Things I know are true

I know that I've gained 35 pounds since starting the job I'm in about 3 years ago. I like my boss, my team, my company - but I don't think this particular position is a good fit for me. I am putting in for an opening in another department - a scary move. My last boss was .. okay. I left my last company mainly due to a dreadful boss, so leaving one of the best bosses I've ever had is hard. But honestly? I don't enjoy the job a whole lot any more and I feel ready to do something different.

This is gonna sound crazy, but I put in for a part time job teaching economics class the evening at a local community college. Between Financial Peace University (the debt class I'm taking through work) and the current economic environment, I am very focused on getting a 3-6 month emergency fund set up. We are still paying down our debts - according to the class, you should pay all your debts (minus your mortgage) then finish your emergency fund.

I've heard folks calling in to Dave Ramsey's radio show, and he tells them it's okay to pay down debt and put more in the emergency fund given the current conditions. I know it's gonna help me sleep better at night. I work for in the financial services industry (but for a company I feel will be around after all this is over!) - we're announcing some layoffs later in the month. I think my job is okay, but I'd feel better if we had a larger emergency fund.

Trying to get a handle around our finances has been tough. Trying to do a zero sum budget when stuff keeps happening? Root canals, lawn mower dying, needing to buy supplies to replace some missing shingles on the roof - all this stuff has made getting my arms around a budget tough - but at least we are trying.

Eating is improving - I had a stress related eating "incident" Wednesday night, but overall, I've been doing much better. I am doing a better job planning and eating loads of veggies during the day at work, which helps keep me full at work. It's that time when everyone starts bringing in crap. Sigh.

I'm still not exercising regularly - one thing at a time I guess.

I've been doing a lot of cleaning/organizing around the house which feels good. I like to do my spring cleaning in the fall. :-)

I'm sorry I haven't been better about this blog - I don't feel comfortable writing about money stuff at work for some reason, and that's been more on my mind lately I guess.

Right now I have a big batch of homemade baked beans in the crock pot - I am having those for breakfast next week. (I know it sounds wacky, but beans really fill me up and keep me going.) Lunch is a vegan hungarian goulash - I have fruit for snacks.

I made 2 big shepherd's pies for a couple of dinners next week - I added a lot of veggies in with the meat, so even if the guys don't feel like a salad on the side, there's a full serving of veggies in there. Out of 2 pounds of meat I got both pies plus froze enough to make nachos for dinner next weekend for hub & myself. I did stretch it with the combo of veggie crumbles and diced sauteed mushrooms.

I'd say 95% of the meat & dairy I buy is organic & free range, and most of that is local. So I've tried to get creative with ways to stretch it since that is significantly more expensive. But I feel it's worth it. I've been trying to make things easier on myself on the weekend - so I've been making a double batch of something and we eat the same thing on Monday and Wednesday nights. At first my son griped a bit, but since they are helping choose what we eat, I know it's stuff they are in the mood for! It's made cooking a lot easier.

I'll try to at least post how my eating (and exercise) is going, but I may save the more serious posts for the weekend.