I'm 30!!!!

Yep, yesterday was my 30th Birthday. I spent the evening with my family being buried under little girls. No really, I had one on each leg and they would fight over who got to sit by me and hand me gifts. So adorable. Love them!

I received some great stuff. From my godmother I got a picture frame that is also a jewelry box, I can't wait to hang it up and put my jewelry in it, so I don't LOSE the stuff anymore >_< It also has a great place for necklaces, which seemed to be my problem with finding a good box; I couldn't find one that would hold necklaces WELL.

My nieces each bought me a pair of fleece PJ pants in the cutest colors ever! I got a kind of camo-pink, then one plack with colorful stripes and one that's light blue with dark blue and white clouds. They're going to be great to sleep in!

From my parents I got ... well a cruise to the Bahamas and Kennedy Space Center. The cruise will be March 6th for one week. I am also attempting to loose 10-20 lbs in that time. I've given up wheat and junk food. I'm also eating breakfast, a small snack, Lunch, a small snack and dinner, and a small snack, or well I'm attempting to anyway. I think I can do it! Almost 2 weeks down, and 3 to go.


I have decided that this year of being 30 a year for positive change. I'm going to start with my mind set and move onto the physical. I'm going to stop saying "I'm sick" all the time when all I have is the sniffles or allergies. Now, I do suffer from allergies, but I don't need to complain about it constantly. With not doing that, I think that will help with me not actually GETTING sick. It's been scientifically proven that positive thinking actually does keep people from feeling sick or depressed. So I'm going to take this approach.

Next, I will no longer say "I'm Poor." The fact is, I'm not poor; I might be broke, or have limited funds, but I'm not "poor". I'm starting to feel by me saying "I'm poor" so often, it dishonors people who work hard and who are ACTUALLY poor, or who are poor through governmental influences (or lack there of). I think focusing on the positive, realizing that I have a lot of stuff, more stuff than I know what to do with, stuff that I can pack up and give to Good Will, keeps me from actually being "poor".

And finally I will try to always look for the positive in all situations. Someone's being a jerk, I'll look at the positive, maybe not at the time, but after a few hours of calming down, I'll try to see what I can take away from that confrontation. Something happens financially, I will again look at the positive, like the fact I have friends and family who love me, and if I was truly in a bad spot I know they would all help. I will do my best to find the silver lining in all situations even if it means reminding myself that others are worse off than I am, and therefore, I can make it through whatever problems I might face.

From there, once I get my mind set to the positive, I will work on body. There's always stuff people don't like about their bod, I think everyone has something they don't like. Well, rather than complain, I'm going to work hard to fix it. I have wanted a nose job since I was in 7th grade, I believe I will save up for one, and in the mean time, I will work on getting toned. Arms, bum, and thighs are really the areas that I feel could use some toning. I think in doing that it will really help me get to a place I want to be, and then I can get my nose job.

For two weeks I've been dieting and to be honest, I feel really good. I don't feel hungry and I don't feel the need to eat a lot of junk. I'm also not snacking while sitting watching TV or being on the computer at night like I used to. I don't even feel the NEED to. Not to mention all the money I'm saving NOT buying fast food.

This is my goal.

I will do it!

Day 23

So the other day Lindsay said to me, "Update your blog rather than sleeping" and I said, "OK" then went to do so... only... for some reason it's not here now. Strange?

I totally forget what I wrote...

Today I spent the day doing laundry and cleaning. I cleaned my kitchen and living room. Next weekend I'm going to paint, with the help of my mother, both the kitchen and my living room. My issue is I'm not sure what colors to use. Originally I was going to paint the kitchen red, now I'm thinking of doing one accent wall which is behind the sink almost like a back splash, in red, and the rest of toffey type color. Then in the living room I will do a sage type green, or a darker mint green, I'm not sure which yet. We'll see.

I need slip covers for my furniture, or just new furniture. Maybe I can see what the Pit at Bob's has... My recliners are on their last legs, so to speak and while I like the size of my couch I don't like the colors at all. I really want to do a light green and brown living room...

Anyway, The point is, I have 2 full garbage bags of clothes for good will and two full garbage bags of ...well... garbage. Downsizing has begun!

Day 15 - HUGE PURCHASE

Mom continues to plug away at the boxes. I'm actually very proud of her. Some of it has been very difficult, but she has emptied a total of 8 boxes. I myself have... emptied none of the drawers in my apartment and instead, sadly have added to them.

... I know, I fail. I'm ashamed.

I have however cleaned two rooms and will start on my bathroom tomorrow. Deep cleaning at it's best.

So I'm wondering, does buying a new car negate the fact I'm trying to downsize? I did go fro ma 2 door to a 4 door...

*sigh*

Though really, after SIX MONTHS of looking and researching and speaking to car dealers, I got my car at a good price. My trade in was INSULTING, but I'm going to take it so I don't have to deal with the hassle of trying to sell. Though, I'm going to try to see what Carmax will give me. They're in Hartford, so next week I'll go up there. Then if they don't get me a better deal, the Hyundai Dealer can have it.

... My poor Lucian!! He was a magnificent car and will be missed.

Dreaming

Mom spent the snow day cleaning out a few more boxes. Some stuff she's looking to sell on Ebay, but she'll have to write more about that in the comments, other stuff we're getting rid of and some stuff tossing as trash. It's strange when going through boxes like this, some things you don't want, but don't want to give to Goodwill either... then what do you do with it?

Example: I have a unicorn jewelry box, I don't want it, but I don't want to just... get rid of it. I like it, it's part of my child hood and has a meaning to me. Should I keep it? Box it up for if I have a little girl? I dunno... Some things I'm giving to various family member, but a few things I don't want to do that with...

Then there was some stuff from highschool which honestly, I don't need at ALL and yet I feel guilty for getting rid of it... silly.

I had a dream I was vacationing in another country with R and we were wandering through a downtown fair of some kind. There was a clothing shop that had beautiful hand dyed fabrics and clothing. I tried on a dress, but said to R that I couldn't purchase it due to my goal of not purchasing any new clothing for the year. I did, however, end up buying a shirt. In the dream it was a baby doll, black t-shirt (which is what I wore to bed last night), so I can't imagine why I would purchase that, when I could have purchased a beautiful hand dyed dress... I told R, when she raised an eyebrow at the purchase (She knew I wasn't supposed to buy anything), that it didn't count because I was on vacation.

I woke up feeling incredibly guilty. Does this count? Did I fail my mission? Curse you subconscious!

Day 11: Another box down

What's that make, 5?


So mom took out the two cabbage patch dolls that I'd put in the Goodwill pile. She just "couldn't do it" Then I have some small boxes of things that I have no idea what to do with. Goodwill will throw them away, but I just can't add to the trash already in the world. They're mostly keychains and little things like that that i've collected over the years.

Now I'm trying to write this and she's bugging me about what else we can toss or keep. 99% of the stuff, can GO. AWAY! Mom's trying though. She's doing good.

Day 10: Weekend Cleaning

I've decided to start by cleaning up the living space first, then I'll pick a room, empty the drawers and try to figure out what I'm going to do with all the crap that's in them. Some stuff, obviously, will be tossed, other stuff will be kept. I'm going to attempt to NOT do the "let's just shuffle it from room to room" thing, and actually find good places to put things.

My kitchen, at this point, is completely clean, dishes washed (not put away, I'd washed them before bed and they weren't completely dry yet), counters cleaned off, kitchen table cleaned off and I Soft Scrubbed the counters and stove. I do need to mop and vacuum the rug my kitchen table is sitting on, but other than those two things, the kitchen is clean. Next kitchen task will be to empty the cabinets and drawers of their stuff and find places for them.

The living room is mostly clean, and completely vacuumed. I [kind of] rearranged furniture, in I moved it down a little bit. I need to move the entertainment center over toward the wall so that it's centered to the couch. I DO rather wish I could take the side of the entertainment center that holds all the nick-nacks and move it to the OTHER side, because I like the location of the TV, but I don't think it works that way, so It'll just have to be moved down a foot.

Once all that is finished, on to the drawers.

Next room to tackle... the Bathroom (bumbumbuuuuum) I think I need to get rid of some towels, and there's a box that's been in the bathroom for 3 years. I've no idea what's in it, but I'm thinking I could probably get rid of the stuff that's in the box...

Day Six - Do accessories count?

Are socks accessories or clothing? I'm thinking clothing

How about scarves? When you go to NYC you can get those scarves super cheap, like 3 for $10 or something, and they're always so soft and so warm. Do those count? I want a few of them to wear when I'm not wearing turtle neck sweaters.

How about gloves? Actually I have gloves. So never mind on that.

See!? Now that I CAN'T buy things I find things I WANT to buy. It's only day 6.

Mom on the other hand is doing well. I don't think she's even tempted to buy anything. Now I walk into a store and all the clothes are mocking me. Like in "Confessions of a Shopaholic" where she walks past the windows and the mannequins are tapping on the glass and pointing to what they have trying to tempt her. I feel as if I've walked into that movie and that's me they're trying to tempt.

I shall be strong.