This week’s SPT is a challenge-I resolve to take more self portraits while trying new things. Well, I guess trying new things goes along with our past weekend. We were so productive, and we got lots of work and moving things done. After that though, we were at a loss for what to do. We just kept looking at each other and saying, “What do you wanna do? I dunno, what do you want to do?” Very reminiscent of the vultures in The Jungle Book. We finally decided that we needed to get out of the house and take a break from all the packing we’d been doing. We drove out to the coast so we could go star gazing, something we’ve never done together.

This is a picture of us standing on a pitch black cliff looking at the stars. You can’t tell, but the sky was full of stars, it was beautiful. There was this really eerie warm wind, and as you can tell it did a good job of ruining this picture. We ran back to the car right after this because the pitch black and no moonlight was pretty spooky!

We signed the lease today! We’re that much closer to getting out of this dump! It’s so tempting to move in now. We’ve got the keys, but we’re not technically supposed to move in until next week. It’s going to be so great not having to drive into this complex every day. We’ve got this joke that is supposed to be one of those advanced security systems, when really it’s just a gate around the entire community. It doesn’t even work properly-the main gate is always open, but the side gate is always closed and we have to drive all the way around the complex to get to our apartment. It’s all supposed to make us feel so “secure” when really it’s just inconvenient.

Before we signed the lease, we had the boy’s fire academy graduation. YAY! I’m so proud of him! It’s been a big day for us-new apartment, new career for him. We’re moving on up!

For people that know me personally, they know my aversion to everything doctors. I grew up without insurance, and so I did a lot of home remedies or just “got by” without. As a result, I absolutely loathe going to the doctor now, even though I have insurance. It’s really sad because I’m a grown up, and I shouldn’t be so bothered by it, but I am. I don’t even like going to the eye doctor for my eyeglasses. I’m pretty good about keeping up with that one because I’m on a computer all day and I notice if my glasses aren’t working right.
My teeth? That’s another story. So I had dental insurance for a brief period of time in college, back in 01. I got my wisdom teeth pulled, got some teeth cleanings, and even managed to get a cavity filled. After that, nothing. So earlier this week my boss was telling me how she has to keep going to the dentist for crowns, and they sounded pretty painful. She was saying how you have to get crowns when you let cavities go for too long. Then she pointed out that we have dental insurance. I was like, yeah, but don’t I still have copays and all that garbage? No thanks. But she pestered me enough about it, and finally I called up our insurance. Turns out I am covered for all the basics, like teeth cleaning.
I felt so sorry for the dental hygienist-she pretty much had to jack hammer my teeth. She said considering I hadn’t been to the dentist in 8 years, my mouth was in pretty good shape. Still, she had to do a lot of work, and I thought I was going to jump out of the seat from the pain of it. My gums are still smarting today, but man do my teeth feel better. I think the word I’m looking for is clean! Who knew I actually had spaces between them? I plan on being a better patient from now on, and I will keep up with my regular checkups and cleanings, and yes I do floss. I do have to go back in next month to have a couple of cavities filled (hey, 2 cavities in 8 years, with the amount of sugar I eat? Not bad!). I will go, I will have them do the work, but I still hate it.

Today we finally got our move in date- January 24th. Only twelve days away, woohoo! I can’t tell you how happy I am to get out of this poophole apartment complex. Move ins are always expensive, even if the new place is less expensive than the old. Deposits, carpet cleaning, moving truck, and installation fees for utilities all add up.
As much as I want to buy nice new modern furniture, I know we just can’t afford it right now. We’ve actually been selling things on craigslist to help with move in costs. On top of all the other expenses, we’re also both trying to save up money for our future. Because of all of this, we’ve started getting creative in how we save money.
Here’s a little list of things we have done to “trim the fat” on our spending.

1. TV: We are downgrading our cable plan-we realized we spend over $50 a month on the cable bill. With being young and busy, it seemed like a big waste of money. Plus, a lot of evenings we turn off the tv and read or play cards anyways. So we’re switching to basic cable which is only $20.

2. Restaurants: No more dining out. We’re going to try to only grocery shop and not go out to eat. It’s so easy to cave and say let’s just eat out, and then bam, there goes $30. $30 of groceries goes a lot further, so we’re just going to eat in. Plus it’s a lot of fun cooking together and coming up with new recipes.

3. Groceries: Normally we go to the grocery store and just buy what looks good. Instead of shopping with our stomachs, we’re going to use our heads. We’re going to make lists, and stick to them. Only essentials, not food that just looks yummy.

4. Entertainment: We used to go out to the movies, or out for drinks. Now we’re hanging in, and having drinks at home. It’s much cheaper, and to me, it’s a lot more fun. We have friends over for game night, or we go to friends’ houses. Plus I go to the library where we get movies to rent for free. Free is always a good thing.

5. Gas: Now that we’ll be living closer to the gym, we’re going to try to walk or run to the gym as much as possible. Not only will this help get us in shape, but we’ll save on gas. With gas prices rising again (sigh!) it’s a good idea to save anywhere we can. We’ve also got a whole new neighborhood to walk around, so hopefully we’ll be hoofing it a lot now.

Those are the small ways we’re saving so far. Anyone out there with other suggestions on little ways to save money? I’d be happy to hear them!

Today the boy and I started the packing up to move process. He viewed it as work, while I on the other hand thought it was a lot of fun. We went through all of his clothes and mine, making donation piles. After that, I took pictures of a few things I want to sell on craigslist. We got rid of a lot of stuff, and now all that’s left to do is pack up what we do want. Thank god my bf isn’t the kind to pack around things like old basketball trophies or playing cards, so we don’t have to lug those around.We are both sort of minimalists, so we don’t have a lot of junk, but we did have some classically hideous old clothes. Still, moving isn’t going to be a picnic, and while I can’t wait to move to our new place, I’m not looking forward to the back breaking work of moving. Maybe we can bribe some friends with beer and pizza if they help us!

There still are good Samaritans in this world. I blogged a few months ago about my computer dying on me, and my sad broken hard drive. Well, I was telling my computer supplier about this, a guy who works with our company to get us computer parts for our clients. I asked him how much a new hard drive would be, and he took pity on me and sent me one for FREE! Can you believe that?
I was so excited when it arrived yesterday that I couldn’t wait to get it home and put it in my laptop. I guess Mac Laptops have decided that they are going to make life really tough for us techie nerds, because when I went to take the old harddrive out of its case, I couldn’t. It needs some special screwdriver: not a phillips, not a flathead, but a torx. A what now you ask? Yeah, so did I. I was pretty upset as you can imagine, having waited for 2 months to get my laptop fixed. So I came to work, and asked a few coworkers about the torx screwdriver. They said that anyone who had one of the Victorinox Swiss Army watches that my company gave out to its employees a few years back as a Christmas present would have the torx on it. Luckily my boss had one in his desk, and I snatched it up like a kid with a delicious piece of candy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right size. ARGH! So on her lunchbreak, my Secretary decided to go to the hardware store for me, only she forgot what kind of screwdriver to ask for, and asked for a hex instead. So here I am-with no fixed personal computer. I’m lucky enough to have my old computer, but still. This is THE computer-the one that has access to my external hard drive, where every picture I’ve taken is on it, and all my music, and…everything. So I guess I can wait one more day. Sigh…

This is perfect for me, because I’ve been doing a lot of hoping lately.  I’ve been hoping for a beautiful house with Kohler sinks that the boy  and I can buy. I’ve been hoping that the boy will get hired with a fire department and start his dream career. I’ve also been hoping that eventually the boy will give me an engagement ring. And if he does, I hope we stay as happy as we are right now.

Peace is being with my boyfriend. Before him, my life was chaotic, I was sick a lot, and often stressed out. With the boy, I can relax and play a game of gin rummy to pass the time. Before I met him, I could barely sit still for more than 5 minutes. OK, I still have trouble sitting still, but he helps!

Peace is the ocean, especially at home in Oregon. I miss home a lot, and being able to just drive five minutes to the beach. I loved to sit in my car and watch the waves on a stormy day, or walk on along the water and feel the sand between my toes.

We’re finally DONE with all the Christmas shopping. And it feels very good to be done. All I have to do is wrap a few gifts we bought over the weekend, and print out a few more photos for family members. It was harder this year because not only was I shopping for my family, but the boy’s as well.

We had to come up with one of those Secret Santa type gifts for the Christmas eve party we’re going to for my family. With a $15 limit, it’s hard to find a good quality gift. My friend said she knew of a great bottle of champagne for that price. Unfortunately with my family of recovered alcoholics, that would be about as appropriate as giving Fenterdren, one of the top diet pills, to my sister in law with the eating disorder. It just wouldn’t be a good idea! We ended up getting two starbucks giftcards to give. The game itself is a lot of fun: all the girls play a round, and then all the guys. You can pick a gift, or steal someone else’s, and this goes on a few rounds. What’s fun is that you don’t open the present, so you really don’t know what you’re stealing. You might have been fighting over some really hideous knicknacks that Grandma bought, or it could be soemthing that’s actually cool.

For the boy’s family’s gift exchange, they’re doing something similar, but with a larger dollar limit of $30. We decided to share the gift, and we ended up getting two decent bottles of wine. His side of the family doesn’t have anyone with any aversions to alcohol. In fact, they’re all huge fans of wine, so it makes it really easy to shop for them.

I’m really looking forward to Christmas, and all the holiday parties we’re going to. At the same time, I’m going to be very happy the day after Christmas, when all the chaos has passed, and we can just relax again.

The boy has always talked about running a home based business together. I’m not sure we could ever pull it off though. I get to work from home sometimes because of the nature of my job, IT support. As convenient as it is, it’s also kind of stifling being stuck at home all day. I can’t imagine not getting up, getting ready and going to work on a regular basis. If I ever did work from home, I’d have to have a dedicated office, and I’d have to get up and dress for work every day. That way I wouldn’t feel like a lazy bum that never leaves the house.

I think I’d also have to go out to lunches or do some sort of activity on my lunchbreaks. The idea of not seeing people every day would probably get to me after awhile. Still, the amount of money I’d save in gas would be huge. Plus, what’s nice about my job is that the option is there in the future. So say we decided to move somewhere far away from the office, I’d probably still be able to keep my job, because I could do it all from the house. We’ll see-if the boy ends up getting a firefighting job in some other county, then I just might have to make the change.