Oops I did it again

10 points if you caught the Britney reference in the title.

Anyway, this post isn't about Britney Spears, but rather it's about my NEW BLOG. Yes, yet another blog. However, this time? I have my own domain and everything. It's still in it's infancy, but I'm pretty excited about it. It feels so official! And grown-up!

So, without further ado, if you feel the need to read my ramblings about running, yoga pants, personal finance and life in general, head on over to Yoga Pants Life. And if you don't (there's, like, only a handful of you anyway) that's cool.

Peace out!

Evolution of house sitting

I'm house sitting for the next two weeks and as I was doing dishes/taking out the trash/contemplating getting to bed at a decent hour because I have to work tomorrow, I couldn't help but laugh at the difference between house sitting in my 20s and in my 30s.

House sitting before the age of 21: OMG! Who can we invite over?! Who will buy alcohol?! Alcohol! Alcohol! Whoo!!!! Will I make out with anyone tonight?! OMG!!!!! Corona! Pineapple rum!!!! Yay! Drinky is fun!!!!! ... OMG...my head is pounding...I can't get out of bed, much less make the bed, or do any chores. Feeding the cats/dogs and keeping copious amounts of vomit restricted to the toilet bowl is as advanced as it gets...I might be able to hold pizza down...thank God they have cable! I miss cable! Also, thank God they left me a bit of cash because my checking account has 10 cents left in it and it has to last me two more weeks.

House sitting in your 20s: Yay! Alcohol! Drinking at all hours without judgement! Yay! They have HBO! Must watch Sex and the City! Cuddle with cute animals! Drink! Who can I have over?! Hope I can remember to get mail and take out trash! Whoo-hoo! Adult house (vs college apartment or crappy post-college apartment) Whoo!!!!!! They left me cash for pizza (and alcohol...which, I bought myself, thankyouverymuch) !!!! Whoo!!!!! Hot tub! Whoo!!!!! I'm so sophisticated and grown-up!!

House sitting in your 30s: Will the animals be ok if I don't get home from work until 8:00? They left me money, but I feel so guilty taking it. I'll be sure to add it to my savings account. Maybe I'll treat myself to a pizza, but will most likely raid the fridge and eat a balanced meal instead. I should really take this time to read and exercise and contemplate life. Feed animals right after taking out the trash and getting the mail. Made bed first thing this morning. Maybe I'll watch some House Hunters on HGTV and treat myself to a glass of wine after a nice long walk. I should really pack my lunch and get ready for work tomorrow. Let me make sure everything is extra-clean...wouldn't want anyone coming home to a messy house! So glad I get to come home to a quiet, empty house!

Yeah, the days of drinking myself silly and inviting people over to go in the hot tub are clearly over. I'm so, SO ready for my AARP card and senior discount. I guess there's no denying I'm finally an adult.

It's safe to say the other shoe dropped...

Today marks the start of my last week of being 33. It also marks the start of my last week in my early 30s. As of next Sunday, I will officially cross the threshold into my mid-thirties...and I'm not happy about it. At all. This feels much worse than turning 30. So much worse. I'd gladly turn 30 a hundred times over to not feel the way I feel now.

Turning 30 wasn't actually so bad, most likely because I was in the middle of moving and about to start a new job. I spent all of 29 dreading 30, but the day passed without sadness or tears. Basically, I spent a whole year in misery over something that wasn't a big deal at all. 31 came...then 32 and I was mostly fine. Sure, I wasn't where I thought I'd be, but thanks to a fairly severe bout of depression in my late 20s, anything was better. I don't think I was thrilled over 33, but I had an awesome birthday week so I'm not sure I really noticed (this birthday isn't panning out quite as nicely - you win some, you lose some.) The rest of the year was a bit of a roller coaster ride (when is life not one big, giant roller coaster?) but it had more ups than downs and I'm thankful for that.

33 was the year I finally feel like I got my shit together (for the most part, anyway.) Yes, my career is a hot mess, but I finally figured out that I'll likely never be fulfilled by my career and early retirement is my ultimate goal - my job is just something I have to do to bide my time and save as much money as possible. I left a part-time job that was no longer healthy for me and my full-time job, while not my dream job, is stable and I'm lucky that 89% of my coworkers are awesome. I'm also incredibly lucky to have great benefits (even if the pay blows for the uber-high cost of living in the area.) I like what I do and don't mind doing it every day (even if I'm sometimes bored and frustrated by it.) 

33 is also the year I finally got my financial shit together. I've been consistently saving for retirement since I was 22 and am now contributing roughly 12% of my income. I'm finally at the point where my passive income (aka, interest and dividends) is upwards of $500 per month. Not to shabby at a time where the stock market is behaving like an unpredictable, possessed toddler. I also finally started contributing 15-20% of my income into my emergency fund and I sleep so much better at night because of it. I should have 3.5-4 months of expenses saved by the end of March - this is a number I never imagined I could hit a few years ago. If I keep going at this rate, I'll hopefully have enough saved to buy a certified, pre-owned Camry in cold hard cash in the next year or two and still have a full 6-12 month emergency fund (I'll have to post about my love for the Toyota Camry soon) I'm also hoping to have a good chunk of student loan debt gone as well.

I also got to take an amazing road-trip with my sister before she moved half-way across the world. While I will likely always be a California girl, and, more specifically, a Central Coast girl, the road trip opened up a world of possibility. I never saw myself EVER living in any of the southern states, but the trip showed me that I totally could and the Central Coast of California isn't the only awesome place to be. I'm not sure what the future holds, but now that my bank account is more padded, I feel good about following my heart/dreams to another place, if need be.

I also adopted two kitties and while they are kind of assholes right now (cuddly, super-cute assholes) with their nocturnal playtimes and furniture wrecking abilities, they make me so, SO happy. It's so hard to be sad or angry when they're around. I love them so much it hurts to leave them to go to work (yes, I am a crazy cat lady, in case you were wondering.) They make me so happy.

So, yeah, 33 was pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty darn good - better than I've experienced in a long time. Given that the first few years of my 30s were good (note to late 20-somethings - you don't wake up with a boatload of wrinkles and grey hair on your 30th birthday) you wouldn't think that 34 would be a struggle. However, I've spent the last few years waiting for the other shoe to drop...and it's safe to say it finally did.

Yes, I have some awesome things planned (Chicago Marathon and saving more money, just to name a few) and I know I'm not going to wake up all haggard with my AARP card and a cane in hand come Sunday morning, but I'm still having a hard time and I'm not sure how to shake it. I guess as much as life improved in my early 30s, it's hard not to feel like things are still missing and sometimes I wonder when it gets easier - seriously...is it my turn to have things fall into place? When can I expect life to throw me a bone? I also wonder when I'll finally start feeling like an adult. Sigh.

All I can say is thank God kids aren't really a factor for me (I'm 95% sure I don't want any) because I'd really be in the middle of  breakdown if that was the case (in addition to my career being a hot mess, my non-existent love life is also what I consider to be a hot mess...is there a status on FB for that?)  Even so, I'm still struggling with this transition and wouldn't mind staying 33 for a few more years.

I'm hoping that I don't have any major life changes this year because I really don't want to derail marathon training or my emergency fund momentum...but who knows what the future holds? I guess it's time to put the other shoe away, because I really, REALLY hate clutter (this may be the dumbest, cheesiest thing I've EVER posted. I'm honest-to-God judging myself right now.) 

Monthly Update

(Is it just me, or does 'monthly update' sound like I'm talking about shark week/special lady time? Fear not, this is not a post about my lady parts...and I don't think you'll ever see that on my blog...but I really couldn't think of another title.) 

January is over and I can't say I'm sad to see it go. I have a myriad of reasons that I dislike January, but that's a post for another time. But, while it may not have been the best month for me, it wasn't too bad and there are a few lot of things I'm actually happy about.

First things first, I have two new kitties in my life and they make me so, SO happy. I've been a crazy cat lady without cats for the past year and a half and I was so ready to care for another animal, but the timing was never right. I was visiting a friend on Christmas Eve and their friends foster kitties and they had two brothers that needed a home...everything fell into place and we drove to LA a few days later to pick them up and the rest is history.

It's been a bit of an adjustment, but overall it's been awesome to get to know them and their personalities. They are wild, playful, social and cuddly, often all four in a five minute time span. Sometimes they get into trouble (you know, jumping on the dining room table, kitchen counters, etc...they are kittens, after all) but it's hard to get mad at these faces. I mean, really...

I have dozens of pictures of them, but I'm too lazy to upload them at the moment...and it would totally cut into my kitty snuggle time. I'm pretty sure my heart explodes every time I see them. I miss them during the day when I'm at work. Seriously, they are awesome and they get along so well with each other  (how much do you want to bet I'm going to walk thru my front door and find a tornado of cat toys in the entryway and various things knocked over throughout the house?...and spend most of my night watching them pounce on each other?)

In order to keep this post at a somewhat reasonable length and to keep it from getting too choppy, I'm just going to bullet point the rest.

Money: I didn't track my spending this month, but I'd give myself a "B" in the 'spending money' category. I didn't make any major purchases and I kept most of my spending down. I opted to eat leftovers more often than not and I was fairly good about using up stuff in the fridge and pantry. That being said, I spent way more than I should have going out to lunch and buying coffee. I mean, nothing unreasonable or anything...but I got really lazy in this area and it needs to stop.

While my spending habits still need work, I did manage to save 15% of my take home pay in my emergency fund. That's huge for me. HUGE!!!! (note: this does not include retirement/investment funds...this is just a good, old-fashioned savings account.) I was close to 20% at one point, but I miscalculated a due date for a bill and needed to take a bit out to cover it.

Realistically, I'm not sure it's reasonable to save more than 25% on my current (modest...very, very modest) salary while still paying down loans and paying rent/bills and such - I hope to hit that savings rate in the next couple of months.

So far, February is shaping up well money-wise - I got my tax refund today and promptly put 85% of it into the emergency fund. The other 15% is going towards a few minor splurges and general living stuff (if you can call a Trader Joe's run a splurge.)  I keep logging into my bank account to look at the number because it makes me happy and I've never hit that number before in my adult life (sad but true...I'm good at saving for retirement...not so much for the near future.) I've also recommitted myself to tracking all my spending. I find that when I have to write it down (even though nobody but me sees it) I'm much less likely to purchase things...I hate seeing a diary of my wasteful spending habits.

Weight: UGH!!!!! I gained 12 pounds over the holidays (likely from a lot of sugar and booze...followed by more sugar and booze) and I'm a solid 20 pounds from my lowest post-college weight. I generally don't make a habit of weighing myself (another post for another time) and I've been maintaining within the same 5 pounds for a few years, but I couldn't deny the fact that my pants were getting really, really tight and I felt like I had multiple chins...so I finally bit the bullet January 4th and checked the damage on the scale. OUCH!

If I'm being honest, I'm kind of upset about it because I swore I'd never let myself get heavy again (I was overweight/obese from 2007-2010 and it was super uncomfortable and generally awful.) Thankfully, I'm still 30 pounds lower than my highest known adult weight, so it could have been a lot worse...but I've definitely noticed a difference in how I feel (bloated and beefy with a sore knee) and I hate it. Yes, me wanting to lose weight is vain...but it's also for my own health.

I've been working out more and trying to get the food stuff under control (it's less of a stuffing my face thing and more of an 'eating all the junk' thing.) While it came on quickly, it's not leaving quite as fast. I lost 5 pounds in January...but I have a lot to go, especially since I want to be somewhat lean for marathon training (that's going to require a lot more discipline on my part) but I really just want to at least get back to my October weight.

Running: Slowly, but surely getting back into it. I booked my hotel for Chicago and word is getting out that I'm running a marathon. I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing - running 26.2 miles is hard. Really, really hard and I'm doubting my ability to do it again. But I also have days where I'm so excited to take on the challenge and less nervous. It's still 8 months away, so I've got time.

So, I think that concludes my monthly blog update :-)  Y'all know I don't generally like to set goals/commit to things, so I'm not sure what my plans are for February. I'd love to see if I could save $1000 this month (between a bit of overtime and my usual deposit every paycheck, it may very well happen) and get more of this annoying weight off. Oh, and maybe blog more...but we all know how that's gonna go.

Stay tuned, my dear readers (all three of you!)

Resolutioning and stuff

It's New Year's Day, which means two things. First, I have another 365 glorious days until my least favorite 'holiday,' NYE rolls around (gotta love leap year.) Second, it's time to start thinking about what I want to accomplish this year. I hate resolutions, I really do...for many reasons...one of them being that you shouldn't have an arbitrary start date to be a better, healthier, self-aware person. You can (and should) make the decision to change just as easily on July 23rd as you can on January 1st. Additionally, I'm personally a free-spirited Pisces (who happens to love organization and her label maker) concrete plans/goals/resolutions freak me out. I don't like the pressure and life rarely turns out as planned. Better to be prepared for that than hung up on a silly goal.

Last year I don't think I made any resolutions...I just wanted to 'coast'....and I think I did okay with it. It was a really rough year career-wise (seriously, quitting my part-time job was worse than any breakup I've been through. It was awful...but it was also a really good decision. I'm happier and have a lot more free time.) but everything else was fine. 2015 was not wonderful/fabulous, but much better than other years I've experienced and I'm grateful for that. There were a few highs and a few lows, but overall, nothing that left me wanting to give the proverbial middle finger to the year. Nobody in my family died or had major health/life issues, so really, quite the blessing if you ask me.

I didn't particularly want to make any resolutions this year, because my 'free-spirit' doesn't like being tied down with a bunch of plans/goals that I'll go crazy trying to reach...or give up on by January 13th. I mean, I do have things I want to accomplish, but for now, I'm sticking with three big goals for the year and I think that by hopefully achieving those goals, I'll achieve all the smaller things I want to accomplish as well.

The first goal is to save $10,000 in my emergency/rainy day fund. It's a tall order on my salary (it's nearly a third of my take-home pay for the year) and I'm not including contributions to retirement or investment accounts in this goal. Nor does this include the money I need to save for my trip to Chicago in October (more on this in a minute.) I originally wanted to save an additional 10k over what I already have in the fund, but I decided that was truly, realistically out of reach. I'm a little over 20% there right now and hopefully careful, mindful spending will take me the rest of the way. I've never been good with short-term savings...long-term/retirement is fine, but short-term isn't. Hopefully that will change this year.

The second goal is to run the Chicago Marathon...and not just finish, but race it to the best of my ability. I know qualifying for Boston is likely out of my reach, but I'm determined to finish around 4 hours. While that may be slow for some, it's a long way from the 14 minute miles I was slogging through a few years ago. While I've been running consistently since fall of 2009, I've been struggling the last few years. I think I finally have a handle on things again and while I've felt that way on an off over the years, this time feels different. I'm so, so excited to run and have fun - I can't wait for October. Also, I think that by seriously training for this, I'll naturally gravitate towards treating my body better. While I don't have specific weight loss goals, I want to nourish my body and really take good care of myself so I'm ready for October. I think it will all naturally fall into place in the coming months.

Finally, the third goal is to spend more time with friends and family. I have a pretty small 'inner-circle' if you will and they are all amazing. However, between working two jobs and a long commute, I found myself wanting to stay at home and be a hermit more often than not. Even after quitting the part-time job, I still find myself wanting to stay at home. Like, sure I'll venture to the gym on the weekends, but that's about it. I will probably always be a homebody and I don't see anything wrong with it. Some people 'recharge' and get their energy from spending time with people and doing activities. I 'recharge' by sleeping in, reading, running and spending lots of quality alone time at home. However, I think I've been a little too anti-social this year and while I will probably always be an introvert, I need to say 'yes' a bit more and spend time with the people I love.

So, there you have it. My grand plans for 2016. I feel like such a cheeseball posting this, but it's on my mind, so I'm rolling with it.