What is your Earth Footprint? Mine is 3.3!

I haven't blogged about this subject yet, but it is an ongoing goal for me....Living a more sustainable life (greener living).  My parents ALWAYS recycled bottles, newspapers and cans...that that is a no-brainer.  But living a more earth-friendly existence is about more than just recycling.  We make little decisions every day that impact our environment.  We probably don't even realize that we have better choices because we are so married to our routines.
Do yourself a favor and take this quiz: http://www.earthday.net/footprint2/flash.html.  It will ask you various questions about your consumption habits, living situation, commuting situation, etc.  In the end you will get a score...and in this game you don't want a high score!  The results is how many earths does it take if everyone on the planet lived the same lifestyle you do.  My score was 3.3.  Yep, it takes 3.3 Earths to maintain my current lifestyle.  Yikes!
The cool thing about the quiz is that it gives you feedback on what you can be doing better to improve.  For instance, my score would improve if I used alternate forms of energy, drove a hybrid car (or walk/bike to work) and buy more locally grown produce and meat.
Take the quiz and see what you can do better.

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca

My Credit Score: Not as bad as I thought, but check back later...

So you know those goofy commercials with the three guys singing in odd places (dressed like pirates) about their credit troubles?  The moral of their story is you should make sure you know what's on your report and know your score.  By law, credit bureaus (three of them) need to provide you with one free credit report per year.  Notice I said report, not score.  Don't get me wrong, the report is very valuable.  You should be going through this with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything is alright.  However, everyone wants to know their score.  It's a unit of measure to tell us how healthy we are financially.  This score can fluctuate from month to month and is usually behind by three or so months.
The last year has wrecked havoc on me financially.  I have paid many bills late, screened and avoided creditor calls, maxed out credit cards, etc.  Overall, a bad year.  I have been putting off reviewing my score because I'm afraid of the bad news.  Sort of like when you are trying to lose weight and you have a really bad week of eating out and not exercise....you don't want to step on the scale to see the bad news.  But if we don't step on the scale, we won't know how much (or little) work we have in front of us.  Likewise, I finally looked up my score on Monday.
Keep in mind, 18 months ago I had goodcredit.  I had paid off most of my cards (revolving credit_, was making all my payments on time, closed accounts I wasn't using, etc.  My score then was in the mid 700s. 
The good news is that my current score is not as bad as I expected.  I thought it would be in the mid to upper 500s.  However, it is roughly 150 points lower than it was a year ago...which is disappointing because it took time to build up the score I was proud of, and now it will take time to build it back up again.
The potentially worse news is that I had ex-husband issues last week involving a mortgage in my name that hasn't been paid for 3 months.  Ouch!  So we will see how that effects my score down the road.....I'm scared just thinking about it.

So what am I doing about it?  First, I set up time to meet with a Debt Management Councilor.  She was great.  We went through all my income, fixed expenses and periodic expenses and came up with a budget planned out over the next several paychecks.  Also, she negotiated the APR% on 7 of my credit cards down to below 9% (I'm embarrassed to admit that the average APR% I was paying on those 7 cards was 27%).  The condition is that I cut them up in her office and close the accounts.....did that feel wonderful!!  All of the cards were store credit cards and with the interest I was spending, I wasn't saving anything by using them.

So, it's a start....and that's where all goals begin.  At the starting line.

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca

Starbuck's $.50 Iced Coffee

Wow!  It's been a while since my last post.  Sorry about that....I guess you could say I was on a bit of a vacation, but now I'm back!

I discovered a great product that will save me money and make my mornings run a bit smoother....It's Starbucks Via Iced Coffee.  Yes it's instant coffee, but it is delicious.  I picked it up at my local Starbucks because I wanted to take it along to Herman, MN while staying with my parent.  My mother makes very weak coffee, plus it was supposed to be a hot weekend.  I thought it would be pretty slick to pack these little packets and whip up my own iced coffees using tap water (or bottled water on the road).  I was pleasently surprised by the authentic taste of the beverage I whipped up.  It tasted just as awesome as real iced coffee from coffee shops. 
Now, a pack of 5 costs $4.99.  I found that 1 pack was too strong for the 16 oz glass I typically use (1/2 full of ice), I actually get 10 drinks from one package.  A grande iced coffee at Starbucks is $2.50...so I'm saving $2 per drink.  Plus, I can make one whenever I feel like.
This week I have grabbed one packet, throw it in my purse and head out the door.  When I get to work I fill up one 16 oz cup with ice, add water from the water fountain and add half the powder from the packet....stir it up and enjoy all morning....yum!
FYI - If you like iced lattes, you can add the powder to milk.
http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/starbucks-via-instant-coffee/iced-coffee

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca

Jillian Michaels Kicks Butt....specifically mine.

Today I tried the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred....and I feel shredded.  It wasn't quite as bad (meaning excruciatingly difficult) as I thought, but I certainly couldn't finish all the reps and I took a few breaks.  Her method in this DVD is 3 minutes cardio, 2 minutes strength, 1 minute abs and you do this three times with no stopping or breaks.  Cardio was jumping jacks, jumping rope and kick backs.  Anyway, it was hard and I was sweating, sweating, sweating....for 20 whole minutes doing the 'easy modifications', and that was just on the Beginner level.
There are two more levels to get though, presumably within 30 days.  Jillian advises not moving to the next level until comfortable on the current level....meaning no breaks.

I think I am going to try doing this every day (or as many days as I can) and see if Jillian can really shred me like she says she can.  We'll see.  I hate doing the same things day after day....

Well, I'm sick of blogging about exercise.  Tomorrow I vow to blog about something else more interesting.

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca

Exercise Log

Yesterday I started my mini-goal of doing a different workout everyday.  The good news is that I started it when I said I would.  The bad news is that I did the same thing two days in a row.  ugh.
I'm dog sitting my sister's black lab this weekend...Bailey.  Bailey is refusing to go outside in our backyard to do her business....she will only do it if I put her on a leash and take her on a walk.  She's a pretty big dog, so even when she's walking its a good little workout for me.  I live in a neighborhood that lays out on a hill and has one big road circular road.  One lap around the road is a little more than a quarter mile....so I usually do four laps to make a mile.  With the added benefit of being on a hill, its a pretty good workout.
So Bailey and I go two laps, then I drop her off at the house and I pick up Stella (my little Shi-Tzhu) to do the last laps.  It's been pretty hot the last two days, so by the time I'm done I'm drenched in sweat and ready for a tall glass of water.
Tomorrow (depending on the weather), I'm thinking about going on a bike ride.  Again, we live in a very hilly part of Hopkins, so it will be interesting to see how far I can make it.  I'm still staring at my Jillian Michaels DVD.  If it rains, perhaps I will give it a try.
Tonight I'm off to treat myself to a movie.  I think I'm going to go see Eclipse.  Can't wait!

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca

Exercising is like Paying Bills

I was having lunch with my friend Audrey on Monday and we were chatting about my blog and the progress of my goals (see prior posting), specifically weight loss and exercise.  I made an analogy about exercise, "Exercising is like paying bills.  I hate doing it, but it must be done and I feel better once it's compete".  As soon as I said it I knew it would be the topic for my next posting.
It's true.  I never look forward to exercising....I procrastinate as long as I can.  Why is that?  I like the results, I like to sweat (because its an indication that my workout was effective)....I don't like being out of breath, and I absolutely hate running.  I suspect that part of this issue is that I don't think of exercising being a necessary routine...it's not a habit.  Also, I get bored easily.  Doing the same DVD, treadmill, walking path everyday would not appeal to me, so I need to switch it up.
So, starting Friday I am going to do a different activity everyday and blog about my thoughts on it.  Maybe this way I will find something I really like and it will become routine.  Hopefully I will insipre my readers to try something different in their workout routine.  Just to clarify....I will not do the same activity on consecutinve days, but I might to the same activities more than once during the week.  I have some Biggest Loser DVDs that I'm intimidated by, so this would be a good way to get my butt moving and conquer my fear of Jillian Michaels.

Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions...I would love to hear them!

Thanks for reading.
Rebecca

My Eye is on the Wrong Ball at the Right Time

Yesterday's sermon at Zion Lutheran Church was about 'Keeping Your Eye on the Prize' (which in this context is Eternal Life with our Heavenly Father).  It inspired me to look at my earthly goals and do a little self examination on where I'm at.  Although I've made progress since first establishing my goal, lately I've been sort of sedentary.  My weight loss has hovered around 10 pounds for the last three weeks, which is why I added 'Exercise' to my goals (to get the pounds moving south again).  I haven't made any progress on my credit cards or digging into my credit report (and taking action on old accounts).  I got my first check from Arbonne!  It was $68....a far cry from $500, but it's better than nothing.
So, before I started beating myself up I dug into what is truly going on.  Am I afraid of my goals?  Are they too ambitious?  Are they really 'my goals', or are they goals that are expected of me?
What I found is that it's none of the above.  It's time and priorities....which can easily turn into excuses, so I'm treading lightly here.  The truth is that it's summer!!  And for the last two weeks (and this upcoming week) I have had a baseball game or softball game every night....really.  I'm finding that when you are a single parent you don't have the luxury of skipping a game by sending the other spouse in your absence.  So I attend each and every game, cheering my two favorite athletes on, taking pictures, socializing with the parents, and making quick suppers as we head out the door, or when we return around 8:30 pm.  What does this have to do with my stale goals?
First, meal planning has been difficult....when I'm on the road and out of the house for 3-4 hours a night I tend to eat convenient food (which usually isn't good for my body).   Second, my typical exercise time is between 6-8 pm in my basement (where I hop on the treadmill or do my Wii Active), obviously if I'm not in the house during those hours, I'm not exercising.  Third, I'm not working on my credit report and bills when I'm not home!
So what?  Even though accomplishing my goals is very important to me, nothing is more important than 'being present' for my kids....because baseball & softball season will  be over soon, and 4 years from now I won't have the opportunity to spend my evenings with Dakota.   So, even though my eye is not on the prize right now, it is focused in the right direction at the moment.

Having said that....there are adjustments I need to make.  I can plan better for 'transportable' meals to grab and go from my fridge on game days.  I may need to adjust my workout schedule a bit by taking Stella for a walk after the game, or getting up earlier in the morning to work out (yuck!).  I could carve out more time on the weekends to work on finances.  If you have any ideas for me please comment!  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca