Author: Terri

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
She melts my heart every day.
She melts my heart every day. Those eyes…”how can you NOT love me??!!”

Hi folks, sorry to not have published this on Friday like I normally do. I was then going to publish it over the weekend but to be honest, I was in one of those “bleck bleh blah” moods yesterday and I like to publish posts that reflect my mood at the time. So, I’m a few days late. But I hope you can enjoy the picture of my little Osito above. Everyone remarks on her eyes being blue. That’s because she’s blind. But she is a gorgeous almost 13 year old girl, isn’t she??

I found out last week I have been approved to attend a conference again this year in the Caribbean! In St. Lucia, to be exact!!

1. I’m going to St. Lucia in July, baby!!

2. I’m going to St. Lucia in July, baby!!

3. I’m going to St. Lucia in July, baby!!

4.  Anyone noticing a theme here yet? Ok, another thing I am thankful for is that I had a gum graft done last week. While I’m not happy for the pain and discomfort it caused when the novacaine wore off, and the Percocet hadn’t yet had time to kick in, at least I have really good insurance and a flexible spending plan, so when it’s all said and done, it doesn’t cost me as much as it would cost others to get the same procedure done.

5.  Last weekend we had spring-like weather. We’re talking temps in the high 40s. For us this winter, that’s like tropical weather.  I wish I could say I was kidding.

6. I saw a doctor for my back last week (I’ve been dealing with back pain for over a year now; the first doctor said it was just a “Strain”…yeah, right) and some days it really hurts to bend over, etc.  I’m going to have xrays taken this week and am also setting up an appointment with a chiropractor.  The doctor that I saw last week also suggested some trigger point injections to manage the pain. Unfortunately, I didn’t get one last week because of the fact that I had literally had gum work done, oh, 3 hours before and was under the influence of the aforementioned Percocet. (Yes, I’m a wimp when it comes to pain. You offer me painkillers – I’ll take them. I feel no shame in doing that.)

7. I took the day off on which I had both the dentist and back doctor appointments. So grateful to have as much sick time as I do, because honestly, I couldn’t have imagined going into work that day.

8. Over the weekend I read through my Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine and felt inspired. Granted, the fitness models pictured in it are at their peaks, but it just got me thinking of when I had six pack abs just two years ago, and I really want them back. I’m working on it – right now, it’s about a 3-4ish pack? When I suck it in, that is. 🙂

9. Following up on number 8 above, I’ve decided to get one of the multiple meal cooler bags packs so that I can start measuring out my servings better and get more into eating 5-6 small meals per day rather than 3 decent sized ones and then occasionally snacking in between. I’m deciding between the 6-pack bags and those made by Isobag. If anyone has any thoughts on either, good or bad, please let me know. (And yes, I know it’s a lot of money for a cooler. The key for me is the organization it will help me to have, and organization is key when you start riding your bike to work and everything needs to be in its own special place.)

10. Got an email from the author with whom I’m working over the weekend and she was “delighted” with the work I had done and sent to her most recently. I LOVE working with this woman!

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A Little Bit Stronger

Terri

I thought that the first three years after my divorce were really hard. Especially the first one, when at first I tried to fight depression completely on my own without medication. Then, I met someone and fell in love and felt my heart open up a little bit again, and thought, hey maybe I can be happy with someone again. Then, it ended. Read more →

Little Things (or not so little) That I am Thankful For

Terri
My "colleagues" for this afternoon - luckily, they're quiet so I can get a lot done. :-)
My “colleagues” for this afternoon – luckily, they’re quiet so I can get a lot done. 🙂

This has been a really unique week. While everyone else had a three day weekend last weekend, I worked Sunday and Monday, but the end result is that I have Friday off and the weather this weekend is supposed to be on the warmer side. Dare I say, even “tropical?” because it may even hit 50 degrees here in the Boston area. Woohoo! So you know what that means ?? That’s right, RAIN! Read more →

Getting Rid of My Debt, Part 12: Recap, and WOWWWW

Terri
Will spring ever get here??
Will spring ever get here??
Bikes in the snow. My baby blue has been inside throughout all of this.
Bikes in the snow. My baby blue has been inside throughout all of this.

I’ve noticed that people tend to really like these posts on my blog, and I hope it’s because my progress inspires people. This has been a really tough winter in the northeast – ridiculously “butt cold” temperatures and when it does warm up, it’s just to snow.  (See my evidence in the pictures above.) So, I needed a pick-me-up to make me feel good.  I have been meaning to chart my progress on my wall, so I gathered up the numbers.

 

Here’s how they look since I started really keeping track:

Sept. 2013:

Personal loan: $4,211.42
LAL loan: $20,939.94
Simmons Loan: $23,620.04
Big Daddy (federal) loan: $75,390.94

TOTAL BALANCE: $124,162.34

Today:

Personal loan: $000000000 (gone, gone, gone!!!!)
LAL Loan: $18,871.05
Simmons Loan: $23,620.04
Big Daddy (federal) loan: $75,390.94

TOTAL BALANCE: $117,882.03

DIFFERENCE (DECREASE in DEBT): $6,280.31  🙂 🙂 🙂

Of my last two payments on my LAL Loan ($455 and $171.95, respectively), here’s how much went to principal and how much went to interest:

$455 total payment = $397.46 to principal and $32.54 to interest
$171.95 total payment = $169.12 to principal and $2.83 to interest

I cannot tell you how happy this makes me!!

It’s been 5.5 months and I’ve gotten rid of more than $6K in debt, AND have increased my savings accounts to more than what they have ever been before since I’m on my own.  I’ve gotten rid of enough shit in my apartment that I can now keep all of my christmas decorations here instead of taking up space in my brother’s attic. I’ve gotten a job at the gym which has been a goal of mine, and I start this Thursday evening. I’ve taken an additional test with NASM and passed, and am working on test #3 and certification #2.  Out of nowhere, “my” author has asked for  my help again on her book, and she really respects my work (and sense of humor) and pays me well for my time. I have a positive net worth due to my retirements savings and am continuing to put in more than 6% of my salary into my 403(b) account on top of the 10% that my employer puts in a pension (yes, really, I have one) plan, in which I am fully vested.  Things are coming together!! 

(To my friends out there reading this, if I ever get down on myself, could you remind me to read this post? Thanks.)  As my brother said to me on facebook the other day “Sis, you’re doing it!”

You may have noticed that two of those loans don’t appear to have changed, balance-wise, since I embarked on this course. Today, that changes. You see, when I had more debt, I asked my lenders to allow me to just pay the interest that kept accruing on my loans per month. That equals $558/month. Yes, it’s depressing as hell to think about paying over $6,000/year just to keep a loan from growing.  I’m calling my lender today and will be asking them to put me back on the standard repayment plan, so at least some of my payment goes toward cutting down the balance. It may not be much, but as I have learned, every little bit helps.

Good things are happening. I don’t know how or why but as I say to some of my friends when they question why things start going their way, “do not question the wisdom of the gods, just go with it.” 

And now, for those of you who love the snow, I leave you with one more image. If I had been standing next to this snowpile (which wasn’t created by plows, etc., it was just there, it would have at least been up to my waist.)

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Feeling cold yet? :-)
Feeling cold yet? 🙂

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
My cute valentine this year, Sebastian. :-)
My cute valentine this year, Sebastian. 🙂

Ah, yes, Valentine’s Day. I have to say, it didn’t bother me as much as this year as it has in the past when I was single. I realize it’s just one of those holidays created to make a lot of money for a lot of people. Even when I was married, we didn’t make a big deal out of it – we preferred to celebrate the anniversary of our first date instead (Feb. 12th) and we would usually just get each other our favorite drug store candy on Valentine’s Day. We didn’t see a need to spend a lot of money to say “I love you” when we knew we already did. Same thing last year when I had a boyfriend – he was overseas at the time. We always made sure to say something to the other person whenever we talked, be it online or on the phone. We didn’t need a special day to do that.

So anyway…I digress but here are my thoughts from the past week!  Sorry I am a bit late getting this post out – I started writing it last night and fell asleep – it’s been a long, busy week. Read more →

Getting Rid of My Debt, Part 11

Terri
Yep, it's another cute pet photo - my Callie!! She's teeny-tiny!
Yep, it’s another cute pet photo – my Callie!! She’s teeny-tiny!

Well, I’m getting there. Been doing really well with the freelance work so I should be receiving a second payment this week. My financial adviser suggested I set aside 30% for taxes, and then it might be good for me to split the remainder between savings and paying off my private law school loan. She thinks that if I do something like that, based on what my invoices have been for, I might be able to bring down the student loan from the roughly $19,485 that it is sitting at today, to around $11K. Imagine that!  Read more →

Little Things for Which I’m Thankful

Terri
My baby girl, Osito, enjoying a walk in the sun last weekend. :-)
My baby girl, Osito, enjoying a walk in the sun last weekend. 🙂

Once again, I’m so glad it’s Friday. You ever have those days where you wake up during the middle of the week, and you’re like “oh crap, it’s only Thursday??” That’s the experience I had yesterday morning! Anyway, on with my favorite post of every week! Read more →

Survivalism vs. Minimalism – can you have both?

Terri
Can't wait to see the colors in the sky and the reflections on the water like this again. Spring, come to me!!
Can’t wait to see the colors in the sky and the reflections on the water like this again. Spring, come to me!!

This is a question I’ve been grappling with lately. Don’t ask me why – I’m not sure exactly what got me started on this. Maybe it was finding a few youtube videos by this guy, the MainePrepper, and realizing he’s not a complete nutbag who thinks that his views are the only possible views out there in the world, or maybe because I am the granddaughter of someone who lived through the Great Depression, and always had her “reserve” cabinet of food in her house, even in the early 2000s.

I definitely want to get rid of extra stuff in my life. But I also want to be prepared for emergencies or disasters, too. Thing is, my $ sources are not unlimited, and my space is somewhat limited too, living in an apartment. And my plan is to live in a small home/rv/manufactured home, etc., so it’s not like that space is going to get any bigger from what I have now… Read more →

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
My boy, Sebastian <3 <3 <3
My boy, Sebastian

Hi folks, my apologies for the blog being silent this week. I’ve been really busy with the freelance research for that book I am working on. Sometimes I get really into the hunt for something and time just flies by.

  1. Tomorrow is the first of February. While that means it’s still winter, it means that the days are getting longer and that Spring will eventually return. Did my eyes deceive me or did it actually appear to be light around 5 p.m. this week??
  2. I am returning tomorrow to another self defense class known as Krav Maga, with my best friend. We had a ton of fun at the first one, and tomorrow they will use the “red suits” so it’ll be cool. We can practice in a way that allows us to use full-force or close-to-full-force so we can see how we might really react in certain situations. In other words, whether we are the type of women who yell or don’t yell. Can’t wait! (And yes, I pretty much think I’m one of those who will yell if the situation warrants it.)
  3. Got paid for my first invoice this week, allowing me to stock up on extra food for myself and the animals, as well as put some away in savings and pay my financial adviser for her annual fee so I don’t have to worry about it until next year!  As a bonus, I’m really interested in what I have been researching and the woman I am working is just, how do I put this, completely awesome?? She makes me feel so valued.
  4. I have had two training sessions so far with my friend who’s getting married in June. She said she was working through some of the exercises I gave her to do earlier this week and another trainer saw her and commented on how good her form was! That’s my girl!! So she told her about me and the other trainer said they are always looking for new trainers!
  5. Officially, I start working at my gym on Thursday nights as of Feb. 20th! YAY! (This would be extra awesome if it also means my monthly dues become free. Let’s hope!) It’s only 3 hours per week so far, but you never know, right? I will be training with the manager next week and as I get to know him, I will probably broach the subject of whether or not they are hiring trainers there, or what they look for. I just want to get a little bit more experience under my belt and also get a resume together that highlights my skills or experience, and tests/certifications passed.  So, yes, more studying in the near future for me!
  6. My nephew turned ten this past Saturday and I was able to share it with him!
  7. My friend’s essay on the Huffington Post keeps getting more and more press and more likes. I’m so happy for her.  She has published a lot with them in a short time, so here’s the link to her bio which has links to all of her articles. She is an extremely strong writer and any time reading her words is time well spent.
  8. This weekend, our weather is forecasted to turn, well, comparatively tropical. As in close to 50 degrees. Break out the bikinis!

I hope you will all have a great weekend and I’ll try to write more next week!

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri

Looks like I can just get this post in under the wire for Friday! Sorry, been a bit hectic today.

1. My Tiny House/Land Fund is officially over $1K!  YAY. You know what this means? Now, it gets real. When I get paid from my freelance work (which she already approved the invoice), I plan on bringing that number up by a lot!! Something about looking at that account and seeing it grow…it just helps me to keep on keeping on. Read more →