Weekend Preview

I have been absolutely loving our weekends as of late and this weekend promises much of the same-- things that are (at least, in part) responsible for all the warm fuzzies I get going into Friday:

Friday afternoon—dog park with The Husband and The Pup.

Saturday morning—some housework and errands... okay, these do not give me the warm fuzzies, but they are oh-so-necessary.

Saturday evening—Painting with a Twist. I’m so excited for this, actually. My sister gave me a gift certificate for Christmas, and I’m going to paint The Pup. We’ll see if any of my artistic “talent” (and I mean that in the loosest sense of the word) from high school remains.

Sunday—Hike/walk with The Husband and The Pup at Walnut Creek. We just discovered this park last week and, really, we should be ashamed. It’s (give or take) 10 minutes from our home, and we’ve lived within that distance for nearly 6 years. The scenery is so beautiful that I completely forget that I’m minutes away from a major street in the middle of Austin. Such a lovely respite for us. For The Pup? Well, we’re teaching her to swim in the creek. Aside from that (her least favorite part of the day), she also loves exploring every inch of the trails.

How do your weekend plans look?

Wordless Wednesday, 03-09-11

Me with The Pup at Walnut Creek Park, Austin.

Snow Day!

The best laid plans...

Y'all may or may not know just how much of a planner I am.

Various and extensive pro/con lists are made before I purchase a pair of shoes, days off from work come with plans of attack that could be confused with the invasion of a minor country, to-do lists for parties are in the form of spreadsheets that begin weeks before invitations are even extended...

What I'm saying is I am a Planner, with a capital P. It's both a pro and con when it comes to life with me.

When a few unexpected paid-days-off fell into my lap prior to our Christmas vacation, you know that I had Plans for those days. Tightly-scheduled, starting-at-7am (to allow for "sleeping in"), allowing-an-hour-for-lunch Plans.

Then, The Husband, who has kindly but consistently rebuffed my requests for a puppy, said "What do you think about getting a puppy?"

...

...

...

Um, yes, yes, please!

Plans or not, apparently I am less a Planner and more Weak in the face of a snuggly, wiggly, busy wee puppy.

Those unexpected, but carefully scheduled days off turned into even-busier-than-previously-planned days off, and earlier this month, we welcomed into our little family Miss Perla.

I think we'll keep her.

#13 and #14: Change name on credit cards/bank account COMPLETED

Completed: 11-24-10

Only 2 years and almost 11 months to complete this one ;-)

But, hey! In my defense, the financial institutions don't exactly make this an easy one step process. Save for one credit card, which is another reason why it's my favorite, but that's another story for another time.

Some unplanned time off fell into my lap last week, so I took the opportunity to go visit the two that required face-to-face meetings to make the big switch. Done and done.

Turkey Day Plans

Have I mentioned that Thanksgiving is my very most favorite holiday? Above Christmas Eve, Christmas Day (although they run a close 3rd and 2nd, respectively), New Year's Eve and even my birthday, Thanksgiving Day is simply the best.

This year, The Husband and I will be celebrating together and, even though it will be an intimate supper for two, you betcha this gal has got a plan of attack. Any excuse to draw up menus and timelines and serving plans, right?

I think we'll start the morning off with these Easy Cheese Danishes, a la Ina Garten. This was going to be a surprise for The Husband, but he reads this blog, soooo... (hi, hubby!)

The rest of the menu is part-traditional, part-let's-use-what's-in-the-fridge-and-avoid-the-crazies-at-the-grocery.

Roasted chicken (in lieu of turkey)

Stuffing (yes, I stuff, not dress, and I don't care to hear one word about it)

Gravy
Mashed po-tah-toes

Sauteed spinach (in lieu of green beans)

Cranberry sauce (from the can, yes)

Pecan walnut pie (a new recipe to attempt)

Wine (very necessary)

Speaking of wine, my mom has (had?) an apron, which I loved to wear while testing my baking skills in the kitchen as a youngster. It said "A Day Without Wine is Like A Day Without Sunshine." So. Mystery solved, I think. Also, Mom? I can haz that apron now, yes? Pretty please?

What are your plans for the big day? Big family celebration? Small dinner with your significant other?

Whatever they may be, I hope you have a wonderful and very Happy Thanksgiving.

#15: Pay off credit cards. COMPLETED

Remember when I did this?

Seven months later (almost to the day), amazingly, the second credit card is paid off, meaning wee ol' number 15 is completed.

Honestly, I'm not certain I believe it.

For longer than I care to think about, I would pay a little extra here, a little extra there,The Husband would give me a sizable cash gift to help, but we would never really see much (downward) movement on those balances. And I got discouraged. Because I had never been one to carry a balance on my cards, let alone the ginormous (to me) balances that they had accumulated.

I was defeated, practically convinced that nothing, save for winning the lottery, could bring those big numbers down to a little number-- my beloved zero.

But then I got mad. Mad at one credit card company in particular, which kept switching my statement dates and payment due dates, thereby accumulating a greater balance. Mad at myself for not being persistent enough to just pay them off already.

I talked with the The Husband to see what, if anything, he could take off my financial plate to make this work. I created a real-live, honest-to-goodness budget, with the goal of finding unnecessary expenses that I could do without and, instead, put that money towards finally (finally!) paying off that stooopid debt.

I paid the minimum on one card (bigger one) and put anything unspent towards the other (slightly smaller one). And it worked! This past April, I paid off my first credit card. Phew.

Then, after discussing the pros/cons with The Husband until I was blue in the face, I transferred the balance from the remaining card to the then only paid off card. And, put everything (and I mean everything) I could towards that new balance.

For seven months.

My hair has gone un-trimmed, un-highlighted. My previous love of starbucks is, surprisingly, extinguished. I've learned how to make a decent cup o' joe with my office machine. My belly misses sushi like you would not believe.

But, these are all first world problems, so who am I to complain?

Oh, and I'm credit card debt free. :-)