I think I know what I want

I think I know what I want.

I want to work at Graco until I have kids.  I don't want to have kids until I have my car loan and student loans paid off.

I want to be able to have the option of being a stay-at-home mom for a while, only a few years.  We'll see.

Then want to go back to school at the U and get a Master's in education, like what Adam did.  2 summers and 1 full year of teaching.  You get a Master's in education and you get a teaching license.  Maybe I'd even be able to squeeze in a few tech classes I wanted to take before.

Then I want to get a teaching job where I teach kids basic electronics and basic software.  Think EE1301.  Start with binary and basic circuits.  Do cool labs with LEDs and logic circuitry.  Do some assembly on microcontrollers, do some C on microcontrollers, do some HTML5 or Java on a computer (of course, I'd have to learn this too).  HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?  I wonder if there is a technology magnet school somewhere in town where I'd be able to do that.  Or maybe do it for home school groups.

I know Moose wants to go back to school at some point.  Maybe he should do that sooner rather than later and I could support us for a few years.  Hmmm... hmmmm.

Anyway, I just wanted to post that here because I think it's neat.

Mo money, mo problems

I've been working really hard to reign in my spending. I've been doing somewhat better, but I still spend too much on silly things.

It has worked fairly well for me in the past to compartmentalize things. This is why I have so many bank accounts. I think I may need to split it up further. Here's how my split sits right now:

Joint bank account (rent, gym, other joint bills): $500/paycheck
US Bank account (remainder): $1000-ish/paycheck

Out of my US Bank account:
$425/paycheck - Car or Student loans
$250/paycheck - Savings
$40/paycheck - Gas
$10/paycheck - MPR Membership

This leaves me with about $400 or so to play around with. I tend to blow through this, especially when things like groceries are purchased.

I'm thinking I need to change up the split a bit more...

Joint bank account (rent, gym, other joint bills): $500/paycheck
TCF Bank account (fun money): $200/paycheck
US Bank account (remainder for bills and stuff): $800-ish/paycheck

Then I can only spend the stuff in my TCF account... I dunno how this will work, but I might want to consider splitting my paycheck up like this automatically and see how it goes for a while.

123 Gluten Free

O. M. G.

123 Gluten Free products on Amazon

2013 Resolutions/Goals

Things I'd like to do in the next year...

1. Cut down on pop & artificial sugar consumption. I'm thinking I need to limit myself to 24oz a day. So, 2 12oz. cans or 1 20 oz. bottle. THIS INCLUDES ENERGY DRINKS.

2. Come up with and stick to a manageable budget. I always come up with stupidly unattainable goals for a budget then I fail spectacularly and spend several months catching up. I need to come up with something better.

3. Go to the gym 12 times per month. We have the membership now. We should use it. We'll see how crazy it is around the new year, but

4. Stop making excuses about allergies. I allow myself to eat potato chips and tomatoes occasionally. I don't check information when I eat out. I don't want to do this. I'm tired of being sick. This leads into #5.

5. Get back on a keto/paleo/low-carb diet. I feel better, I can maybe lose a little more weight. If only Moose would join me, it would be easy!

6. Get into art and music more. I intended to do something spectacular this year with music, but the goals were a little too lofty. I want to actually develop my hobbies instead of just think about what I would do if I had the time. Sundays have already morphed into cleaning days around our house, so maybe I can find time then.

Food and Diet

I've made a lot of changes in how I eat over the last year.  I think all of them make me feel a lot better, a lot healthier, and just less sick in general.  Turns out finding out about all of the things that have been making your sick does a lot for your physical well being.  It sucks, but it's worth it.

But... I'm left with very few "vice" or "comfort" foods.  I turn to eating excessive amounts of Old Dutch potato chips and ice cream.  These things are fine in moderation, but once I have a taste, I want the whole bag/pint/etc.

The best I have ever felt would have to be when I was following an extremely low carb diet.  I would love to get back to that.  Bonus: I could lose that last 15-20 pounds I have hanging around before I'm back in the "normal' BMI range.

Using the keto calculator, I can determine what sort of calories, protein, fats, and carbs I should be following.  It gives me the information below (for a 6.5lb loss per month).  Also, I really just like the round numbers.

1400	kcal Net Calories Consumed
25	g Carbohydrates (7%)
100	g Protein (29%)
100	g Fat (64%)

I'll eventually need to tweak this, but I think these are good guidelines for me to follow. 

I may still splurge a bit over the holidays, but it's hard when you can't eat flour, corn starch, or soy...  I might be able to have some treats if I make them myself, but I'm not hopeful.  I did find an awesome recipe I could make keto-friendly.  Maybe I'll try it for the christmas party.  Substitute sugar for sugar-free sweetener, sub cool whip for heavy cream, use dark chocolate/unsweetened cocoa for the chocolate. I think it has great potential!  Heck, I might even make it with normal sugar if I feel up to it.  It only has 1/3 cup as it is... that may or may not be taking into account the sugar from the cool whip, though.  WORTH A SHOT!

Another LoL halloween costume idea

I got a dress like this from Charlotte Russe for $5.

I've been trying to decide what to use it for, so here's a half-assed halloween costume idea... sexy female astronaut teemo.

Plus, I already have (something like) these:

So, to complete the costume, I would need:

1. A helmet.
With modifications to face shield, adding ears, etc.

Another option would be dealer visor + ears:

2. A pair of snowboarding mittens, painted silver (or buy silver mittens...). Or could do something like this:

3.  A big (silver) belt.

4.  Dryer vent hose (not required)

5.  Face paint.

6.  And making the blow gun/staff.

Crock Pot Indian Cuisine

Gotta try this!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-makhani-indian-butter.html