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I stopped by Micheals this weekend and spent $9 to buy:
- Yellow Duct Tape $4
- Black little puff balls $2
- Black Wire $3
I decided that I would dress up like a bee this year! I was excited about this idea, because who doesn’t have tons of black in their closet? You can make it as sexy or modest as you want, depending on the outfit you choose. Mine is tight, but no where near as revealing as what you will find if you search for ready-made bee costumes for grown ups.
I tested out my idea using an old cheap skirt I had — I think you could use a skirt you still wear since the tape seems quite gentle. I can’t do the top in advance since it is fitted. I made the stripes while wearing the skirt, so they are a little crooked (will try to fix!) and they aren’t as taut when the skirt is off.
I already had two coat hangers and old black nylons for the wings. I had a headband to attach the wire to for antennae, and black leggings so I’d look more bug like. I’m going to try to use a swimsuit string to fasten the wings on. I also want these yellow shoes for fun, but we’ll see. They aren’t even the right shade, but I’m in love with mustard right now.
If you want your boyfriend to roll his eyes, you could also consider carrying a fake gun/knife — then you are a killer bee!
I realized I have an irrational fear of adding recurring monthly costs to my budget, even if a one-time cost is way higher than a monthly cost
This became apparent when I joined bootcamp. For one month I paid $150. I must say, it has been really great. It is more like small group personal training, and I’ve rediscovered all these muscles that I forgot about (basically any muscle not required for running or hiking or biking).
I discovered that many of the bootcamp attendees were semi-permanent bootcampers. They do bootcamp over and over again as their main way to stay in shape. Effective, but holy expensive!
Still, it dawned on me that I was willing to pay a one time $150 cost, but I had deemed gyms as unnecessary. They are unnecessary. Of course I can do work outs at home. And run on my own. But I can’t run in the mornings anymore (too dark/scary) and I’m a loser when it comes to devising my own strength routines. If I joined a gym, I could work out any time, take yoga classes, take group strength class, maybe even have pool access… all for $30+/month? That really doesn’t seem unreasonable.
By the way, $150 is five months worth of the gym, even if it is a monthly cost. And I can cancel any time (i think…) and my company seems to have several discounts that waive the BS “initiation” fees.
After bootcamp is over, I think I’ll go gym shopping. I still prefer running outside as my main cardio, but I think joining a strength class would be great. Some gyms even have a “bootcamp” class you can join for much less than $150/month.
Need:
Reasonable cost: $30/m is my target, $50 is probably the max.
Location: Near work, near my apartment, or on the way home from work.
Class offerings: Some sort of total body strength class in evening. Yoga.
Amenities: Not too sketchy, machines available at hours I intend to be there.
Want:
Location: Multiple locations, one near work, one near home
Class offerings: Yoga for no extra charge
Amenities: Pool, jaccuizi
I’ve done some research, and this is really hard to come by. All the $30/month gyms are pretty grungy and all the gyms that actually got good reviews have $75/mo or more price tags. I probably will start with a more dingy gym and see how it goes.
My weekend was great, but extremely unproductive, considering how much work I have.
T and I had a small birthday party at our apartment Saturday, and spent most of Friday night cleaning and shopping for it. We probably spent $150 on snacks, alcohol, cake and other supplies, but ended up with 3 more bottles of wine than we started with, and quite a bit of snacks and alcohol left. And a lot more cake than two people should eat by themselves. And lots of beer left (I made T buy decent stuff because I figured there would be leftovers). We definitely won’t be needing any alcohol for a long time!
I knew hosting a party was going to cost about that much. We didn’t say BYOB, but most people did anyway. Our neighborhood is pretty quiet, so we wrapped things up around 10:30 and most people joined us for a night out to the bars/clubs nearby. I think we still annoyed the neighbors a bit, but we warned them, said we’d get everyone out early, and we don’t plan to make it a regular thing.
The other exciting event was a trapeze class on the Santa Monica Pier! It was my parent’s birthday gift to me and T, and it was really fun. It was quite expensive for what it is ($60/class!), but something I’d been wanting to do ever since I saw it on Sex in The City and found out there was one in town. It’s actually a pretty good ab workout, and it was pretty exciting to fly through the air next to the ocean. Loved it!
I’m going to pay for all the slacking off I did this week.
nytregsuckme
A girl I hung out with this weekend was talking about a bootcamp she’s been doing, and I was inspired to look them up. Hers isn’t really convenient for me, but I found one that would work out well for my schedule. (Actually, I found them earlier this summer as well when I was trying to find my outdoor yoga class that never materialized.)
For 3 days a week of morning training, I’d pay $175. The one I ran into had about 10 people in it. Hey, did you know I had a fitness fund? It is empty (see: new used bike) and I need new running shoes (going on the birthday list!), but this is the perfect thing to use it for. If it weren’t empty.
Why now? I have no idea. I like working out in the mornings, but was a little sketched out running by myself (even in a safe area) and really (for no reason) hate the idea of joining a gym. (But a gym would be much cheaper. . .) I also don’t know much about strength training, so it would be nice to have a program to follow, even just for a month. I’m also starting a class again (boooo) so having a consistent fitness schedule will help me stay energized and focused (right??!)
Has anyone ever done one of these?
(I categorized this as fun… fitness = fun, right?)
I spent one night and two full days in the central coast of California with some (mostly new) girl friends and wine. I’ve really been taking advantage of my month off of school, to the point where I feel busier than ever!
Here’s where my $212 got spent on this mini-vacation:
- Chipped in for gas: $12
- Charity Wine thing: $75
- Meals Out: $55
- Night out: $20
- Chipped in for hotel: $50
It is hard to believe we did a whole multi-day backpacking trip for less than that! I have a pretty interesting week ahead at work, and then home for a long weekend with my family — can’t wait!
Good: Going home this month to see my family!
Bad: Unless I want to use my precious vacation hours, I’m going to have to work 9-10 hour days all month long.
Good: My manager is (finally) putting me in for a promotion, roughly 10 months after it was first discussed.
Bad: I’m still “behind” where I should be. When I complete my M.S., I’m going to ask to be considered for another one. It will be fully justified by education and experience, but I’ll have to step up and do well on this program as well, and show that I’m valuable. Which I intend to do anyway! I hate that I’ve had to switch around so much, and I still feel like a newbie. I don’t know if it will work (two promotions in two years) but I don’t think it is absurd, and I need to try for it. I’m quite confident that (with MS in hand next spring) I could get a job elsewhere and be hired in at the higher pay grade without trouble. That isn’t what I want to do, but it has to be on the table.
Good: Accomplished two things on my “to do for fun in L.A.” list this weekend: Went to the rooftop bar at the Standard downtown, and went to a performance at the Hollywood Bowl (with fireworks!).
Bad: Oooo, this was all very expensive!!!! Next time I’ll get even cheaper seats for the Hollywood Bowl — you can hear from the back just as well. Also, you can bring your own wine (we didn’t drink) and picnic (we brought food) — it’s really a pretty good deal.
Good: My new blue sundress I bought for my engagement photos was successfully tailored (a complete dress size, at least) and I found shoes to wear with it. I’m excited!
Bad: My newish shoes (August?) are already coming apart on the bottom. I’m annoyed. They aren’t cheap-o shoes and even with daily wear, I’d expect them to last much much longer. I’m going to bring them to a shoe repair place and see what happens. It’s mostly just the soles.
It would be really easy to spend every dollar I take home each month. If I cut out my retirement contributions, it would be a bit harder, but I’m sure I could manage it. Designer shoes? Sure, why not?!
This month is tough. I generally do a good job with my savings, but I do not hesitate to drop my cash savings by $50 in a month order to allow us to go out for a night if something comes up. I’ll only be young once, I only feel like going to clubs once every six months (or less), so if the moment seems right, I’ll spend the money and seize the day. In general, no, a single night out is not usually worth $50. But on occasion, yes, it really is.
September is full of seizing the day.
I’m taking a vacation day today. We have some old friends in town, which is my main excuse, but I really just want a day off. Even if it means working 9 and 10 hour days next week. I’m sleeping in a little, then going for a run on the beach. Lunching with my friends, perhaps going to the Getty (if they want) or laying on the beach.
Today will be relatively cheap, but tonight, we’re going O-U-T. I hope at least, no firm plans yet. I love a good excuse to get dressed up and go out on the town. I like being in a crowded club with loud music, weak overpriced drinks (ok, that is not my preference, that is just how they come) and dancing (badly). I like pretending like I’m forever 25 (21 is just too young) and forever care-free. I don’t like it enough to do it often, but I like it enough to be excited about it when I make it happen.
This post is a bit disjointed — I’m actually writing it Thursday night after 1.5 glasses of wine with said friends. So whatever.
Honestly, I was going to write about how (I think) by the end of 2009 I’ll have made $50k in retirement contributions total. But to get accurate numbers, I’d have to dig out tax forums, and it seemed like a lot of work. Maybe later?
Happy Friday all!
I spoke too soon — by the time my post went live Monday morning, we already purchased a new used road bike for me! It’s a 1996 LeMond something with good components and in really good shape. (Can you tell I don’t know a lot about bikes? I entrusted T with the task of watching Craigslist and looking for a good deal.) They were asking $300, we offered $250, drove nearly 45 minutes to get it, and now I have it and I’m happy.
It needed new tires, new pedals (came with clip style), and new bar tape, which T procured for me for about another $65 or so. It could eventually use a full tune up, which will be $65, but no rush.
Yes, we’ll try to sell my old bike on Craigslist. I think we’ll start high, but maybe accept something as low as $125. But I hope we can get more. I don’t know the CL market that well.
Here is a funny pf angle. When T was doing all the emailing and contacting people, he would mention he was looking for a bike for his fiance. When we went to pick it up, I withdrew the cash from my bank account at the ATM, and he said he’d hold onto it, if I wanted. He was pretending he was buying the bike for me! I went along with it (why not?), and the woman we bought it from said “have him buying you some touring shoes too. And a bike computer.” As if I just asked and he buys me whatever I want! Ha ha ha. But I didn’t correct her. 
T and I spent the past 6 days on vacation. The first day was a travel day, the next four were spent in the glorious high Sierra doing Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon National park. Today was another travel day (sort of) — we drove to Visalia after exiting the trail around 10:30, and spent the night relaxing in a hotel. We finished the drive this morning, and spent the rest of the day getting adjusted back to reality.
Here is a small snippet of the beauty.
Hike summary (hey, I don’t have a backpacking/hiking blog, so this pf blog will have to host these tidbits):
Day 1: A brutal day, we hiked 14-15 miles from Roads End to Castle Domes Meadow, starting at 8 am. We saw four bears (they are actually not very dangerous at all, though we were very cautious) and some beautiful waterfalls and mountains. We were super tired by the time we got to camp around 5.
Day 2: A “rest day” according to T, we hiked “only” 8-9 miles and the elevation gain was manageable. Starting around 7, we made it to Rae Lakes around 1 pm and had the rest of day to relax. I attempted to swim in the gorgeous alpine lake — I made it up to my waist before retreating. It was ice cold, freshly melted glacier! We had the best campsite in the world, right on the lake.
Day 3: We started the day with some serious elevation gain, hitting nearly 12000 ft in elevation at the top of Glenn Pass. It was all downhill from there, which was much easier, but hard on our feet. This was another stunning day, filled with panoramic vistas. We went something like 13 miles and camped at Charlotte Creek Meadow. The steep downhill hiking wasn’t exactly tiring, but our feet were really really sore.
Day 4: This was a shorter 7 mile day, mostly flat with a couple steep sections. I alternated from being anxious to be out, to savouring the last few hours in the beautiful backcountry. We made it out by 10 a.m. We drove to Visalia, CA and took long long showers, then soaked our tired muscles in the hot tub.
Personal finance? Budget was posted a few days ago and the trip cost just under $200 each. I think we were slightly over.
Camping Budget: $392 for two
Lodging: $177
- Overpriced tent cabin near trail: $62
- Hotel for final night: $100
- Wilderness Permit for camping 3 nights: $15
Transportation: $90
- Vehicle Entrance Fee: $20
- Gas: $70
Food: $125
- Backpacking Food: $65 for two for 4 days. (includes 3 freeze dried meals at $6/each, jerky, oatmeal, dried fruit, peanut M&Ms w/nuts, flat bread and peanut butter, lots of Cliff/Luna bars, cheeze-its, Gatorade mix, energy sport beans, Cliff shot blocks). All stuffed into a (rented) bear canister.
- Food on the road: $60 (?) One meal while driving up, plus another dinner after we get off the trail, plus some food on the way home. Likely nothing fancy, so could be much less.
Total (per person): $196
Compare that to last years summer vacation, per person: $540
Of course, this is a totally different kind of trip than last years trip to Vegas/Grand Canyon (and I want to go back to both!). We could have cut costs by not staying in a hotel, or making the drive back to L.A. the day after we finish hiking, or even just camping the first night. But this is our main summer vacation for this year and the most challenging trip we’ve ever done — 4 days, 3 nights, 44 miles, loads of elevation. After all that, I think a night in a decent hotel is well worth it!
It is too bad that a lot of the really great backpacking trips require 5+ hours driving — it makes them hard to do, even on a long weekend. Just wait for the photos — this place is beautiful!
We might take a a fall mini-vacation to Vegas too — my cousin is supposedly planning something for my uncle’s birthday there, and it would be silly to skip a chance to see my relatives/parents/siblings or whoever comes. I haven’t heard any details. Vegas is ultra cheap lately, so I’m not worried about it yet.
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