Let's Catch Up

Well it's been a while and a lot has happened in the past two weeks.

First, I lost a total of 10 pounds on Weight Watchers so far. I feel great. It's such a great feat to lose any weight so to lose this much already is fantastic. I went a little crazy over the past week because I was on vacation and it was birthday, but that's ok.

Second, I turned 20 on June 25. I spent my birthday in the 1000 Islands, where Will lives. I got my first sunburn in 12 years and it was TERRIBLE! Since Will turned 21, I was really jealous that he got to drink and party, so I got to go to Kingston, Ontario for a day to buy a legal drink.

Now I'm back to work and reality. Before going on vacation, I had a ton of hours and almost no free time, but now I get some free time. Now I can enjoy the summer and have fun.

Protect Yourself!

I've lived in good old Voorheesville, NY for the past 6 years and have loved every minute of it, but there has been some really scary things happening in our tiny town.

Burglaries have been happening all over our area, 12 in the past two months, and so far the burglars have not been caught. In such a small town, it would seem that people breaking into homes would be caught quickly, but it has yet to happen. One of my very good friends had her home broken into about a month ago and she lives only a street over from my house.

It's too scary to think about how easily people can invade your homes, so protect yourself and your home from the possible burglary.

Trim back hedges so you can see out your windows from the inside and out. Make sure you close your blinds if you have any fancy stuff visible from outside your home. Talk to your neighbors because they can help a lot when there is suspicious activity going on around your house.

And ALWAYS lock your doors and windows when leaving your home. People overlook this the most (I'm guilty of it, too) but it is so important!

Protect yourself and help others by spreading the word on how to protect your home from invasion.

Weight Watchers Journey: Week 1

After one week on Weight Watchers, I am more than satisfied with the program. In one week, I lost 5.2 pounds. I am ecstatic!

I am looking forward to getting back into my old clothes and feeling better about my weight. The only thing I don't like is that I'm not used to eating small portions. I feel hungry and sometimes frustrated with choosing foods to eat. Also, since I'm newly vegetarian, I don't have many ideas of what to eat. Luckily a lot of vegetarian food is low in Points so I don't have to worry about eating a bulky steak.

Maybe I'll start progress pictures to help document the process and maybe I'll get more motivated to try harder.

If anyone has some tips for healthy eating, please leave me a comment or something. I need ideas for meals and I'm getting sick of eating veggie burgers.

How I Should Save Money Over the Summer

This might be the most cliche post ever. Saving money posts are definitely overlooked because they are boring, but I think this list is useful for me. I've been having so much trouble with trying to save money because I am a huge shop-aholic and I keep making plans to travel for the summer.

Here are a few tricks I'm living by this summer to save a little dough.

1. Tracking my meals. 
Since I started Weight Watchers, I've been tracking my meals and all the food I eat in general. It's actually helped me put the amount of food we eat into perspective. Cheaper foods, like bread and potatoes, can be used multiple times in a day. Not only does tracking my food help me control what I'm eating to lose some weight, it will help me gain some weight in my wallet.

2. Beware of Buy 1, Get 1 50% and Buy 2, Get 1 Free.
I know it's tough to resist, but only fall into those deals when you intend on buying the amount of items needed for the deal. The only time you should get anything extra is if it comes free or makes things cost less. Then you can always share with a friend and possibly split your cost in half.

3. Check out Groupon, LivingSocial, and flash deal sites. 
Only use them when needed, but I've found some awesome money savers on these sites. For instance, I got half off for the Color Me Rad 5K run in September that I do NOT want to miss. Flash deal sites, like HauteLook has a deal on designer stuff for a day or two. I've seen some stuff marked down almost 90% off. When buying summer clothes or gifts, these places are great to check out.

4. Use exact change when paying in cash. 
The forgotten currency. No one uses coins ever anymore. The amount of coins I have laying around is insane. I probably have $5 on the floor of my car alone. If you like to just use paper money, make sure you roll your coins and get stacks of paper. Fellas, I'm pretty sure strippers don't take coins. If you use your coins when paying for things, you'll give yourself an illusion of spending less money, which makes up for blowing your whole paycheck on shoes or bikinis or something.

5. Amazon and eBay can save you a fortune. 
Recently I found a gift for Will's birthday on eBay for $25 less and with free shipping. Spend the time shopping around before buying something. I know that losing a little bit of time is better than losing a lot of money. Check the shipping prices before purchasing anything, too. Add everything up and make a list of the best places to buy. My sister just foolishly bought $60 rainboots with $40 shipping fees. What she thought was a good deal ended up being extremely expensive. Make sure that something cheaper online doesn't have shipping and tax that will make it more expensive than going to a store.

6. Buy gas in cash. 
Most places around me have a cheaper cash price for gas than paying in credit. The extra few cents per gallon will add up over the course of a summer.

7. Get cash before your vacation. 
I know now that when I go to Will's, my bank won't be around and I am not going to pay $1-$2.50 for every time I withdraw from any random ATM. Make sure you take out a good amount of cash before going somewhere that your bank will not be. I made a rough estimate of how much I should spend over my vacations and take out cash before leaving. That way, if I need a little bit more I would only have to get ATM charges once or twice for the entire time.

8. Thrift.
I know this rule is simple and everyone knows about it, but it's easy enough to make thrifted clothes trendy. I'm taking a trip to Salvation Army tomorrow with my sister because every Wednesday is family day and everything in the store is 50% off. This way I can get some denim shorts and t-shirts for cheaps and I won't have to blow my paychecks on something I won't like next summer.

I hope these tips will help out other people as much as myself. I know I am going to take these seriously this summer.

Starting a New Chapter

Since going to school, my weight got a little out of hand.

Starting this weekend, I am beginning Weight Watchers. I've never been comfortable with my weight, but now I am trying to start something new.

I recently stopped eating meat, so I really need a way to eat vegetarian food that isn't a carb.

Let's wish me a little luck in getting back into my old short shorts and crop tops!