If you really knew me...

I have seen a bunch of these posts floating around the blog world lately, and I thought it would be fun to try to think up some for myself!

If you really knew me...you would know that I cut the tags off pretty much all of my clothing. Mainly shirts and dresses because the tags that they put in them usually make me itch pretty bad. I'm a big fan of the brands that print the tag straight on to the shirt so I don't have to worry about potentially cutting a hole in anything while trying to actually remove the tag. Let me tell you, this has happened MANY times throughout my life.

If you really knew me...you would know that I used to be a pretty big food snob. Food snob meaning when I was younger I wasn't big on trying new foods and would mostly stick to what I felt comfortable with. I have improved DRAMATICALLY as I've gotten older, and can also thank my husband for getting me to expand my taste buds. He grew up eating pretty much every type of food out there and because of him I have become quite a Thai food and Indian food gal. Go figure.

If you really knew me...you would know that I am addicted to pretty much anything on the ID channel. In case you don't know what that is, they have numerous different shows related to solving some pretty heinous crimes like murders and finding people that have disappeared. This also ties in to my addiction to Law & Order: SVU.


If you really knew me...you would know that getting older is exciting to me, yet extremely terrifying. I turn 25 in a week and a half and I keep thinking about where the time has gone, what I have done with my life, what I should be doing, etc... I will be working on a post about 26 things to do before I turn 26 so stay tuned for that as well!


If you really knew me...you would know that I have a STRONG urge to travel and I am always researching the best travel deals I can find. Growing up, my parents would take us to the same hotel in Santa Cruz every summer for a week and while I did love going there, I do wish that they would have taken us to different places that we had never been too. One reason for this is my dad does not fly because he is deathly afraid of planes, and Santa Cruz was only about an hour drive from our place. This saved him from having a nervous breakdown.

on that same note...


If you really knew me...you would know that I didn't get to go on my first plane ride until I was 15. This seems like a big deal to me because so many people I know got to travel as kids, and my daughter is not even two yet and has already been on a 5 hour flight to and from Chicago. My mom took me to Vegas for my birthday and even though I wasn't of legal age to do any drinking or gambling, I did get to do a ton of shopping and sight seeing with just me and my mom. Being one of three girls....this was a huge milestone in my life.


If you really knew me...you would know that even though I do try to be a "frugal mommy" I do have a tendency to spend too much money. Seeing as how we are trying to buy our first place in the next few years, I have cut back quite a bit. But I do have a hard time passing up a good deal.

Color Run San Francisco!

So this past weekend has been filled with lots of different fun events, but one of the most exciting ones by far was doing the Color Run! In case you do not know what it is, the Color Run is a 5k run (or jog and skip which is what we did for a lot of it) where at each of the 1k, 2k, 3k, 4k, and 5k markers you get color tossed at you! The only requirement is that you have to wear a white shirt and once the run is over you look like you came out of Willy Wonka's factory. Now, I am not the best runner but this was definitely the event for me. It is not a competitive race and you can go at whatever speed you like. It worked perfect for us because we were able to bring the munchkin and jog with her in her stroller so we didn't have to try to find a babysitter. It was so much fun and I cannot wait to do it again next year! I've never seen so many people in one place smiling while they were running and were completely filthy. So awesome.

She was such a trooper for the whole event. I was worried that she might get freaked out with so many people being around us but she happily sat in the stroller and watched as people ran around us.

So much color!

Our whole group that ran. Next year I am totally making a costume. Now to figure out one for the husband...

What have you done?

So I was browsing through different blogs and stumbled upon this list on Robin's blog and thought it would be fun to see how many of these things I have actually done! It's a bit different from my personal bucket list but maybe it could give me some more ideas of things to add to it! So without further ado...

1. Started your own blog- (Clearly. I've had numerous journals and blogs throughout my life.)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii - (Loved it! Cannot wait to go back at some point!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm - (Most recently it was on the flight to Chicago. Such a different experience to see it up close like that in the sky!)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch- (Does piano count? I taught myself how to play when I was 7.)

15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - (Whoops!)
24. Built a snow fort - (I'm so deprived)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - (one day!)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise - (Hopefully again soon!)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - (I have big plans towards this one!)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - (Some Spanish and of course baby gibberish)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight- <3
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - (Snorkeling yes. I'm deathly afraid of deep water so I don't think I could ever go scuba diving.)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - (Just last week when we watched Spiderman!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - (Maybe my daughter will do this one day and I can help)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma- (I'm borderline anemic and they told me I need more iron in my system before I can donate. Booo)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - (Whoops. Silly little teenager I was)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - (Thank you cut backs)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - (I was pretty lucky that I had an awesome dad co-sign with me on a car when I was 17.)

83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit - (Different companies I've worked for have gotten sued over the years which resulted in me getting little amounts of money here and there.)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I've only done 38 out of 99. This is kind of pathetic haha. I will most definitely be working on changing some of these in the near future. 

What have you done on the list?

=)

July Spending Freeze

Even though I do consider myself to be a frugal shopper most of the time, I also consider myself to be an excessive shopper. This meaning that I often go to stores just to "browse" and then end up seeing something that I'm sure I can't live without and I justify different reasons as to why I absolutely need to have it. This happens most frequently with clothing but it has been known to happen with other things like household items and books. But after sitting down and thoroughly going over all the debt that we have acquired (aka about $7500 just in credit cards alone) it's time to get rid of all that pesky debt and work towards a brighter future of buying our first place. 


Now my problem is not just paying credit card debt down and my HUGE little shopping problem. I also have a habit of eating out too much, because quite honestly? I am not a good cook and I do not find much joy in doing it. It's something that I am slowly working on but it is definitely a work in progress. My husband is a fantastic cook and he is usually pretty fast at throwing together a delicious meal which has been a huge lifesaver in our marriage. 


So on to the spending freeze...for the month of July I am going to be setting certain spending goals for myself and our household and I am going to do my absolutely best to stick with them. I'm not going to cut out spending entirely, because frankly when you have a small child random expenses are bound to appear. But I am going to set certain guidelines that I will try to follow.


1. NO CLOTHES/SHOES/ETC... - This one will quite possibly be the most difficult. If the munchkin and I are ever bored, I tend to find myself at places like Marshalls, Ross, TJMaxx, etc... and that is going to have to stop. Once I'm there, I can almost always find a cute top or scarf or some other adorable item. And while those items usually aren't too expensive and cost around $15 each, those items do add up when you frequently go to those stores. Just the other day I went in to Marshalls and found a shirt I loved that was $12.99 and I ended up buying it in two colors. Did I need both colors? No. But on the plus side I can wear them both with tons of different outfits. See what I mean about justifying? I also should throw in that I believe I have over 100 pairs of shoes (literally) so I should not NEED to buy anymore.

2. NO EATING OUT - This is also going to play a big role. The goal is to go grocery shopping more frequently so I do not need to go eat out somewhere. I plan to cook more meals and have more snack options available at home for all of us. I'm also going to have to ignore those late night McDonald's fry cravings. The only exception that I will make is if we go out to dinner with my in-laws (which happens maybe once a month) or if there is some kind of family event where everyone goes out to eat. But as far as us as a family? It needs to stop. I also want to try to be better about remembering to bring coupons so that the grocery bills do not become ridiculously out of control. Darn you healthy food for being so expensive.

3. STUFF FOR AMELIA - This will not be cut out completely because obviously kids end up needing things at random times. But I am going to be better about buying things for her "just because." If we are ever at Target or other fun stores, I will almost always browse the toddler area to see if there are any good deals on clothes and whatnot that we just cannot pass up. While I am saving money because I normally buy stuff on sale or clearance, I am still spending money which doesn't need to happen. I am blessed to have a niece who is about a year older than my daughter, so we get a TON of hand me downs. About every six months or so my awesome sister will go through all of my niece's clothing and put all the things in a bag that don't fit her anymore, and we will always get first dibs on any of the things that we want. This has been a lifesaver that I am totally grateful for. 

(I will have to refrain from buying you, you cute and adorable little dress)

4. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS - This counts for a big portion of spending because I always end up buying things that I really don't need but think that I do. Things like make-up that I never end up wearing, or craft supplies for those crafts that I am going to get around to doing yet they are still sitting in the closet from a year ago. You know, THOSE items. There will be a few exceptions for things we really do need like toilet paper (which is huge in this house) and cleaning supplies and maybe some small crafts for the munchkin. Any by crafts I mean pieces of paper and stickers from the dollar tree. Nothing too excessive.

(One day I hope to have an amazing closet like this one.)

5. CUTTING BACK ON GAS/DRIVING - We drive a lot in this house. And I mean A LOT. My husband runs his own company and every job he does is in a completely different area. Some jobs might only be 5 minutes from our house. Others not so much. One job he did over the course of almost 3 months had him driving 40 miles each way to get to the job. Because of this, it's inevitable that we are going to have high gas bills every month. So my part of the goal is to cut back on my part. I am going to walk more places with the munchkin in her stroller, and if I do need to drive anywhere I am going to try to knock out going to as many places that I possibly can at once. That way I won't be going out every single day and wasting more gas. Because my summer class is online, I will be able to cut out driving to school all the time which will be a huge help. Now if we could only get more local jobs for the husband...

So at the end of the month I hope I can report back here that I was able to save a ton of money. Cheers for being cheap! =)