Well, the Fab and Frugal Birthday didn't go exactly as planned, but everything eventually worked itself out.
For the birthday attire, I ended up getting a shirt from the mall for literally $4 off of the clearance rack at JCPenney. I wore that with black pants I already had, so my birthday attire total was $4.
As previously written, the birthday entertainment was FREE tickets to a play at Arena Stage entitled "The Quality of Life". It was EXCELLENT play, and I encourage all of you to go see it if it comes to your city. It brings up almost every emotion humanly possible - happiness, sadness, anger...you name it. Parking was free as well. Entertainment total - $0.
We had originally planned to go to dinner after the play, but it was so late and I was dead tired from all the running I did earlier in the day to change my name (FINALLY!), so we ended up just grabbing a quick bite to eat at IHOP an headed home. Dinner total: $18
My Maggianos birthday dinner (lunch now) was planned for the following weekend, but my husband had a little mishap with his car, and ended up having to go to NC. We rescheduled for the next weekend. And wouldn't you know it, I forgot my Maggianos $10 off coupon. But...when we got there, Maggianos was having a special called 'Today and Tomorrow' - where you get one selection of pasta that day, and another to take home - all for $12.95/pp. So we both ordered the Baked Ziti with Sausage for that day, and I got the Spaghetti w/meat sauce to take home, while Rodney ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli. We also ordered calamari and a Caesar salad to start with. For dessert we ordered two "mini" desserts as well. All for a total of $70.70
Note: the amount of spaghetti they gave me lasted through 3 more meals and not just one, so great deal. Check it out at a Maggianos near you!
So the grand total for the Fab and Frugal Birthday was....drumroll....around $93. I'd say I made my goal!!!!
Now on to Christmas. My family has decided not to spend more than $50 per person on gifts this year....time to start shopping!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Fab and Frugal Birthday Update & a discussion on lengthy workouts
So I have SEVEN days until my 32nd birthday! SO EXCITED!
I've scored the birthday entertainment, but still undecided about the birthday dinner and attire. I really want a snazzy (Yes, I did say snazzy...lol) dress to wear to the theatre, but I've been to sick and too tired to even go look. Never mind the $$$$ are extremely low, so I definitely need the time it takes for bargain hunting. I should be able to look for something spicy this weekend. This is my first birthday as a wife and my first time going to the "real" theatre, so I want to look HOT!
Now on to the workout discussion. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org), the basic exercise guidelines for healthy adults under age 65 is do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week or do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, or do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.
I know people who power walk 30 minutes 5 days a week. I also know folks who work out twice a day for hours at a time. After reading Mark's Daily Apple (www.marksdailyapple.com), Urban Get Diesel (www.byersgetsdiesel.com), and many other online sources, I am leaning toward the notion that doing vigorous intense cardio for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week is the way to go. I've recently fallen in love with Crossfit, as many of you know, and I can honestly say my body was never as toned and tight as when I was doing that, as opposed to doing the treadmill or elliptical for 60 minutes. I'm also loving circuit training via Jillian Michaels right now. But these kind of workouts do not work for or inspire everyone.
So here's my question: Do you love the elliptical or treadmill and can stay on it for hours on end? Do you love lifting heavy and often? Do you run miles on top of miles every week? Do you love calisthenics so much you just have to do push-ups every day?
Tell me...what's working for you?
I've scored the birthday entertainment, but still undecided about the birthday dinner and attire. I really want a snazzy (Yes, I did say snazzy...lol) dress to wear to the theatre, but I've been to sick and too tired to even go look. Never mind the $$$$ are extremely low, so I definitely need the time it takes for bargain hunting. I should be able to look for something spicy this weekend. This is my first birthday as a wife and my first time going to the "real" theatre, so I want to look HOT!
Now on to the workout discussion. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org), the basic exercise guidelines for healthy adults under age 65 is do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week or do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, or do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.
I know people who power walk 30 minutes 5 days a week. I also know folks who work out twice a day for hours at a time. After reading Mark's Daily Apple (www.marksdailyapple.com), Urban Get Diesel (www.byersgetsdiesel.com), and many other online sources, I am leaning toward the notion that doing vigorous intense cardio for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week is the way to go. I've recently fallen in love with Crossfit, as many of you know, and I can honestly say my body was never as toned and tight as when I was doing that, as opposed to doing the treadmill or elliptical for 60 minutes. I'm also loving circuit training via Jillian Michaels right now. But these kind of workouts do not work for or inspire everyone.
So here's my question: Do you love the elliptical or treadmill and can stay on it for hours on end? Do you love lifting heavy and often? Do you run miles on top of miles every week? Do you love calisthenics so much you just have to do push-ups every day?
Tell me...what's working for you?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
First Birthday Freebie Scored!
So, from my last post, you know I'm on a quest to have the ultimate "Fab and Frugal" birthday. Well today, I scored the first free event!
Every year there's this event called "Free Night of Theater" where theaters in lots of cities across the country give away free tickets to plays, musicals, etc. over several weeks. I initially tried to get tickets to 'Black Pearl Sings' at Ford's Theatre in DC, but obviously I wasn't the only one with that idea as the link to reserve tickets kept timing out.
But...I did end up getting tickets for something on the night of my birthday. It's a play called 'Quality of Life' at the Arena Stage in Crystal City. It seems like it will be interesting, and I needed to step out of my box, so I'm hoping its going to be good.
A note about the birthday dinner...I joined a host of restaurant e-mail clubs, and have received lots of e-mails with discount coupons and even some free meals. Still haven't decided where to go yet.
So, the birthday experiment is well under way. STAY TUNED!
Every year there's this event called "Free Night of Theater" where theaters in lots of cities across the country give away free tickets to plays, musicals, etc. over several weeks. I initially tried to get tickets to 'Black Pearl Sings' at Ford's Theatre in DC, but obviously I wasn't the only one with that idea as the link to reserve tickets kept timing out.
But...I did end up getting tickets for something on the night of my birthday. It's a play called 'Quality of Life' at the Arena Stage in Crystal City. It seems like it will be interesting, and I needed to step out of my box, so I'm hoping its going to be good.
A note about the birthday dinner...I joined a host of restaurant e-mail clubs, and have received lots of e-mails with discount coupons and even some free meals. Still haven't decided where to go yet.
So, the birthday experiment is well under way. STAY TUNED!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
My Birthday – A Recession Experiment
Okay, so normally for my birthday, I go all out. This usually includes my husband "going all out" as well, as he's spent the last several birthdays with me. :-) My birthday is EXTREMELY important to me. It’s my favorite day of the year only after Christmas. And I normally start planning how I’m going to celebrate it MONTHS in advance. And I normally celebrate the ENTIRE month of October. I still plan to celebrate all month long, but I’ve been thinking and this year I decided to try something different.
Since we’re in an economic downturn - okay, so it's a recession- I decided to see how I could save a few bucks and still celebrate my birthday in grand (or semi-grand) style. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m compiling a list of things I normally do or would like to do for my birthday weekend. Using this list, I am planning to do all or most of these activities using a discount, coupon, or getting a freebie if I can. Only things that are $20 or less can I pay full price for.
Here are just a few things on the list so far:
Massage
Manicure & pedicure
Birthday weekend activities – festivals, shows, etc.
Birthday weekend brunch with friends
Lunch on my birthday by myself
Dinner on my birthday with my husband
I’ll be posting how the planning is going, discounts or freebies I find, and the end result. Wish me luck!
Okay, so normally for my birthday, I go all out. This usually includes my husband "going all out" as well, as he's spent the last several birthdays with me. :-) My birthday is EXTREMELY important to me. It’s my favorite day of the year only after Christmas. And I normally start planning how I’m going to celebrate it MONTHS in advance. And I normally celebrate the ENTIRE month of October. I still plan to celebrate all month long, but I’ve been thinking and this year I decided to try something different.
Since we’re in an economic downturn - okay, so it's a recession- I decided to see how I could save a few bucks and still celebrate my birthday in grand (or semi-grand) style. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m compiling a list of things I normally do or would like to do for my birthday weekend. Using this list, I am planning to do all or most of these activities using a discount, coupon, or getting a freebie if I can. Only things that are $20 or less can I pay full price for.
Here are just a few things on the list so far:
Massage
Manicure & pedicure
Birthday weekend activities – festivals, shows, etc.
Birthday weekend brunch with friends
Lunch on my birthday by myself
Dinner on my birthday with my husband
I’ll be posting how the planning is going, discounts or freebies I find, and the end result. Wish me luck!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
A Change Is Gonna Come!
I have decided to create new goals for myself to get ready for my 32 birthday - OCTOBER 13, 2009, which is exactly 9 weeks and 3 days from Monday.
So here goes:
1. Lose at least 10 pounds.
2. JOURNAL, JOURNAL, JOURNAL - I was doing so well when I was doing this!
3. Consistently work out 4 - 5 times a week.
4. GET ENOUGH SLEEP.
5. HAVE FUN.
I'm going to try and not put any pressure (well, not too much anyway) on myself, but I need to get this under control. I want this weight gone once and for all, AND my doctor said I had to. :-)
Chalean Extreme Update: I have not been doing this as regularly as I should, but as of next week, I'll be back on schedule. I will say this though - after finally completing Burn Circuit 3 last night- I know this workout will definitley make me lose inches. I was huffing and puffing, and sweating, so I know it's working. I just wish the scale would go down with it.
So here goes:
1. Lose at least 10 pounds.
2. JOURNAL, JOURNAL, JOURNAL - I was doing so well when I was doing this!
3. Consistently work out 4 - 5 times a week.
4. GET ENOUGH SLEEP.
5. HAVE FUN.
I'm going to try and not put any pressure (well, not too much anyway) on myself, but I need to get this under control. I want this weight gone once and for all, AND my doctor said I had to. :-)
Chalean Extreme Update: I have not been doing this as regularly as I should, but as of next week, I'll be back on schedule. I will say this though - after finally completing Burn Circuit 3 last night- I know this workout will definitley make me lose inches. I was huffing and puffing, and sweating, so I know it's working. I just wish the scale would go down with it.
Monday, July 20, 2009
What part of the game is this?
I know I owe you a review of Chalean Extreme and I will get to that in a second. But first I must confess something. I got some not-so-good news on Thursday, which caused me to go into a tailspin of bad eating habits. I've crawled back out of the hole, stocked up on food, and I am starting over today. It's the first inning of the second game of the season. Batter up!
Now on to the important stuff...CHALEAN EXTREME. Let me just say that the fitness test itself is no joke. You really don't know how out of shape you are until you try to do real push-ups after doing weights. Needless to say, my results weren't the best. But I'm on a mission. I want to be able to do at least 10 REAL push-ups at the end of this thing. NO MORE KNEES.
So on to the first dvd: Burn Circuit 1. And boy did it burn. It set pretty much every muscle that I used on fire. Then came Burn Circut 2...more muslces burning. I'm thinking I may need a new set of weights that are heavier and easier to interchange. The ones we have now are slowing me down.
We went out of town this weekend and I didn't get to work out for 3 days, so I'm starting everything over...this time with pictures and measurements.
So sit back and enjoy the game! It's going to get interesting.
Now on to the important stuff...CHALEAN EXTREME. Let me just say that the fitness test itself is no joke. You really don't know how out of shape you are until you try to do real push-ups after doing weights. Needless to say, my results weren't the best. But I'm on a mission. I want to be able to do at least 10 REAL push-ups at the end of this thing. NO MORE KNEES.
So on to the first dvd: Burn Circuit 1. And boy did it burn. It set pretty much every muscle that I used on fire. Then came Burn Circut 2...more muslces burning. I'm thinking I may need a new set of weights that are heavier and easier to interchange. The ones we have now are slowing me down.
We went out of town this weekend and I didn't get to work out for 3 days, so I'm starting everything over...this time with pictures and measurements.
So sit back and enjoy the game! It's going to get interesting.
Monday, July 13, 2009
What a feeling...
I'm well. FINALLY. Thank God.
No more hacking and coughing and not being able to breathe (a special shout out to my wonderful husband for spreading his germs...love you babe!) So far on my Paleo Journey I'm down 5 pounds! YAY ME! Not a lot, but something compared to the scale constantly moving up in recent months, so I'll take it.
I did great over the weekend. Lots of fruits, veggies, -and after a super fantastic trip to the Amish Market- some of the most freshest meat you will ever eat in your life. I'm hooked on their smoked chicken. How is it possible for that little small chicken (the size a chicken is supposed to be) could be so melty delicious? I had the beginnings of a few headaches this weekend, but I either at a piece of fruit, drank some water, or took a nap, and they went away. I think my cold was hiding them earlier last week.
I went to a birtday party on Saturday and turned down homemade mac-n-cheese, along with a chocolate cake that was calling my name...I can still hear it. Of course my body felt good by not eating it, but my brain is fuming. It's saying, "Where's all the good stuff?" "What happened to the food that tasted good, but wasn't good for you? We want that BACK." And I'm saying: IT WON'T BE COMING BACK. Not the way it was before. Which leads me to think that I need investigate in more tasteful meals and maybe even some paelo desserts. Although since I don't eat nuts (Yes, I eat peanut butter, but not peanuts. Makes total sense to me), this may be harder than I thought. More investigation and details to follow soon.
I received my Chalean Extreme workouts on Friday and plan on doing at least the fitness test today. Since I've gained a bunch of weight back, it'll be interested to see where I fall now. There will be a review tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether I survive or not.
No more hacking and coughing and not being able to breathe (a special shout out to my wonderful husband for spreading his germs...love you babe!) So far on my Paleo Journey I'm down 5 pounds! YAY ME! Not a lot, but something compared to the scale constantly moving up in recent months, so I'll take it.
I did great over the weekend. Lots of fruits, veggies, -and after a super fantastic trip to the Amish Market- some of the most freshest meat you will ever eat in your life. I'm hooked on their smoked chicken. How is it possible for that little small chicken (the size a chicken is supposed to be) could be so melty delicious? I had the beginnings of a few headaches this weekend, but I either at a piece of fruit, drank some water, or took a nap, and they went away. I think my cold was hiding them earlier last week.
I went to a birtday party on Saturday and turned down homemade mac-n-cheese, along with a chocolate cake that was calling my name...I can still hear it. Of course my body felt good by not eating it, but my brain is fuming. It's saying, "Where's all the good stuff?" "What happened to the food that tasted good, but wasn't good for you? We want that BACK." And I'm saying: IT WON'T BE COMING BACK. Not the way it was before. Which leads me to think that I need investigate in more tasteful meals and maybe even some paelo desserts. Although since I don't eat nuts (Yes, I eat peanut butter, but not peanuts. Makes total sense to me), this may be harder than I thought. More investigation and details to follow soon.
I received my Chalean Extreme workouts on Friday and plan on doing at least the fitness test today. Since I've gained a bunch of weight back, it'll be interested to see where I fall now. There will be a review tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether I survive or not.
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