Thursday, December 2, 2010
I have a new blog!
I have been writing a blog for a fitness studio in downtown northville. Check it out here
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Getting married!
I'm getting married this Saturday. Planning this event, even in a low-key style, has been more stressful and time consuming than I ever imagined it would be. I feel like my life is on hold. I've been walking Quixote regularly and still participating in boot camp three days a week for the last three months now. I do those things to maintain some sanity and groundedness in this swirling cyclone of wedding madness. It really does help. Jason and I are trying to hold on to some semblance of the people we are amidst all these changes and we're persevering and finding ways to make fun of ourselves or laugh at all the wedding ridiculousness in this crazy world. I do hope though that when the day comes, it will be very exciting and happy and fun-filled. I hope that all of the list-making, arguing, appointments, planning, etc. will have been worth it. I am looking forward to gathering with all of my friends and loved ones. I am so geeked about our little fella Quixote sporting his neck tie. It's ridiculously cute! Then we're off to Costa Rica for a ton of outdoor adventures and bedding down in a lodge less than one mile away from an active volcano. Should be pretty awe-inspiring. After that, it's back to real life and maybe going to the gym or running with Ed or signing up for a race. Real life really ain't so bad. In fact, it's the sweetest thing I know. Life is very good and I am so thankful for my wonderful consistent friends and my steady family with a unique ability to forgive and to support one another. I couldn't ask for anything more than this life that I am lucky to wake up to every day. It's a beautiful mystery.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Everything's coming together
Jason and I finally found a house! There are some bureaucratic hoops to jump through and tons of paperwork to fill out, but we're on track to close with this one. This is a huge relief. Not only does it answer some "rest of my life" questions but it frees up time!! We have spent so much time driving by houses, walking through them, on the phone with our realtor, looking at places online, yadda yadda and (unfortunately) working out really took a back seat to this priority. If it weren't for Quixote, I don't know how much exercise I'd be accomplishing at all!
I also realized that I have been avoiding the gym because it's too "crowded" with all the new year's eve resolution bandits. Well, I have seen the light! And the light has shown me I am just manufacturing excuses. If a person was 200 lbs. overweight and avoided the gym because "Oye, oye, it's too crowded." I'd think to myself that the person was just being lazy. So, I can face the mirror on this one.
Therefore, I am going to the gym tonight. I don't care how long I stay or what I do, but I am going there!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Dealing with setbacks
I was all prepared for a long, studious blog about exercise. I was going to say how Quixote and I have a two-mile route that we're aiming to do five days a week before work. I was going to say that last night all three of us went on a three-mile walk and the night before that, a four-mile walk. I even made it to the gym on Monday night. Today marks the countdown of one month until Florida and prepping for our beach bodies.
Yep, that's what I was going to write about. I just don't feel like it today and I'll tell you why. Jason and I recently got engaged. Predictably, everyone is asking us when our date is and what our plans are. Well wrench #1 is that we really don't have much money to work with. But I'm not admitting this in some sort of poor-me way. We have money to work with but our wedding (a one-day event) is not what we want to allocate the bulk of our funds toward. If you've ever been to a sit-down dinner with a DJ or a band and dancing and it was in a hall or some other cool location and there were matching linens and seat covers, well you were probably at a wedding that cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000. That is not gonna happen for us. We can't duplicate that sort of wedding on basically one-tenth that budget. So, that's one of life's small annoyances there. And sure it's an opportunity to be creative and really think about what is meaningful to us, but yadda yadda, that takes a fair amount of planning and research still.
The other thing is that we are house shopping. Ideally, we'd like to get in before the April 30 deadline to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit. Now there's a two-fold problem. One is that our lease said we could go month to month after our one-year term expired. We've talked with our landlord and they have nixed that option. They want us to sign at least a three-month extended lease. So, now if we find a house we could realistically be looking at paying a rent and a mortgage for two months, possible three. That will definitely break us. And that will definitely mean no wedding party. Because with the money we have to work with, well I still want to keep my honeymoon on the table. And I want a house to come home to when I return to Michigan.
The other issue is that if we don't' get a house by the tax credit deadline, we don't have enough funds to make 20 percent on a down payment. Which means we make some pitifully small down payment, get screwed on PMI and extra fees, and pay a ton more money in the long run.
I'm so irritated right now. I know ... I know ... I know we were not supposed to hang out hats on any houses just yet, but we fell in love with one and we were predictably outbid on it. It just hurts. It was a house UNLIKE any other we've seen. We don't want to live in a subdivision. We don't want to live where there is some association telling us we can't build a fence or our deck has to be a certain color. We don't want to live in a neighborhood where every single house looks like every other house, and that is all we have been seeing. This most recent house had personality, charm, and that old farmhouse feel. And now that we were titillated by the thought that something so awesome could be had within our budget, well every house going forward will probably come up short in comparison.
And I just don't know what more we can possibly do. We search real estate sites online every day. We have a realtor, who I think definitely knows what our situation is. We have driven around for hours on a weekend scoping out areas and looking for places that might not be advertised online.
And this whole buzz about a buyer's market. Sheeeeit. Two houses that we first liked were gone within a week of us noticing them. We made an offer on a bank-owned home and their counter offer was to only drop their price $2,000. The market is bottoming out and the credit deadline is fast on the horizon, and there are a lot of people in our position trying to find a house. It's not like there are 65 houses out there in our price range with what we need. There are more like four, and none are that exciting. And I don't think we are being that picky. Sure, I'd like a finished basement and an attached garage and a second bathroom, but geesh I could do without those features too.
And before you write to tell me that another house we love will come along, please save it. I'm aware that another house will come along, but at the rate we've been seeing them come on the market, get snatched up and known what they have to offer, I just wonder if we will really find something we love, but maybe that's a long stretch for first-time buyers anyway.
Anyway, I know we could have bigger problems in our lives. At least we have our jobs, can afford our rent and bills, and we have each other. It's just not feeling like it's going to be that rosy of a day.
Yep, that's what I was going to write about. I just don't feel like it today and I'll tell you why. Jason and I recently got engaged. Predictably, everyone is asking us when our date is and what our plans are. Well wrench #1 is that we really don't have much money to work with. But I'm not admitting this in some sort of poor-me way. We have money to work with but our wedding (a one-day event) is not what we want to allocate the bulk of our funds toward. If you've ever been to a sit-down dinner with a DJ or a band and dancing and it was in a hall or some other cool location and there were matching linens and seat covers, well you were probably at a wedding that cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000. That is not gonna happen for us. We can't duplicate that sort of wedding on basically one-tenth that budget. So, that's one of life's small annoyances there. And sure it's an opportunity to be creative and really think about what is meaningful to us, but yadda yadda, that takes a fair amount of planning and research still.
The other thing is that we are house shopping. Ideally, we'd like to get in before the April 30 deadline to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit. Now there's a two-fold problem. One is that our lease said we could go month to month after our one-year term expired. We've talked with our landlord and they have nixed that option. They want us to sign at least a three-month extended lease. So, now if we find a house we could realistically be looking at paying a rent and a mortgage for two months, possible three. That will definitely break us. And that will definitely mean no wedding party. Because with the money we have to work with, well I still want to keep my honeymoon on the table. And I want a house to come home to when I return to Michigan.
The other issue is that if we don't' get a house by the tax credit deadline, we don't have enough funds to make 20 percent on a down payment. Which means we make some pitifully small down payment, get screwed on PMI and extra fees, and pay a ton more money in the long run.
I'm so irritated right now. I know ... I know ... I know we were not supposed to hang out hats on any houses just yet, but we fell in love with one and we were predictably outbid on it. It just hurts. It was a house UNLIKE any other we've seen. We don't want to live in a subdivision. We don't want to live where there is some association telling us we can't build a fence or our deck has to be a certain color. We don't want to live in a neighborhood where every single house looks like every other house, and that is all we have been seeing. This most recent house had personality, charm, and that old farmhouse feel. And now that we were titillated by the thought that something so awesome could be had within our budget, well every house going forward will probably come up short in comparison.
And I just don't know what more we can possibly do. We search real estate sites online every day. We have a realtor, who I think definitely knows what our situation is. We have driven around for hours on a weekend scoping out areas and looking for places that might not be advertised online.
And this whole buzz about a buyer's market. Sheeeeit. Two houses that we first liked were gone within a week of us noticing them. We made an offer on a bank-owned home and their counter offer was to only drop their price $2,000. The market is bottoming out and the credit deadline is fast on the horizon, and there are a lot of people in our position trying to find a house. It's not like there are 65 houses out there in our price range with what we need. There are more like four, and none are that exciting. And I don't think we are being that picky. Sure, I'd like a finished basement and an attached garage and a second bathroom, but geesh I could do without those features too.
And before you write to tell me that another house we love will come along, please save it. I'm aware that another house will come along, but at the rate we've been seeing them come on the market, get snatched up and known what they have to offer, I just wonder if we will really find something we love, but maybe that's a long stretch for first-time buyers anyway.
Anyway, I know we could have bigger problems in our lives. At least we have our jobs, can afford our rent and bills, and we have each other. It's just not feeling like it's going to be that rosy of a day.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Make your own veggie burgers!
Save yourself from the sodium and additives found in store-bought veggie burgers. Even if you don't eat these all the time, it's still healthier than eating frozen ones all the time. They are made from fresh, natural ingredients and flavorful spices. Nothing in these burgers that you can't find at a local grocery store.Ingredients
- 1 large can (approx. 30 oz.) of black beans (drained & rinsed)
- 1 pepper
- 1 small onion
- 3 to 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 egg
- Approximately 1.5 cups of oats
- 1.5 tbsp cumin
- 1.5 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Thai chili paste (or hot sauce)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375.
Put the rinsed beans into a large bowl. Mash well with a fork.
Add pepper, onion and garlic to a food processor. Chop well. Combine this mixture to the beans.
In a small bowl thoroughly mix the egg, cumin, chili powder and chili paste. Then add this to the larger mixture. Slowly add the oats until mixture is sticky and holds together.
Form the burgers with your hands. Place them on a well-greased baking sheet. Cook them in the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes on each side (if your burgers are smaller, use less time).
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
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