Speeding Up

Today I did 4 miles in just under 35 minutes! I was very excited. I have shaved off 2 minutes in 2 weeks (I was at 37 minutes for 4 miles at the same park). That's 8 minutes and 45 seconds per mile. Loving this sea level business! It is great for running.

Dinner on Nancy

Yesterday on the way home from swim lessons with Kate, Nathan, and Q (my nephew) Nancy stopped by Burger King. It had been a busy day and she was going to grab some nuggets for Q (and consequently for Kate and Nathan). When we pulled up to the drive thru Kate said from the back seat, "Hey guys, my mom doesn't like to spend her money on things like this so why don't we just have Aunt Nancy pay." Nancy and I both laughed so hard. We have had many discussions on wise ways to spend money and why I won't take them to McDonald's for lunch. I guess she was listening. I think now we need focus on the importance of self-reliance. But for now, thanks for the nuggets for my kids, Aunt Nancy!

Paying Myself

Ever since I stopped working 6 years ago, I have guilt when I buy things. (And for the record, it has nothing to do with Nathaniel. He expects me to spend money. I just have a hard time spending money that we don't have and that I didn't work for directly. I know that is dumb and I know I work, but I don't get a paycheck with my name on it.) So, to help with the guilt thing, I came up with a system. I pay myself to workout. That way it is something I can earn, and it helps me be motivated to be healthy. I think everyone should be able to have a little bit of spending money without guilt. Whether it be money for perfume, a new purse, shoes, a dress, etc. I can't justify spending money on frivolous things. We can't afford that. But, if I look at it as a workout plan, I can earn money and look forward to spending my hard earned cash. Here's how it works: for every mile I run I earn 50 cents, Insanity videos are $1 per workout, Nathaniel gets a buck every time he plays ball (not that he cares, but I figure it is fair), biking is 50 cents for 10 minutes, and so on. It isn't a lot mind you, but that means I have to run a lot to make money. Last week I made $8. It adds up. I ran over 14 miles and did Insanity once.

I am thinking I need to have a system for eating right. That is my weakness right now. I enjoy running so it isn't as hard to force myself to do that. It is hard to do it at 5:15 in the morning though. I need be motivated to eat better. Maybe I should have a cash reward for that as well. I have to have a reward system because I don't do well with negative reinforcement. Any ideas? If I did even 50 cents a day that is $15 more dollars a month. That may not be much, but it just might work. Anyone want to join me so I feel company in this endeavor? That way we have a support group. You don't have to do it for money, but it would be great encouragement for me if I know someone else is doing this with me. That way if I pass up chocolate torte (which I don't think I ever could) then I know someone else is passing up yummy stuff somewhere else as well.

Little Blessings

One thing I hate about moving is the change in insurance. We have moved a lot and I always hate the time when all you have is your "filler" or "gap" insurance as I call it. We don't go without insurance because I am a worrier. I am one who likes to be prepared, or even overprepared. Nathaniel's work insurance went into effect this morning and I tell you I am relieved! I had to take Kate into the urgent care on Saturday because she had green goo coming out of her left ear. She had been complaining of ear pain for a few days, but didn't have a fever. We went to the river on Wed. and had a BBQ and swam and the next day she said she had water in her ears. She did have clear fluid draining from both ears. I gave her benedryl and hoped for the best. Well, luck only takes you so far and we ended up taking her in to the urgent care. The "gap" insurance had a large deductible and was basically only helpful if you were in need of hospitalization. So, we paid out of pocket. I was surprised it wasn't more expensive. It turns out it was only an ear infection and not a ruptured ear drum. We were blessed in Ely to never have to go to the doctor or ER for anything. Medical help there isn't great. So I figure one visit to the doctor that we had to pay for isn't bad. Well, Sat. night Eliza said she had a really sore throat and she threw up in the middle of the night. It got worse Sunday and even worse on Monday. At that point I thought she had strep again. I was feeling torn between waiting until Wed. when decent insurance kicked in and taking her in and paying out of pocket again. I didn't want to make her wait it out in pain, but I did want to see if we could wait just til the first of the month. So, Tuesday she actually looked better. She had more energy and wasn't in so much pain. Nathan is now down with it really bad. The good news is, I don't think it is strep or Eliza would be much worse than she is. She wouldn't have improved. If I would have taken her and Nathan into the urgent care, I would have paid a lot of money out of pocket for nothing. The doctor would have told me it was a virus and to just wait it out. I know it was a blessing both financially and physically for them to be getting better without medical intervention.

Today when I was at the chiropractor someone told me that my van had a flat tire. I was dreading the inconvenience and expense of that, but it just needed more air. That could have been worse.

When we lived in Ely we took Tanner in for a well baby check up and to get him caught up on his immunizations. I got a letter from insurance that said they were not going to cover $250 of it. I thought that was dumb for them to not cover a well child exam so I called and told them that. I waited for the bill from the clinic and it never came. We moved. I forgot about it. I remembered about it yesterday and called the clinic to pay them since I figured they lost track of me. They said I didn't owe them anything, insurance covered it all. That was a good surprise. Another blessing I didn't see coming my way.

I went in to pay our rent today and we had an unexpected $40 credit. Every little bit helps!