Other than my SUPER long rant about that-which-shall-not-be-mentioned-about-balls, I've neglected this blog.
First year teaching = less of a life than grad school. I didn't think that was possible, but it is.
But it's January, time for the oh-so-trite resolutions. Note, I still have my resolution to lose weight. I went through Christmas without gaining any, which I think is a win. So that's still there, but I've learned to do baby steps with my weight loss goals. I don't really count that as a "resolution".
One resolution I've had is to be more organized. The other is to do Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.
To do these, I knew I needed some supplies:
For my budgeting and organizing, I chose an Erin Condren planner, a cute binder (thanks Hobby Lobby!) and a bunch of Pinterest printables. I would list them all but I honestly don't remember which ones I ended up using and which I did not. They're all on this board:
So I got my binder ready, I used cardstock and my circle cutter to make tabs for financial things, for health things, and for my to do lists and grocery lists.
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Then I got Dave Ramsey's book Total Money Makeover from the library. I read it cover to cover. It was a very interesting read, actually, not at all what I expected. And it kicked. My. Butt.
Man.
I thought I was making decent financial decisions. And then Dave tells you this and tells you why this is the truth and it makes sense and it's totally a "duh, why didn't I think of that before!" kind of thing. Granted, not everything was like that, but he lays it all out, logical and without any nonsense or business-ese mumbo-jumbo.
So now I've got a budget for the first time ever (shocking, at 28, I know, but true!). I've also got envelopes with cash and I'm not allowed to use my debit card. I'm focusing with gazelle-like intensity on getting rid of my debt (the book explains that little nugget...) and it's...hard.
I mean, really, really hard. I wanted a "Do Your Job" t-shirt from the Pats pro shop (here...it's wonderful, fits great and is super soft!) so I had to sacrifice ordering lunch with my fellow teachers for the entire month. I cut my grocery budget so I could buy things for my classroom. I know I have money and I can't spend it because it's earmarked for my debt.
It sucks.
Like, a lot.
A whole lot.
But what's getting me through (other than my super-cute binder) is the idea that after next month, this debt will be gone, and by April this one will be paid off and the car is done by this and student loans will be done in two years. TWO YEARS. How many people can say that? Though I might have to stretch mine out to five because I work in a low-income, high-need area and can get some of them forgiven. But those are questions for when my Student Loans are my only debt and I can start saving for a down payment and become a homeowner.
For reals, y'all.
That's an awesome thought. But I'm not going to deny it's hard. I'm going through a lot of things right now where my prayer is just "Jesus, you take control". I've even found myself singing the line "Jesus take the wheel" whenever I get down about my singleness (not too often) or my debt issue (more often) or my weight (almost daily).
What was it that they say in The Princess Bride? Oh yeah "Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something". And that's totally true but not true. Yes, there is a lot of pain in life. Some small, some soul crushing, but it's there. I try not to let it get to me.
I usually have a sunny outlook and disposition, and really, the things that pain me are totally what you would call #1stworldproblems. But they're still problems. And that's why I'm trying to constantly say "Jesus take the wheel" because when I drive, I drive like a crazy grandma who can't stay on the road and is likely to wreck the car before I get to my destination. So it's better if someone with a little more experience and grace takes over. But that doesn't mean it's easy.
Oh no.
Not for this girl.
I am a straight-up, Monica Geller style control freak. I mean, I have a planner where I write down LITERALLY everything I have to do. From dentist appointments to making my bed to laundry. It all goes in the planner so that I have a schedule and I know what I need to do.
Yes. I am that bad. But it is helping. And being this crazy organized is helping me get through my first year of teaching (halfway there!!!!!! wohoo!!!) and it is helping with the whole budget "no you can't buy that" thing.
Why am I struggling so much? I'll tell you. My default stress things are shopping and food. I can't shop because I'm on a budget. Gizelle-like intensity and all that. And I don't want to do food because I've worked too hard to get where I am and I'm not going back.
My solution: reading, working out, cleaning, and Pinterest. Whichever one strikes me at the time. It's not perfect, because sometimes all I want to do is go to target and buy myself a cute shirt or a pair of workout shorts. But I have to tell myself "no". I'm 20 days in to the whole Total Money Makeover. I'm not used to it yet, but I hear it gets better. And easier.
Just like my TV watching. I used to have, like ten shows that I never missed. Now? Now I'm behind on Big Bang Theory (I'll catch up this summer), I have the final 5 episodes of White Collar still in the DVR ready to watch. I just caught up on Once Upon a Time over Christmas break, and I've got two episodes of Gallivant and four episodes of The Librarians chilling on the DVR. Not to mention I'm an entire season behind on two shows that I usually kind of keep up with. But I'm not dying to see them or freaking out because I don't know. I guess grad school and 1st year teaching have kind of...broken me of my TV habit. That, and a bunch of my shows ended last year (White Collar, Psych, Burn Notice).
I will be watching Sons of Liberty which I DVRed and will eventually get to. It comes on too late for me to watch it live (#teacherlife) but it looks really good. I'll review it hopefully by the end of the week.
With that being said, it's time to start gearing up for the Super Bowl. #GoPats #OnToSeattle #DoYourJob
So much awesomeness right now, with the Pats in SB49, the Bruins finally playing well, and baseball is coming soon (pitchers and catchers report 2/20!!!!) so I'm one happy sports girl right now. As long as no one brings up balls...
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