Three Things Thursday (9/26/13)

Did you think I wouldn't make it?  did you?  :)

1. A popular wisdom among the saving money blogs is switching to a cheaper or pay-as-you-go cell-phone plan.  So as a iPhone user with a relatively expensive phone plan... I have questioned the value of this choice.  However, I keep coming back to the fact that it's probably worth it's weight in gold to me.  I don't know how many times I've looked something up at the last minute, on the go, or when I least expected it resulting in saving me money and time.  Directions alone could account for major portion of this.  My phone allows me to use groupons with ease, take advantage of other deals, pay bills, find free wifi hotspots and much much more.  Sure... it's a chunk of change each, but for this ADD gal it's been a lifesaver.   

2. Against all odds, I ran 20 miles this Saturday... ok, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but really - I can't believe I did it, and that it went as 'fast' as it did.  11:43 is now my best average for any of the 18+ mile runs I've done.... weird to think that I actually have a few of those now. 


3.  I've been doing what most people would call light strength training, however I think it's quite a lot.  I've even hired a personal trainer, which was definitely a stretch for my budget, but so far I think it's been worth it.  Well I'm not exactly looking like a body builder yet, or benching some sort of extreme weight... I've begun to notice some pretty decent improvements in my ability to lift things... backpacks, boxes, household items and so on.  It use to be hard for me to lift just about anything and now I can do so in many cases with ease.   It's a hard improvement to measure really, but it's nice none the less.

Three Things Thursday (9/19/13)

So I miss blogging... but I don't have time to write long saga type posts, so here's my attempt at making blogging work for me again.  I guarentee nothing though!

1. So many personal finance blogs are geared towards those who make more money than I do.  Often suggesting things that aren't really realistic for us in the middle income bracket.  For instance, this post, while helpful still, suggests things like cancelling 'XM radio' ok, well what if you don't have that in the first place?  Here's a more helpful post that identifies stragies that could work for lower wage earners, though I will say even this does not adequately address people earning minimum wage or not much more who can barely pay rent in the first place.  (yes, so maybe we should raise that already). 

2.  I've self-diagnosed myself with Runner's Knee and it's brought my training to near screaching halt.  It's super annoying and is saping my already waning motivation.  The primary reccomended treatments are to rest and ice... and rest and ice I have.   I've run my '20 miler' already' so I don't know how much I can coast to the finish line, but I guess I'll be trying to coast... I do know I'll be in a corral in Chicago on Oct 13th regardless, and I do I hope I also pass under a Finish line that day too. 

3. Today marks what would have been my 5th wedding anniversary.  Doesn't really settle with me in one way or another... but it's weird to have a day that was meant to hold so much meaning now hold so very little.  It also kind of makes me feel kind of old, while still wishing those were actually longer ago. 

This post needs a picture, so here's my cat (one of them) and my man!

29

Another year.  I officially marked this milestone on Wednesday, which means I share my day with a somewhat sorrowful remembrance.  Don't worry, I don't entertain any feelings of guilt by having a good time on the one day a year I get to call mine, but I'm gracious enough to appreciate those who lost something that day, even if I'm not in favor of every political action following it.

No, I won't be writing 29 goals this year, though you can check out my progress on last years 28 (somewhat of a mixed review, as somethings were totally forgotten about).  That being said, I feel good about what I've done in the last year and in a generally good place in life.  

My twenties are almost over so I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I've noticed that the frequency of questions like "Do you have kids?" has increased, but meanwhile I still get carded fairly often.  So... appearances wise, it depends on the day or even hour.

Running is now a staple in my life as opposed to the new thing I'm trying, I'm not sure at which point I realized it switched, but could of been within the last year.   Though, as I look to next year, it's the first time since I've started that I'm actually looking to scale things back.  Chicago may or may not be my last marathon for a while.  I love the race, but the training is brutal, a fact I manage to forget every time I sign up for another one.  Also on the running front, I've found that I love pacing.  It's a fun way to participate in the race, without having to beat yourself up too much.  I've also gotten a bunch of 'free stuff' in the process.

Well I'm struggling with anything profound to say about my age, but I think you should know I had a lovely date for the occasion, which included a delicious looking steak dinner a $10 glass of wine (I rarely spring for that- luckily it wasn't me springing :).