees. I switched to auto and didn’t want it to come back on unless it got to be about 67 since I run the space heater as well. When I woke up for good I called my apartment complex, but there was no answer. I knew they were going to have a resident meet and greet, so I got dress and went into the office. I was told that she would get right on the problem. This was at 11:30 a.m. At 3:30 p.m., I call back and ask what the status was on my issue. Come to find out, she hadn’t done a damn thing and according to her it’s better to have heat than none at all. What I say is not if your apartment cannot stay at one constant temperature. That’s when you start getting sick. She calls back at 4:15 and says the maintenance man would be there by 5, but I would need to be here and give him a few extra minutes because he was coming from a different city. A city that is right down the street from mine, so I’m not understanding why it took him an hour and a half to get here. Once he was in, he fixed the problem in like five minutes and was gone.

I wasted away my Saturday waiting on maintenance workers. At least the problem is fixed, but I’m probably going to have a heart attack when I get my next electric bill.

So… here we are and December 31 is here again. We are all getting together our lists of resolutions for the new year. These might be things we need to get better at, dead weight we need to lose, or things we need to stop doing. Like the rest of the world, I have my list. However, I decided to start my list early (12/21/09) because I just kind of feel like what difference does one week or one day make if I’m trying to make changes.

Care more about my health.
I have OK eating habits now. I eat fruits and vegetables regularly, but I also have strange eating patterns. Most days I average two meals a day. I’ll have breakfast before I go to work, I’ll snack during the day, then won’t another full meal until I get home from work nine hours later. Very bad, I know. I’m determined to get on track and along with this start working out regularly instead of the once or twice a week that I’ve been doing for the past couple of months. I’ve gone over my diet and exercise regime with a fine tooth comb and I think I’ve come up with a regular schedule to finally get myself in the shape I need to be in. Like I said before, I just want to be healthy and I’ve designed certain goals in my 101 in 1001 days around doing just that. So, I’ll be taking a dance class, getting involved in an organized sport, taking a martial arts class, walking, and chronicling my weight loss.

Give more men the time of day.
I haven’t had a serious relationship in almost four years. Yes, I’ve been on my share of dates. At the beginning of the year, I was close to getting into something with someone I’m still trying to shake feelings for as I type this. After exchanging numbers, chit-chatting, and going out on dates with different men, I’m right back to square one. So… in the new year, I’m going to try to be more spontaneous with my first dates. Let’s get out and do something that will make us open up like bowling, skating, and cut out the dinners and awkward conversation. Let’s do dinner when we’re both comfortable and just have a good time.

Find what I’m passionate about.
Along with some changes at work, I’ll be starting school again in the middle of January. I’m excited for this because I’ve talked about finding what I’m passionate about for some time and now I’m finally going to be able to make changes. The only thing I really need to do now is decide between two classes I’m registered and pay. I’m also going to start traveling more, do more sight-seeing, and just getting out more to participate things I’ve always wanted to do and others that I’ve put on the back burner.

Here’s to the new year!

So it seems I only write these things in the middle of the night. Nights where I take a four hour nap, then decide I should maybe get up and do something around the house. At almost 2 A.M., I’ve decided now is the time to blog.

I really need to get better at this. And I will. I’m determined to do so. But the question is probably “How are you going to hold yourself accountable?” Well, I finally started my 101 in 1001 days list and I’ve added updating and share my site URL to the list and I’m going to be using the site to talk about the progress I’ve made on the list, which can be found here.

I’ve started working on things on the list already and I’m excited to get out and try new things, meet new people, and basically see the world in the process. So… here’s to progress.

It’s been four years since I’ve been in a serious relationship and while I have no desire to talk about what went down with that, I am content with the lessons I’ve learned from my experiences. Let’s call it trial and error. I had to go through that relationship in order for my next one to be successful. But… when will my next one come along?

Yes, I know I’m probably not doing enough to meet men, but I’m kind of a traditional girl and I like to be pursued. I have no problem putting myself out there to let a guy know I’m interested. I guess my problem normally lies with guys not keeping my interest or we converse for months on end, then I hear nothing from them except a text every couple of months. What am I supposed to do with that? My answer is nothing. If you can’t make the time for constant contact, I can’t do anything for you. Sure, I might think differently in my head a couple of minutes after the phone goes off, but nope. Nothing.

I’m not in a rush to get into anything, but deep down we all want companionship. I want to love and be loved. I want to trust and be trusted. I want to cuddle. I want to kiss. I want to be exclusive. I want to be a complementary part to my equal. I want that level of intimacy where we are completely comfortable with each other and can openly share our desires. I guess it all comes in due time.