Savings at the grocery store

I did a big grocery shopping today. With a combination of e-coupons (the ones that are put on your shoppers card), circular ads, and manufacturer coupons, I saved $83.99 and spent $159.16. In this shopping I bought about six months worth of laundry detergent, toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, dishsoap, and papertowels. I also bought about 3 months worth of food, although I will have to buy produce, milk, bread, etc. I'd be interested in hearing your saving ideas. Of course the papertowels will probably last longer as I don't really use them---and I make my laundry detergent. I just like the tide for my handwashables.

New Photos--what one year of work looks like

Ok, It's been awhile since I've uploaded pictures. I took some more comparison photos tonight. The only thing that you can tell immediately is that I have a tan! ...well, as tan as this white girl gets... My hair is longer, too. I'm down to 139 pounds and was 170+ at my heaviest. I still have a gut. Though you can't tell from the photos, it doesn't fold over now (medical term is 'panus'). From April to Sept, one can tell that I've lost more weight in my breasts. This is a good thing. I had been contemplating reduction, but think that a combination of smaller breast size plus strengthening my back has eliminated most of my back pain. The past two months have been spent focusing on running. Maybe I should have taken pictures of my legs?
I started lifting weights in Sept '09, so this is pretty much a years worth of work.

Saving money-rethinking phone, etc.

I'm home sick today, so while laying on the couch, I thought I'd spend some time between naps figuring out how to reduce some of my monthly bills. The first on my list is my internet bill. I currently use Embarq or whatever their name is (formerly sprint). Anyhow, in order to have high speed, they require a landline. So, I pay for a land line (about $20/month) that I never use...the only people that ever call on it are telemarketers. LOL it was unplugged probably for 2 weeks and I never noticed it. My highspeed is $50/month for a total of $70 to just have internet at the house.

ATT ran an ad for $14.95 high speed and no land line required...and even had a deal that you could use your laptop on the go with ATT network. Sounds too good to be true. I called, and yes, it is a valid deal, but they don't service Oxford :-( So for now, I'm stuck with $70 internet.

I have a couple of options:
1) Call up Embarq and ask why they require a landline if ATT can do it without...
2) switch back to dial-up *sigh* (still have to have the $20 landline)
3) sit in my yard so I get a better signal on Oxford's hotspot at Napawalla Park. Currently I only get 1 bar and that's in my kitchen only.
4) Do without internet at all...I do have a Blackberry, but there are somethings that are hard to do without internet.

Thoughts? Any of you in Oxford have the hook up on cheap internet? I had SUTV come out to do a line of sight test, and my house failed.

My first race, MVelopes, and painting

I ran my first race today. It was a 2 miles "Fun Run" in Oxford, KS. I was third in my division and my time was 25:32. Not a wonderful time, but not too shabby considering 6 weeks ago I couldn't even run 30 seconds. I have never been able to run a mile in my life, and now I can run 2. Actually, 3 as I ran 3 miles on Wednesday night.

This blog is about putting my life, finances, and house in order after a divorce. I've made substantial progress in the body area. As far as finances, I'm slowly paying down debts. I'm using an online budgeting program through Crown Financial Ministries called "Mvelopes", It seems to be a neat program, but getting it set up is giving me fits. Anybody familiar with this program that can lend me a hand?

As far as the house is concerned, this weeks project is repainting the dining room. There is a gosh-awful blue color on the wainscoting that I have never liked since I painted 10 years ago. 10 years is a long time to look at something you don't like.

I have acquired an antique dining room set for $250 and the set includes table with leaves, 6 chairs, and a buffet. I know that I should save my money, but this was a deal too good to pass up. My other set is unsafe (one chair exploded under a guest). The chairs have been overhauled multiple times. I can't get rid of the set because it was my grandmothers (I promise I'm not being a hoarder). I have taken the leaves out of the table and retired it to the kids playroom for puzzles and games. The remaining chairs are strong enough to support the kids weight.

I figure that you can not buy 6 replacement chairs for $250. Plus now I have a buffet to store my serving platters and table cloths.

Week 5, Day 2 and getting ready for the big run :-)

Did day 2 of week 5 tonight. I didn't wait until midnight either :-) The weather was the perfect running temperature. So yes, O-town, that was me hauling my a$$ around town. ha! Tonight I ran two 8-minute runs, in addition to the walking before and after. At one point I timed my jogging speed on the treadmill at the gym. Seems I jog at about 5.1 to 5.3 mph, so it would take about 12 minutes to complete a mile. I have never been able to run a mile or even a half mile, but tonight I ran a half-mile....TWICE :-) So, day 3 of week 5 will be a 20 minute run. This is going to be a big deal as it will be a little over a mile for me. I sure hope I can do it.

39 days until race day :-)

I'm fundraising for Komen Mid-Kansas Race for the Cure. Click on the link to read my bio or to donate. A big thanks to cousin Catherine for being the first to sponsor.

http://race.komenmidks.org/site/TR/Runs/General?px=1203151&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

Beating my speed and I'm finally not "obese" or "overweight"

I did 1.75 miles in 27 minute vs. a previous thirty. I made a conscious effort to pick up the speed. This 27 minutes was 11 minutes of walking and 16 minutes of jogging. Average speed was 3.88 mph, which is better than the 3.5 obtained previously.
that was the last day of Week 4. It's on to week 5 now. Heard a rumor about a 20 minute run....
Glad to announce I'm no longer "Obese" or "overweight" according to the US Dept of Health and Human Services. visit their website http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ to calculate yours. I'm on the high side of normal. My goal weight will put me on the low side of normal.

My "running" speed? LOL

I'm on week four of Couch to 5K and for grins and giggles I decided to calculate my speed. Eons ago I drove around my block in my ancient Cavalier to see what the distance is. If I remember correctly, 4 times around my block is a mile. The lots on our block are 50' X 150'. That means the length down each side of the block is 300'. The perimeter is 1200', so four times around the block would be 5,800', which is over a mile.
I follow the couch to 5K podcast which is 30 minutes long. Week four consisted of 16 minutes of running split up into two 3-minute segments and 2-5 minute segments. The rest of the time is spent walking (14 minutes). It's impossible to separate the distance run from the the distance walked, so I lumped it all together. I made it around the block 7 times (1 3/4 miles). Plug the time and distance into a calculator and my average speed is 3.5 miles. LOL average walk speed for a woman is 3.0! and for a man is 3.5. I guess I need to pick up the pace!