At the end of the rainbow....

This past week I've done a great job at my new cake decorating class...and finally, money management! Thanks to some good talks with my BF (the king of money management) I feel like I'm on my way. I'm a little obsessed now with Quicken Online and trying to get my spending under control. My only freak-out so far was when I looked at the analysis and was told I spent over $1300 on groceries in January!! I was shocked and VERY worried until I realized that my rent check had been itemized as groceries. OOPS!! This week I set up a separate savings account for graduate school, planned out how much I have to spend on groceries and going out and still have some left over for shoes. It's a good start...now I just need to keep it up!

Monday night is now Cake Decorating night with Heather. This week we learned about stars, writing on cakes and some squiggles. My Rainbow Cake came out pretty well, I tried to make it music themed since I was taking it to work with me to share. There is only so much cake a girl can eat! This may be totally unrelated to my resolutions but it's something I'm really enjoying.

Vacation starts tomorrow, I'm so ready! I'm planning to get back on track with running and work-outs and relax the rest of the time. I'll have some homework to do for my class but that's manageable. Maybe I'll finally tackle the guitar that's hanging on my wall....

Slacked off...

So this week I've had a cold and totally slacked off. I haven't been eating as well and haven't made it to the gym or running. So...no weight loss. Sunday starts a new week, we'll hope and work for the best!

However, I have managed to get a good jump on the book reading. I've read a few books this month, though not all qualified as literature. Elizabeth I was a great historical fiction biography (duh) and I loved that. I have a small obsession with the Tudors. I just started The Winter Prince, which is about the last monarchs in England before William and Mary, I think. Olive Kitteridge and the House of The Seven Sisters are the other books I've read. I didn't care too much for Olive and the 7 Sisters was good but a little strange.

I haven't started on the guitar playing. There's one hanging on my wall...waiting for me...

I have started a cake decorating class with my friend Heather. This weekend, a new icing recipe! SO NOT HEALTHY, but that's ok. It'll be fun. Chocolate cake, raspberry filling and white icing. Not too bad, right? Let's hope...I'll post a pic after class Monday night no matter how bad!

Off to grocery shop for this weekends parties. UFC Saturday night and Superbowl on Sunday. Thank goodness we have a conference day on Monday, I'll be in no shape for the kiddies!

Running and eating

So, I discovered yesterday that if I don't eat within a few hours of running I become a very nasty person. I bit the bf's head off yesterday when he was just trying to be cute...so not my usual thing. Today I ran before I ate a real breakfast which should help. 2 days of running in a row though, this is VERY good. I have to really push myself to make this a habit again.

On a positive note, I'm down almost 6 pounds as of this morning. I was thinking that after last week I might bounce back but I tried to still stay careful with my food, etc. I was at a benefit Friday night that could have put me over the edge but I seem to have managed that pretty well, too.

I dropped a bag of clothes off to a Goodwill box on Wednesday...1 down, 9 to go!

Budgeting is still my biggest hurdle. Today I'm calling the cable company to turn off HBO On-Demand. I figure that's a total luxury I don't need as long as I have the HBO package. (Big Love, anyone??)

Today's plan is a whole wheat apple muffin recipe that I got off the Self website. Their Healthy Bites blog has some great tips and ideas. I need some suggestions for inexpensive restaurants to try near me, we're still stuck in a rut!

Off to shower up and get moving on the rest of my day...

The first 5 milestone

I'm down 5lbs as of today!! I know I was helped along by a stomach bug this past weekend but it still counts, so I'm happy.

As for the other goals...very little progress. I did manage to get out to run on Sunday but since then, no go. Tomorrow I'm planning a trip to the gym to get back on track with that element.

I'm starting to feel like a year is a good time frame for all my goals, I just have to be patient with myself. I'm focusing on the weightloss and gym stuff right now, I have to do some more work with the budgeting. Everything else will come with time if I stay focused.

So, the graduate credits and the managing money thing do NOT work well together. I have signed up for 3 classes this coming spring which has set me back quite a bit. All 3 classes (though one doesn't start until April) need to be paid for in the next week or so...ugh. Dipping into my savings account this early on is NOT what I had hoped for. I know it will all come back eventually, but I hate the thought of it.

I'm doing well in the weight-watching department. I'm using Sparkpeople to keep track of my calorie intake and trying to just be smarter overall. I had an event this weekend that always has great food and I managed to skip dessert both days! The dinner options were limited but I made sure to have lots of the steamed veggies along with the cheese covered eggplant (so yummy!)

Back to work today...healthy lunch is packed and I'm planning a run tomorrow. It's so cold I'm having trouble getting motivated to get outside.

I'm down 2 pounds in the first week!! I cooked on Sunday for the week and picked up stuff for lunches and it seems to have worked. I'm sure some of this is also because I'm not stuffing my face at holiday parties, but I'll take it.

Now, I have a choral event this Friday and Saturday that usually provides a TON of food. I have to plan ahead and make sure that I'm able to choose well and eat without negating all the good stuff I've done this week!

My other resolutions...I'm at 1 new recipe, 2 pounds down and that's about it. I also have a bag started for donation that I'm hoping to fill and get out of the apt this Sunday. Maybe I'll get started on the guitar stuff while I'm doing laundry this weekend, too.

Off to a good start...

2 recipes planned for today...only one new one

So, roasted brussel sprouts tasted ok...but my very small apartment smelled awful! It took two days, scented candles and ceiling fans to help that disappear. I'd have opened the windows but it's windy and cold here!

Today's plan....Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon and a pot of turkey chili to have later on in the week. Cooking is my person yoga on days like this. I'm trying not to think about the fact that I have to go back to work tomorrow after a week of vacation. Most of the time I really like my job but going back is never easy!

I've also looked up a few quick and easy lunches to bring this week to help kick-start my weight loss plan. I'm using meals from Self.com this week. Their chicken mango wrap sounds yummy!