Really? Late 20s?

J told me on Saturday that I'll be in my late 20s (officially) tomorrow. I cried. No, seriously. I did. I knew I was turning 26. But I guess I didn't connect the dots. Although at a christmas party that night, a girl told me that 26 is still technically Mid-20s. She's my new best friend. lol.

So, tomorrow another year older. But I'm quite excited that in the year I'm 26, I'll be married, a bridesmaid, and also finish my master's degree. Quite fun. And then the year after that is when J and I will decide if we should move and buy a house. Now that seems a lot more frightening than becoming a "mrs." Although I think they're equally a huge commitment.

This year's holiday season kinda sucks. Last year J and I bought this huge magnificent tree and decorated it with lights and ornaments. This year we have more furniture and have no where to put a real one. So instead, I busted out with my lovely 3 foot shiny pine like the one below, but mine's turquoise.




Cute I know. But J hates it. But it's the best we can do this year. I also have our stockings up, our lil snowmen figurines, and soon we should be getting christmas cards. I got one on Saturday, but I was drunk, and can't remember where I put it. Oops!

Slow down

Lately time has been flying by way too fast. I'm rushing through the days, weeks, now months. September. How did it get here so fast? What happened to time going slow like in elementary school? Guess that's over and done with. What now? Well, lots. Lately J and I have had lots to think about, lots to decide upon, and it's frightening. But J and I are at the threshold of some big changes.

Upon our recent trip to Colorado, we fell in love, again, with the place. Over winter we visited for a week and loved it, even all the snow. It was weird waking up to a blanket of white. Walking around, hearing the snow crunch under your feet, and have to snuggle all night long to stay warm. (ok, well, we also did it because we love each other). But this time was different. Instead of going up there with 8 other people, and mainly staying indoors, this time we ventured out. We got the bug to look at houses with our friends, C&J. They've been there for over a year now, and live in the mountains - it's far from denver, but it's gorgeous there. We all looked with high hopes, and empty accounts. But, after lots of searching (and almost risking missing our flight), we decided we need to make some changes.

Nothing's set for sure yet, but one thing is - the one thing almost every 20-something has on the brain - debt. Next 12 months will be sent, more so than ever, focusing on dwindling down. I started today. My grandmother's house finally sold, and my portion of the inheritance wiped out one card. Another card is done - due to the sell of my laptop. Just one more. While before we both worked on lowering everything, it was a lot harder to motivate ourselves because there was no end goal. I mean, there was - no debt. But then what? Nothing.

This time around, the end goal is hopefully moving, getting a house, and starting our lives. That is great motivation. Huge! I'm very excited for all of that. Stressed at the same time. I'm nervous for the classes I have coming up. I'm in just one now. In 3 weeks I'll have 2 more. I'm going to work on finishing the whole program by next fall. It's a huge undertaking, but I know I can do it. J's working on getting a 2nd job. It'll be rough with having little time to spend with each other, but I'm hoping things will work out where he'll be able to work while I'm in class, so we can still see each other sometimes. :o) It's hard. But I'd rather go through a year of hard work and stress, to have such a huge payoff for a much longer duration.

So for now, I'm taking a few moments here and there to keep myself sane. But it's pretty easy to get wrapped up in everything and have a meltdown. Once we first came home, the meltdowns were often. I think J was a bit shocked with how many tears can come out of one person in such a short time. But now, with planning, it's become a bit more manageable. I'm a planner, it's in my nature. I feel that there's more control, and I'm able to relax more once I know what's going on, in what time frame, and that's what I'm doing. For me and J. We each have our own separate agendas for the next coming months, but we're working together on getting to the same spot. So exciting!!

I wish I took pictures...

Today I went on a major cleaning spree. I woke up at 10, and cleaned all the way till almost 1. It was exhausting. My shower is pretty clean. I still can't get it 100%. Kitchen is spotless, everything is vacuumed. J came home and said "wow, this place is really clean!"

Ya. I spent a lot of time. I know tomorrow when I get up my arms and stomach and back are going to ache. But when J came home, I told him that all I needed him to help with is clean the bathroom (mirror & sink). He said "ok" and turned on his movie. I finished the load of laundry, said I was gonna nap for an hour, and just assumed that bathroom would get cleaned sometime tomorrow...or next week.

When I woke up from my nap, I went to go take a shower, and realized "HOLY SHIT. He CLEANED!!" That tile on the counter was so damn clean, I almost cried. I was thrilled with it. I mean, he paused his movie and cleaned. I mean, for him to pause it was seriously a development.



I probly won't clean like that for another 4 months. Just doing all that cleaning just wiped me out. But it's nice to see everything that way. I was sad to get ready today, cuz that means the mirror for my makeup sits back on the counter, my hair dryer and 3 brushes will be on the counter, and it won't be 100% perfect for awhile.


Last night's game was fun, and I also have to post the crappy pics, but the really good video I took. After the game the stadium had about 20 minutes worth of fireworks. It was the first of their season. Love that! Makes you feel like a kid again :o)

Happy Mother's Day!

Reality check

Well, last night I hit the wall of reality. I realized that for once in my life, I have no huge plans for the future, no change will be occuring, and honestly, it's kind of boring. I've moved every year for the past 5 years basically. There are many things I want like any other 25 year old, but I just can't swing it.

Where I live, I'm not really tied in with a lease. I signed one for a year, but anything after that is wide open. The understanding with my landlord is that I won't be moving until we have to, and there are no plans on J and I moving anytime soon. Moving is an expensive task, and since there's no need, we're not moving.

Living in our 1 bedroom place is getting a bit cramped. I look around and see all this clutter and nothing I can do about it. J has a bunch of guitars and there's no coat closet or garage to store them. Right now, they're leaning against a small shelving/storage unit in the living room. There's also a few amps near them too. I've thought about going through the closet to reorganize and see if I can get more storage out of there. But, that is quite a task and it's Tuesday night and I'm not in the mood. Maybe Saturday, maybe Sunday, maybe next month.

I've realized I'm antsy. I have a few little things I can do to pass the time, but nothing huge. I can work on my scrapbook I have for me and J. Or I can work on this other mini scrapbook/photo album with our friends. But what I really want to do is plan a crazy fun trip. Last year we ventured off to San Francisco and stayed in a random, unfamiliar hotel. We walked around the neighborhood to find a good restaurant. We got lost on the trollies and ended up on the wrong side of town. We met up with some friends, had sushi in downtown, and ventured into a Japanese Kareoke bar (quite the experience...they rent out rooms by the hour!). We found our way to the Full House house. But none of that now.

Rent's too high, bills are too high. I know that this is the part of life that is the learning experience and of course I'd rather be dealing with this now instead of in 10 or 15 years when there's kids and a mortgage involved. It still sucks though.

My whole life has been one struggle after another. My dad left my mom when I was almost 8. He was sleeping with a neighbor. She had never worked a day in her life and all of a sudden her world crashed down. She struggled to figure out what to do for work. She hid her tears from us and always put on a smile. She kept us from knowing things were rough, but we knew.

I got my first job when I was 16. It sucked. I worked in a fast food mexican joint. I quit after 4 weeks. I then went and got a job working in a different fast food joint. This was better. The people were great and it helped pass the time. I went away to college and that was fun. I had to work a lot, and that helped build character, and kept me from drinking my life away.

I transferred back home, went to work in retail and quickly became a part of management. I maintained that while finishing up college, then finally moved on to a real office job. Now I find myself making decent money, but I don't feel it because I'm buried under debt. College debt, credit card debt, rent, the list goes on. New cars driving along the city streets tempts me to figure out a way to get one. My car's only 3 years old, but there are so many ways I can improve on it.

How do you fight the desire to just throw all caution to the wind and indulge in the cravings you desire? How do you become satisfied with living the same life day in and day out? I guess that's part of surviving your 20s. Lots of adults brag how their 30s are the best, and I think I figure it's because you've already gone through this crap, and you've learned from your mistakes and you make better choices. But, I still have 5 more years until I get to be in my 30s. I have 5 more years of learning, changing, and making my life better. So, here's to 5 more years!

14 day challenge...

Well, I got paid today. And it sucks because my next pay day is on the 4th, and rent's due on the first. So this whole check (plus some from savings because one paycheck can't cover all the rent...) will be used up for that. To be safe, I already wrote out the check and will be pretending that I paid rent. Because, well, if I don't, when may 1st comes around, I'll really be hurting.

So, my challenge for the next 14 days is to only use whatever's left in my checking account. Sad as it is, it's a whole 36 bucks. I do have money in my savings, but I HATE taking money out of there. I am not a saver, but I like to just let it sit there. I put money in there a bit ago, and I want to see how long I can keep it there. lol.

So, what's that mean for me? Well, for J too. I do the grocery shopping. We don't get a lot at the store, but we'll be getting even less over the next 2 weeks. Or, I make him go. But that doesn't happen. Also, no satisfying spontaneous cravings, unless it won't cost anything...or we already have something to eat at home.

It sucks, but that's apart of growing up, and the struggle till you become financially stable. If that's at all possible....

Brief about me

Well, I've dabbled on and off for the past few years with online blogs. I love them, then get bored, so I stop, then want to try again. That cycle has now repeated for the third time. Here's a brief about me..

I'm 25 years old living in Southern California where there are more sunny days than gloomy ones. I'm in a serious relationship with a guy I was friends with in HS. He just moved into my place full-time last month. I work as an admin and have tried my turn at recruiting, not sure where I'd like my job to lead me. I graduated from college with a degree in Psychology a few years ago, and I have a crazy family.

I talked my friend Sweet Shortie into joining me on Blogspot. She's going to be a contributor to this blog, as I will be on hers. Ok, enough for now, time for me to do some work.....Yes, I multi-task with my job and also surfing the net, updating myspace (I'm a self-proclaimed addict) and now, this.