3rd post in less than 12 hours...

I really should stop and think before I hit "publish post". I should ask myself, "KelsaLynn, is there anything else you should add to this?"

But I don't.

I just add a new post whenever I think of something new to blog about. Like right now. I bring you- January's budget.

Our first budget of 2010! The only problem? It looks like every other month before! Because of the upcoming move, we're not really changing anything budget-wise and just plan to cash flow our security deposit, new rent, application fee, etc. See for yourself-

We're anticipating a less-than-normal income in January due to the holidays this week and Michael not getting paid when the office is closed. We expect his first pay check to be less than it typically is but like the past two checks, it may come in more and that'd be ok!

The "Plan B" is any unused cash that is currently earmarked for moving will go into a retirement account once things settle down a bit (probably March).

What does your budget look like for January?

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

Read more...

Workout and credit score

Really quick-

Did the LEGS workout from the FITR website today and it was great!

6 rounds of 8 reps each of back squats, kettlebell swings, and 100ft lunges.

Here are my weights for each round of the squats:
1- Bodyweight- warming up
2- 45# bar only
3- 45# bar only
4- 65#
5- 65#
6- 95#

Kettlebell swings- I used a 35# dumbbell for each round.
Lunges- after the 3rd round of 100ft lunges, my legs were noodles! But I loved it!

Great workout!

Every month, I update my credit score for free using credit karma. The idea is that companies advertise on here so the website gets you your credit score for free. It sends me an email reminder monthly when it's time to update it.

I've always had an excellent credit score and I admit, I always thought that was important. That was until I met Dave Ramsey and now that we don't borrow money, I anticipated that our credit score would drop. It's funny because a lot of people get out of debt and then they are miraculously deemed "not as worthy to have debt." It's such a paradox of what actually makes sense- the more debt you have (and manage well) the better your score is. You could make tons of money, pay cash for everything, then want to get a mortgage on a home and have a bad score. It makes no sense to me.

I digress, sorry... like I was saying, I was expecting it to drop.

At the end of September, my credit score was 773. Very good.
In September, we paid off the last of our debt! We became debt free! Wahoo!
My prize?
My credit score in October was 754. It was higher when we owed $60K in student loans and a car loan.

Granted 754 is still good, I'm not complaining and frankly, I don't care since I don't plan to borrow money anytime soon. It just peeves me that this is the system by which so many people and companies hang their hat. What a screwed up way of thinking.

Soapbox over.

Read more...

Logistics

This week I've been having a lot of fun "shopping" online for a new apartment. If you recall, our current lease ends at the end of February already- that means we've lived in AZ for 2 years! Wow! How time flies!

When we first signed our lease two years ago, housing wasn't like it is now. Now, there's rental properties on every block! Also, when we signed this lease, we did so from 2,000 miles away and we had very little time to evaluate our options. Taking into account all of this stuff, we were hoping the current landlords would come down on rent a little bit. Two years ago, $1200 for our place was fair, but now, you can get a newer/nicer/bigger space for that much! Plus, we've always paid our rent early, we have very few maintenance requests, and we take good care of the place. We're the perfect tenants!

However, they came back and said they were only willing to reduce our rent $25/month.

Umm... no thanks. Not good enough.

That's okay, I've never lived in a house or apartment for longer than 2 years! That's kind of crazy to me... if we had stayed, it would have been the longest we've ever lived in one place.

Since our current lease ends at the end of February, I'd like to sign a new lease to start on February 1st so we have the whole month to move. That means we only have 1 month to find a place! Again- how time flies!

Of course, moving requires money. It means we'll need a security deposit, application fee, pet deposit, two rents during the month of February, etc. Not to mention movers because after having movers for the last move, I realize just how much they are worth every penny!

As you may or may not know, after Baby Step 3 (our Emergency Fund) is complete (which it is), we should move onto Baby Step 4- which is putting 15% of your income into retirement.

15% of our income translates to a monthly contribution of $1,309 or $15,705 for the year.

I've had my BS4 calculations and spreadsheet done for months in anticipation of finally arriving to this step. Now that I'm here, $1,309 per month does not seem all that bad. I already figured out that we'll have $3,366 "extra" each month after our typical expenses.

My plan right now is to cash flow the moving expenses in January. If we keep our rent the same ($1200) and we have to pay that much of a deposit plus first month's rent plus application fees and whatever else, we're looking at close to $3,000. Therefore, I don't plan to contribute anything to our retirement accounts in January and will begin Baby Step 4 in February. 

The way I figure it, we can always "catch-up" by contributing more later in the year when we don't have a huge transition over our heads. As long as I contribute $15,705 in 2010, I'll consider it a success! (of course, I will adjust this throughout the year if/when our pay changes)

I also have a million "mini-savings goals" to finalize soon! You'll be seeing some information added to my blog layout somewhere so I can keep track of these goals throughout the year. Boy, I've got a lot to figure out... juggling multiple financial goals is something I'll definitely need to get accustomed to.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

(Sorry, as you can tell, this blog is a lot of me organizing my thoughts, "talking" things out, and formalizing the plan in my head by writing it down somewhere... unfortunately for you blog reader, that means you're stuck with it!)

Read more...

Guess what I did today?

I worked out!

Wahoo! I made it to the gym and actually performed physical activity!

And yes, I feel the need to announce it these days since it's only happening once or twice each week lately.

Here's what I did:
2 sets of 12 reps each:
   Barbell bench press (45#- probably could have done a bit more weight)
   Modified push-ups

   Barbell shoulder press (30#- probably good starting weight)
   Handstand push-ups (slightly modified, feet on Smith machine)

   Exercise ball push-ups (modified)

Let me say that push-ups suck. Or maybe I should say I suck at push-ups. Modified handstand push-ups are easier for me than modified regular push-ups.

After the "push" upper body workout above, I did half of the HIIT workout from today.
wallballs 50 seconds
rest 20 seconds
burpees 50 seconds
rest 20 seconds
jumping rope 50 seconds
rest 20 seconds

I did that 2 times through before ending to use the bathroom : P  It was a good workout! I liked it a lot!

The in-laws are still here until Saturday...

KelsaLynn

Read more...

Merry Christmas

...from California!

We arrived around 2:15 AM on Thursday morning. I'm so glad we decided to drive late at night after work on Wednesday. There was very little traffic and although it was long, it was painless.

We've been having a lot of fun since we arrived... spent the first day walking around Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.

Here's a picture of brain suckers starving... we found these funny plants and stood just so the picture would like it was coming out of our heads.

Here's just an idea of what we've been soaking up since we arrived:

On Thursday night, we went to Saddleback Church, which apparently famous, but I had never heard of it. We attended their candlelight service and it was really quite amazing. There were thousands of people there!

Today we woke up and exchanged gifts... I have to say, going an entire year without really buying yourself anything makes Christmas so much more enjoyable! I love all the gifts I received. In fact, I don't even have a "favorite" gift because I am thrilled for a lot of them--- 1) The Holiday movie (love it!), 2) Tori Spelling's first book, 3) a CrossFit Newport Beach shirt (yay!), 4) baking dishes, 5) some new wind pants, 6) The Limited gift card, and the list goes on and on...

I'm a lucky gal!

After we unwrapped gifts, we drove down to West Hollywood- saw the sign (of course) but otherwise, we weren't too impressed with it. Then we went to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive... again, very nice, but a lot like Chicago. All the stores were closed along Rodeo Drive which is just fine with me b/c I can't afford any of that crap anyway...nor do I even care to. It was still PACKED with PEOPLE and the window displays were still amazing to see!

Tomorrow, we're going whale watching! I'm so excited!

See ya'll on the flip side...
KelsaLynn

Read more...

Cha-Ching!

It's official- Baby Step 3- our Fully Funded Emergency Fund- is COMPLETE!

Michael's check was more than expected... if you recall, he had jury duty and didn't get paid for it so we really had no idea what his check would be this week. I budgeted for an amount LESS than I really hoped it would come in at, but I'd rather have it be more than planned than less.

Even without this, though, we would have been able to fund our Emergency Savings.

TOTAL SAVED = $12,663

100%

Luckily his check was slightly more though because we decided to pay $57 for an oil change yesterday. We have it budgeted for the first week of January, but we decided it was wise to get it before our trip to California, since it's a 6-hour drive.

The newest thing we're dealing with now is our housing situation.
1. Our home in Michigan- we're proposing a land contract or lease with option to buy contract to the tenants. We'll see how this goes...
2. Our current landlord in our AZ rental is not willing to decrease rent more than $25/month when our lease comes up in February. This is a joke because other rentals the same size in our subdivision are going for $200/month less. So, looks like we'll be moving! We have a few weeks in January planned to go look at some places.

I just hate when things are up in the air. Honestly, the whole renting thing only bothers me when it comes time to the end of lease inspection. I have this fear that the owners are going to be completely crazy and try charging us for stuff that was there when we moved in. I could totally see these owners doing that too. So I get paranoid because I have very little control over it and I don't like that feeling.

We leave tonight for California and I can't wait! We won't get there until 2 am or later, but it will be nice to have all day tomorrow to hang out as opposed to it being a travel day. I hope everyone has a nice weekend and wonderful Christmas!

Read more...

I worked out! I worked out!

yes, I'm screaming from the roof tops- I worked out this morning!

Wahoo!

I'm proud of myself because I've been seriously lacking routine since Thanksgiving so my workouts have been sporadic. I did Michael's leg workout from the 16th. I'm about a week behind! LOL! I really want to start doing his workouts more religiously because so far, I've enjoyed them all, but again, I'm lacking routine so getting to the gym is tough.

The workout called for:
6 rounds of 8 reps each-
+overhead squat (no weight, just tried to use and maintain perfect form)
+one-legged deadlift- probably my FAVORITIST exercise right now, I just love it!
+Step ups

I used a 20# dumbbell for the one legged squats and after 3 rounds, it was definitely tough. 

We leave tomorrow evening or Thursday morning for California until Sunday. I probably won't blog a whole lot during that time.  Well, I take that back because I will very likely fund our Emergency Savings to 100% this weekend so I'll update when that happens!

Until then,
Kelsalynn

Read more...

Spending Issues

I realized over the past two days that I have an issue spending money.

I know that sounds weird, but it's true.

We've gone over budget on Christmas gifts. We bought one extra item for his sister, two extra gifts for his parents, etc. His parents also brought gifts from other family members who we were not planning on exchanging gifts with so we also purchased them gifts (and his parents will take them back for us). It's not a lot of money in all, the total comes to $100.44.

We received money from relatives as a Christmas gift, so going over on our gift budget has not impacted our ability to save our Emergency Fund by month end. Nothing has changed except we took some extra cash we received unexpectedly and spent it.

So how come I'm having such a hard time with it?
How come I feel so guilty for spending this money?

I'm naturally a saver. I would much rather save money than spend it. I have been beating myself up for what I thought was disappointment toward our impulsive behavior, but I've realized that's not the problem. It has nothing to do with "having the money" or "not having the money", "having it budgeted" or "not having it budgeted"... nor does it have anything to do with what we spent the money on. In fact, I love the fact that we were able to buy family members a little extra!

It's because I am one of the most indecisive people ever (seriously, ask my husband) and when I spend money, I think about the other things we could do with it. Even if it's something I "want", I think, "Am I sure I don't want X more?"

This coming year will be a challenge for me as we try to pay for all the things we've been putting off. I need to learn to balance "wants" with "needs" and "spending" versus "saving." Even harder, I have to learn to prioritize my "wants" and be more decisive about them. We're at a point where spending is an option but I have to feel right about it.

I'm probably in the minority in my preference to save rather than spend, but I wonder...

Do you get buyer's remorse?

Is it easy for you to spend money on yourself? Others?

How do you decide what to spend your money on?

KelsaLynn

Read more...

Just for blogville...

For those of you not on Twitter, today I provided readers with another episode of "the JaneDickey Show". In case you didn't know, Jane is my Mother-In-Law (MIL). In case you also didn't know, the woman never stops talking.  Ever. No lie.

If she thinks it, she says it.  No exceptions.

Once upon a time, (last Christmas in fact) while sitting down to watch one of the more recent Batman movies, I blogged about all of the questions/comments she had during the movie. It was horrendous.

This afternoon, we drove 45 minutes to an Olive Mill together. If watching a movie with the woman is horrendous, riding in a car with her is a million times worse. In order to get myself through it, I decided to tweet everything she said.  It was tough. But hilarious.

I bring you the wisdom of JaneDickey over the course of 45 minutes...(copied from my Twitter)

________________________________________________

turn right (repeating after the gps)

My seat is laying back. Do u feel like u r laying back? I'm reclining. What's going on?

I need handcream. Oh, I got too much handcream. Anybody need handcream? Michael, u need lotion? Oh, nevermind, I didn't get too much.

Look, bikers. ...Oooh, in n out burger.... There's the Dick's where's the Total Wine? - there it is! Was my black fleece in here somewhere?

Did u go by starbucks Bill? Oh, we don't have the mooer when the gpa sees a starbucks... MOOO... I think so&so's brother lives here.  (she actually said someone's name, but I don't know the person or the brother so the name "so&so" was my input)

Do casinos have to be on indian reservations? What reservation is this?

Did u bring the phone chgr for the car Bill? How did u remember that and not the tom tom?

What's that rattling back there? do u hear that? Wait.... there it is again? What is that?

Wait, I can't see that sign. What does it say? Anna's Linens? Oooh, there's a starbucks u just missed it.

(now she's making noise w/ her mouth)...can u reach back there & grab a bottle of water? ... Why do I have 2 in there? (dont know what she’s referring to here)

I do not like these water caps... (grunts as she opens bottle)...exit right (again repeating gps) ...do we want this exit or the next one?

Is that the exit u take to work michael? Oh, that's not very long. Look @ that cool church or temple. (its a hospital) oh, it's a hospital.

What mountains r over to the left, south. Left. Sort of. Where are santan mountains? use ur blinker. We're going east right now?

I thought we were going east. I'm all turned around. Is this gilbert? Oh, queen creek? They're so close. Look- sweet tomatoes, u could...

...U could plant a garden. Neat. This is all dug up. They haven't done any work in a yr since last time we were here. How do they not get it done?

They have all year to work on the roads here...

There's a house for rent. Ha. Chicken shack. I can't believe they haven't done anything to thesevroads

400 yards, is that this light? 4 miles??? Oh, 1/4 mile. arizona state university. (reading sign)

Is that the airport jill flew into one time? Too bad we can't get that deal anymore. What's the name of this road? what? Spell it.

here's rittenhouse. Oh power ranch neighborhood, dust complaints, what does that mean? It looks nice. Turn left (repeating gps)

So r we in queen creek or gilbert? What time did we leave? what did he just say? Oh.

is there an airport over here on the right?

Here we are back at this place. What street is this? Go straight. R we going north or south? Really?

We didn't bring our maps. We didn't do our homework. Look it up on your internet michael. (that's what I'm doing Mom)

Michael, look up directions to the olive mill. ("I am, mom, what else would I be doing?") Okay. Bill, don't u want to drive around & see area?

Aren't we on rittenhouse? Turn left out of here. This is rittenhouse right? Turn straight (not lying,she just said turn straight)

So this is called rittenhouse (the woman is obsessed w/ rittenhouse)

What golf course is this? Did you see it? I just wondered if u saw a name? what's the name of this road? So&so lives on hole 5 I don't have

Her ph#. Bummer.those r big houses. So we aren't in queen creek yet huh? Look @ that. That's cool. We're in the middle of nowhere.

Is that an open house sign? Back there on the corner? Is u see an open house, stop please ok. Unless its a dump. Or a mansion.

does that grass hurt when u kneel on it? All brown like that? When does it get green? In the spring?

Which way r we going now? East.ok ellsworth is where a lot of cool houses r. Turn right. No. Ok.look @ the oranges over there on that tree.

That'd be fun. didn't we go to this mall before bill? We got lunch or something like that remember?

We're not on rittenhouse r we? Why does the gps think we r? Lanford homes. I bet there's some models open in there.

yup. Hmm...that's where so&so goes? we're in the middle of nowhere again. This place is far. (you're telling me)

Another mormon church. They were less than 1 mile apart. Dead end. Uh oh. Now where r we going? I guess that wasn't the way to go. Burrows?

And haylift? What's that? Burrows? There's a limo. now a nice house. Now a junky house. (Laughs.)

this looks familiar. Awww. We'll have to come back bill. Look, xmas trees! How funny. How much r xmas trees in hawaii?

Pecan Creek. They have a lot land. Look how close those houses are together. Uh-oh unnamed rd? Turn right. This is Combs.

Where did we sit outside that one day? & had lunch? & mary called while we were eating? They all look the same.

____________________________________

And that concludes "the JaneDickey show" for the day. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Kelsalynn

Read more...

46.4715%

I just have to blog about this... (2nd post of the day!)

Ever since I realized we'll have our Emergency Fund in place by the end of the year, I've been playing with our budget for January (and February and March... who am I trying to kid?)

Wow.

That's all I can say. What a terrible problem we will have come January (written in Lexi's favorite sarcastic font).

Average monthly income*  = $6,300
Average monthly expenses = $2,934
*Estimate of overtime & does not include extra pay checks twice each year

Amount remaining = $3,366 per month!

Our expenses are 46.4715% of our income which means the rest is "extra."

What will we do with it all?

Like I said, terrible problem to have huh?

Obviously, we have some goals to save for-
1. Second car
2. Retirement
3. Trip home in May
4. 5-year anniversary vacation
5. Furniture
6. Mattress
7. Giving

...and the list goes on. The hardest part will be balancing all of the goals and determining which is our first priority, second, etc. Up until this point, every extra penny has gone to debt or our savings- no questions asked, no discussions, no confusion.

2010 is certainly a rebuilding year for us since we've put off buying anything for quite a while.

I think I will be adding status bars for each category on my blog somewhere.  How fun!

KelsaLynn

Read more...

Always seem to make it work

Still no workouts to report. I'm a bum.

I have to tell you how incredibly close we are to having our Emergency Fund fully funded by the end of the year. Considering we started off December being short by a few hundred dollars, it's crazy to me that we'll probably finish the month with our Emergency Fund in place!  (Amy, I guess you were right ... )

What changed you ask?

1. Michael's last paycheck was more than we had budgeted; I was hoping it would be. As a result, I was able to send $200 more to savings than originally planned. Yahoo #1!

2. Then I realized we had a full grocery budget for one week but we'll be in California so groceries won't be entirely necessary- we have a budget for our trip that covers food.  Yahoo #2!

3. But then I realized I'm an idiot and did not budget Christmas gifts for my employees at work.  4. Or my bosses!  Double-Duh! So, that added $65 to the gift budget that was not planned.  Oh crap #1 and 2!

Even with the two positive and two poopy changes above, we're still coming out ahead of where I anticipated we would be when the month started.

The plan right now is to send $1,250 to our Emergency Fund when we get paid on December 25th- Merry Christmas to us! This will put our Emergency Fund just $25 short of our goal! Can you believe it?  Only $25!

What I'm realizing now is that we will likely be able to meet our year-end goal! Here's why-
1. I'm sure the grandparents will send us some money as our Christmas gift and yes, I will gladly send $25 of it to savings if that's all it takes.
2. Even if we didn't receive any Christmas money, Michael's 2nd check of the month may still come in higher than I budgeted. He had jury duty on Tuesday and didn't get paid for it so I'm really not sure what will happen.
3. Finally, our savings account has earned $10 in interest so far this month and it's only the 18th! By the end of the month, we really may only be $10 short of achieving our goal!

Totally crazy to me!

Of course, we have one last hurdle to overcome before we can cheer, hoot, or holler.  Us reaching our goal is 100% contingent on me resisting pressures placed by my mother-in-law who spends money like mad! She arrives tomorrow for 15 days and the woman.loves.to.SHOP! We have a budget for our trip to California and it's going to be critical that we not overspend while communicating our boundaries... I understand that they're on vacation so they want to do so many fun things while they're here, but I know we may not be able to do everything with them and I need to make sure they understand this too.

I plan to sit down with Michael tonight and remind him of our budget for the trip and for the rest of the month. I want him to see how close we are to reaching our goal! I know he'll totally be on board!

I will keep you posted!

KelsaLynn

Read more...

Stayin' Alive! Stayin' Alive!

Make sure you sing the title of this post... now you will have that song in your head ALLLL day long! (insert evil laugh here)

I'm pretty much writing to say I have nothing to write about. No lie. How cool is that?

I haven't posted since Monday. I did work out one day, did the FITR workout "push"... but only once! I haven't done any CrossFit, any knitting, any cleaning. Blogging isn't the only thing I haven't been motivated to do lately, as you can see.

At that's exactly what it comes down to- motivation. Michael is feeling the same way, so maybe it's just the weather. It's dark when I get to work and dark when I leave work. So I've been feeling nothing but tired. Because I don't have a car, I can't leave over lunch so I sit inside and eat. It's too cold to sit outside at the picnic table.

In one sense, I feel guilty for not wanting to do anything. But on the other hand, I know this is just temporary and I need to not make a big deal out of it.

Anyone else feeling "blah" this time of year b/c of the weather? Another reason?

My in-laws arrive this weekend for 15 days... yikes. Wish me luck...

Kelsalynn

Read more...

2010 Thoughts/Goals

By now most of you probably read my successes over the current year. I've been thinking a lot lately about 2010 and what I want to see happen when this time comes next year. My deliberation started during my vacation over Thanksgiving and I haven't really stopped thinking about it.

2010 is going to be all about balance. 

Yup, balance.

Sounds so easy... it's such a small word- easy to pronounce, easy to spell, not so easy to achieve I'm afraid.

2009 was all about health and money. Financially, we spent very little on ourselves and paid off $60K in debt not to mention saved for emergencies. Physically, I started CrossFit, ran a marathon, and overall became more fit than I think I've ever been. 2009 was all about two aspects of our lives- personal finance and physical fitness.

While I'm very fond of these achievements and they certainly served a purpose, I want 2010 to focus on more than just money and working out.  I want to have financial goals and fitness aspirations, but I don't want these things to consume my life. 

So, here it goes- my goals for 2010- let me know what you think.

Savvy Goals

1. Improve net worth... goal = have positive net worth (we're currently negative $35K!)
2. Save for anniversary cruise/vacation... goal = $3,000 depending on where we decide to go
3. Save for 2nd car... goal = $8,000

Fitness Goals

1. Maintain current weight/size... I weigh 135 lbs and wear a size 6. I'm very happy with this weight. I have no desire to lose or tone anymore but don't want to gain weight either
2. Complete 100 burpee challenge... 1 burpee on Day 1, 2 on Day 2, etc until 100 days complete!
3. Perform 10 consecutive double unders... my current total is 9, but not consecutively so I have some work to do.
4. Perform handstand push-up... no modifications!

Here's where the balance comes in...

Life Goals

1. Watch less TV... I need to make this more specific
2. Learn to knit ... my goal is to knit Michael a Dr. Who scarf. This, however, requires some basic knitting knowledge which I don't have yet. I started this hobby a few weeks ago and so far I love it!
3. Learn to play the piano...this has been a dream of mine since I can remember. I have my first piano lesson scheduled for January 2nd!
4. Implement 5 lifestyle changes for greener living... i.e. change out lightbulbs, etc.. I know I can come up with 2-3 without hesitation, but 5 is going to be tough. I'm excited to challenge my current way of thinking though!
5. Learn to speak a 2nd language... still very much in the planning phases, more on this later...

My overall goal in 2010 is pretty much to find a way to do it all and not be crazy stressed out!

Here's my overall vision for 2010---

"Be happy and enjoy life, yet stretch myself to achieve things outside my comfort zone."

What goals do you have for 2010?

A year from now what achievements do you want to have on your list?

Until tomorrow,

Kelsalynn

Read more...

Reflection

Before setting goals for 2010, I think it's important to give yourself a pat on the back for any accomplishments in 2009. I forget to do this and tend to focus on what I'm still not doing or haven't accomplished...

So, here's what I accomplished in 2009- looking back, it was one hell of a growth year for me. I can't wait to see where I'm at at the end of 2010!

SUCCESSES

Completed a marathon!

Did my first unassisted pull-up!

Set financial goals with Michael and got him involved in the finances!

Created sinking funds for various expenses including: property taxes, vehicle repairs, car insurance, homeowner's insurance, renter's insurance, and hair care!

Became debt free- paid off $60,952!

Started an Emergency Fund- current total is $11,413!

Received a 5% raise- contributed 3% to 401k!

Started a new hobby- knitting!

What did you accomplish this past year? Have you remembered to give yourself a pat on the back?

Goals for 2010 will come shortly...still finalizing them!

Until tomorrow,

Kelsalynn

Read more...

Amazing workout!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. Seriously, I'm not just saying this because he's my husband... I'd totally post this same thing even if he wasn't super handsome, hilarious, witty, and gosh darn amazing in every way :)

Today I did his workout-of-the-day. If you didn't read my last post, he'll be adding a workout each day to his website. You can click on the "FITR" link above in my linkbar or click here.

Here's the workout:
Superset 1
A. Seated Wide Grip Cable Row
B. Towel pullups (assisted)
Superset 2
C. Seated Narrow Grip Cable Row
D. Wide Grip Pull Up (assisted)
4 Sets of 10 reps each

Here are my weights:
(wide row/pull-up)
40/12
40/13
40/14
40/15
(narrow row/pull-up)
50/15
40/15
40/15
40/15
 
Then I did his cardio workout too!
 
2 minute "sprint" - I did the stairmill on level 10!
20 squats
20 jumping jacks
 
The 2 minutes on the stair mill ended up being approximately 11 floors each round. So, I "climbed" 55 floors tonight plus squats!
 
Needless to say, both my arms and legs will be sore tomorrow.
 
I wouldn't say it was easier than CrossFit, just different. With CrossFit, you're so busy going from one exercise to another machine- from here to there as fast as possible. Michael's workouts aren't slow by any means - they're just not quite as hectic.
 
His website is still very much a work-in-progress so please be patient with us while we get 'er fixed up! We plan to make quite a bit of progress on it this weekend. I hope you'll check it out.
 
Also, on THIS blog, stay tuned for a post about my "Successes of 2009" and my "Goals for 2010."  It's been IN THE MAKING since my vacation two weeks ago...'bout time to post it for the world to see!
 
Finally, I posted a new recipe for STUFFED PEPPERS on my recipe blog- check it out! 

Man, 3 blogs- that's a lot to keep track of!
Kelsalynn

Read more...

Announcement, Cardio, Pain, and EF

Oh, let's see, I guess I'll begin with the cool stuff.

First, 2nd day in a row of working out. This girl is on a roll! :P (More on the workout a little later in the post)

Second, Michael- my husband and athletic trainer extraodinaire- has been designing a new exercise plan for a while. I'm excited to announce that the time is here to roll it out to everyone!

It's called FITR (Functional Integrative Training at Random) and it's exactly that- functional movements done in various, random intervals to help you lose body fat, gain muscle, and tone up!

His website, FitQuest, will post a workout daily! The blog itself is still very much a work-in-progress but the first workout for today was officially posted last night. Hopefully this weekend we'll have time to update the blog and really provide some valuable information for everyone in addition to the daily workout.

CHECK IT OUT!

With that said, it transitions me perfectly into my third topic which is my cardio workout. I did Michael's FITR "workout of the day" which called for 3 minutes at 60% effort then 1 minute at 90% for 20 minutes (AKA 5 rounds).

I started off on the treadmill and did 3 rounds. It sucked (the workout was great, keep reading...). Sucked bad, which leads me to my next topic of pain. I can't explain it but my hip felt like it was going to separate from my leg. You know how Barbie's legs move and you can pop one off? That's what it's like...I honestly thought my leg would just buckle and fall off. Crazy, I know, but I don't know how else to explain it. I ended up finishing on the bike and that was fine.

It was a great workout. I was drenched at the end. I've got to figure something out with this leg deal. Enough time has gone by since the marathon (11 months ago) and the half marathon (8 months ago) that I realize it's an issue and I need to do something to fix it. Luckily I know a good trainer to help me :) Now, if only I would do as he prescribes... I swear, I'm his worst patient!

On the financial front, Michael's check luckily did come in more than we were expecting/budgeting. I was hoping this would happen, but I planned for the worst just in case.


Therefore, instead of $700 I was able to send $900 to our Emergency Fund today!  Jam!

Total Saved = $11,413

% Saved = 88.7%

We're $1,451 away from having our Emergency Fund fully funded to our goal of $12,864.

Despite my freak-out post awhile back where I said we couldn't possibly have it in place by year end, it might just happen after all...

Kelsalynn

Read more...

Today is the day

...

wait for it...

Kelsalynn made it back to the gym!!

Mark this day on the calendars! After a two and a half week haitus of exercising, I made it to the gym today.

And it felt good.

Hopefully I can make it a two-day streak. A girl has to have goals right?

Here's what went down:
12 dumbbell bench press (20#)
superset with
12 modified push ups

repeat

12 dumbbell shoulder press (15#)

repeat

12 tricep dips on level 12

repeat

then interval training:
5 burpees
10 jumping jacks
15 wall balls (11#)
repeat with no rest

As you can see, all of these are upper body pushing motions. In a few days, I'll do all pulls. It doesn't look that hard, but it was perfect for my first day back in a while. I recommend this workout if you're at the gym and not sure what to do.

Michael gets paid today and this is the first of a few paychecks that won't be his normal amount. We're budgeting that his check will be around $1,250 but I'm really crossing my fingers that it comes in higher than that.

Keep you posted of course.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

Read more...

Birthday party

I work with some pretty cool people. We're all about the same age, which is good considering I'm in accounting. A lot of accounting departments have older men who wear bow ties. But not us. I think we're pretty cool and a lot of fun- we break the stereotype of "accountants."

My boss's 30th birthday was on Friday. He was on the verge of tears at the thought of turning 30 and no longer being in his 20's. So of course, we reigned in the celebration with drunken fun!

Here are some pictures of the night. Needless to say, we were all "slightly" intoxicated... I ended up sleeping most of Saturday b/c I was so hungover. I never puked, but I almost wish I would have... I probably wouldn't have woke up Saturday still drunk! :)

Early on in the night


A little later in the night


My boss- the birthday boy


Michael sat at the calm (AKA not drunk) table... I was sitting at the "kids" table we called it


Frank is from Africa. Someone made a joke about how soccer is not a real sport (just being funny) and Frank got pissed and gave a 20-minute monologue about how awesome soccer is... he was talking so fast, his accent really came out and no one could understand him. It was hilarious




TJ dealing drinking games



It was a fun night but it's Sunday afternoon and I'm still recovering!

Kelsalynn

Read more...

Day #2

Well, hell, if a girl isn't gunna workout, she might as well eat right!

Day #2 in a row of a PERFECT diet. Usually I'll sneak a piece of candy from my co-workers candy dish or get a soda out of the machine, but not today or yesterday- both were SPOTLESS!

Breakfast- Egg omelet w/ cheese and oatmeal, glass of juice
Snack- jello/fruit mixture
Lunch- leftover chili
Snack- Apple and string cheese
Dinner- Meatloaf and 1/2 pear
Snack- Cottage cheese and blueberries

I think the best part about yesterday and today is that I have GUZZLED the agua. I'm telling ya, I've dricken a shit-ton of water. I always feel better when I drink a lot of water- more full and the cravings don't come as often.

I can already tell you that there will not be a Day #3 to this trend however. Tomorrow (Friday) is my boss's 30th birthday and he's having a huge bash. I am sure that I will drink my fair share of calories!

Maybe I'll remember to take some drunken pictures, but no promises!

Kelsalynn

Read more...

Typical evening dinner...

My eating today was perfect.

Breakfast- smoothie
Snack- yogurt/protein powder/raisins
Lunch- chili (leftovers)
Snack- deli turkey and carrots
Dinner- Ham, veggies, pineapple, and pear
Snack- Apple, string cheese, peanut butter

I posted tonight's meal on my recipe's blog- check it out HERE or use the link above!

Kelsalynn

Read more...

Lots of numbers...

Man, 3 posts in a row dealing w/ numbers.

If you don't read blogs daily like I do, you may have some catch-up to do.

First, I confessed that Michael and I will likely not meet our goal of having an emergency fund in place by year end.

Second, I posted our December budget.

And now, my 3rd personal finance post in a row, I'm updating my Net Worth for November.

As you can see, our net worth trended in the right direction (it's less negative than it was!). Unfortunately, it didn't increase as much as originally expected. Two things contributed to this-

1. Our home dropped in value yet again by $3,000. Oh joy! (insert not-so-nice words here)
2. I took our sinking funds out of the equation. They are listed but they aren't included in the totals. The reason I decided to take them out is because they really are "expenses" not "savings." They're just expenses that haven't hit yet but I know they're coming, I just choose to save for them a little bit at a time.

The good part is that we did increase our savings by over $5,000! Cha-Ching!

I can't wait to see where we end 2009! It will be interesting to compare year over year or this year to 2019 for example!

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

Read more...

December Budget

Holy Moly! It's December 1st already! Jeesh... where did November go?

First, thank you for all the comments on my last post. I appreciate everyone's thoughts a lot!

I suppose I should post December's budget. I broke it down into 3 categories- the recurring expenses, the expenses that go into a savings account, and then the expenses that are rare to December only.  This made me feel a lot better for two reasons:

1) Although we may not have our Emergency Fund fully funded by the end of the month, we're still putting $2,358 to the fund alone and a total of $2,835 to our sinking funds overall.
2) In December, we have $646 in expenses that we don't normally have. From Christmas gifts to furnace repairs and landscaping, and family visiting... it all adds up and just so happens to land in one month!

Even with a reduced income this coming month, we're still doing really great and cash-flowing/saving more than ever before! Thank you for reminding me of this in your responses to my last post.

I transferred $1,100 over to our Emergency Fund today!

Total Saved = $10,513 = 81.7%

Read more...