Unintended Side Effect...The Need to Shop

If you've been following some of my more personal posts over the last six months, you know that I have been dealing with some thyroid issues as well as 'lady problems'. I've been seeing an endocrinologist and have been taking my new prescriptions now since the end of September/early October. My follow up appointment with the doctor is next week and I am due to go in for a round of bloodwork today to check my hormone levels.

Anyhoo...There has been a development (err, should I say 'developments') over the last few weeks that has become much more noticable in my appearance. I suspected my boobs were bigger a couple of weeks ago, but put it off as just having gained a couple of pounds. You lady runners know that if you stop heavy training for a while, you gain a few pounds back and start to get back some of your 'padding' to fill back in some of your curves. What I started to notice however is that I have my 155 pound breasts instead of my 145 pound breasts. I've only gained five pounds since the end of my 55-70 mile running weeks, so I don't really weigh all that much more to warrant these ladies up here...I should only have the boobs that go with my 145 pound body. Over the last few days they have really begun to look bigger. They are not huge melons...I'm dreading what my male audience must be picturing at this point. Most people probably wouldn't even notice a difference. I've just been a small chested girl for as long as I can remember and these breasts are the biggest I've ever had in my life.

So, I had to finally go shopping for bras yesterday. They should list 'need to shop for lingerie' as a side effect on the medicine warning labels. You ladies know that it can be torture to try on 15-20 bras to determine the right band/cup ratio for each brand in the store. You have to have a smooth cup bra for t-shirts and clingy things. You need at least one 'nude' color and one black. Potentially a strapless or convertable strap bra is also on the list. Bra shopping takes forever and it is expensive. It's not like you can be a man and just go get a multi-pack of boxers or briefs or boxer briefs and be done with it at a small cost. In the end, I bought four...nude and comfortable (un-sexy), light pink t-shirt bra, black t-shirt bra, and a strapless bra that was on sale. Ouch for the wallet, but my day-to-day life will be much more comfortable now.

Am I complaining about having bigger boobs? No. Not at all. It is awesome for now, since I've never experienced them. I just think it is really weird to be 'growing' at 31. And, no, I'm definitely not pregnant if that's what you are thinking.

Kitty Lovin'

I caught the following love-fest between Miko and Beans this morning. Miko loves to lick his head. We say she is trying to lick him to death. The look on her face at the end confirms it.

Milestone for WWY

My car (WWY) reached a milestone over the weekend. She's a 2000 Honda Accord, so she has been on the road a long time. However, there have been a few years of her life where she did not accumulate many miles on her odometer.

She reached 100,000 miles this weekend and we were able to document the rollover on video and in pictures. (A note about the video...I hadn't had a shower in at least 24 hours and we had just come from hiking. Close range video of my face and profile was probably not a good idea. And yes, I know I sound like a hick sometimes.)

Pinching Pennies

During the month of October (and still today), we were pounded over the head by the media about the economy, living within our means, living on a budget, and the overall financial state of American families. Oprah regularly airs programs with Suze Orman discussing all sorts of financial issues. Suze helps families dig out of financial holes, educates them on how to live within their means, and just overall provides examples of everyday things that we should watch out for to make sure we are not wasting our money on unnecessary things.

I don't consider myself someone who has dug herself into any kind of hole. Chad certainly is conservative with his money and spending habits. This post is not intended to boast or brag about being in a good financial situation. Everyone, regardless of their financial means, has a responsibility to use their money wisely and prepare for the future. It is sad to see people with good jobs who make more money than me living paycheck to paycheck simply because of poor spending habits.

I'd like to share some new things that I've taken to heart about being frugal and pinching pennies. These are things that many people do, so if you think 'Big deal, Sadie, I've been doing this for years', then whatever...keep doing what you're doing. I just think there are a lot of people out there who won't do the easiest of things to save little bits of money.

• I've used coupons in the past, but now I'm trying to maximize my coupon usage and put the saved amount into savings. On my last trip to HEB I saved $7.50. Over the past couple of weeks I've saved close to $30. Coupons are in the paper. They're online. Use them.
• I'm not ordering iced tea (or other beverages) at restaurants as often...I order water. At about $2.oo a pop, I've been saving $4-10 a week. That amounts to $200-$520 a year just on iced tea. Ridiculous! Plus, we all know we shouldn't complain about our weight and order soft drinks.
• Another beverage issue - wine. I'm trying to limit the amount of wine I drink in restaurants. It is simply an expense that I can give up most of the time. Most of the wine in the casual restaurants we go day-to-day serve 'cheap' wine at an unreasonable price. I'd rather buy an entire bottle of a better quality wine for the price that I'd pay for two glasses at a restaurant and enjoy the wine at leisure at home. It is a better experience getting to hold the bottle, read the label, and share with Chad rather than getting an undersized wine glass and a mediocre drinking experience. On special occasions, I'll still have wine in a restaurant, but the regular choice of saving the restaurant wine money for bottles at home is a wiser choice for me.
• We've been watching more movies at home using our NetFlix subscription. While we will still enjoy an occasional movie in the theater, it just seems like a waste to spend $15-20 dollars on tickets (plus $20-30 for food and drinks at the Alamo Drafthouse if we go there), when we can get a whole month's worth of movies for $15.
• I save bars of soap from hotels that we visit and use them at home. There is the thought that taking the smaller bottled products from hotels is wasteful and not 'green' because of the waste of the packaging and such, but I figure the bar soap doesn't require as much packaging. I haven't bought a bar of soap in two years for my own use, and any liquid soap that we use has been purchased for Chad or was a gift. I've probably saved $10-$50 dollars if you consider the cost of replacing bar soap with liquid shower gel.
• I own a no annual fee AmEx card that pays up to 5% cash back per year on items that I charge. At the start of the year, before a certain amount of annual spending, it pays 0.5%-1% on charges. Once the annual spending hits the certain amount, I earn 1% on regular purchases and 5% on purchases in grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations. This card has no limit on the amount of money that it will pay you per year (my no annual fee MasterCard has a similar structure, but it has a limit per year of how much it will pay you and I've hit the limit in years past). At the end of this year, we're likely to get somewhere between $400 and $600 back as a credit on our account. I charge just about everything on this card and pay it off every month. I haven't paid AmEx anything in interest or fees since I've opened the account and last year enjoyed about $350 at the end of the year. That's free money, folks.

There are still things I'd rather pay full price or a higher price for. I'd rather pay a higher price for free-range/cruelty free eggs and meat for Chad. I'd rather pay a higher price for some organic foods. I'd rather pay a higher price for quality products versus a cheap version of something that will end up in a landfill when it breaks or becomes useless. Sometimes brand names really are better.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart or Target because I usually don't need the items that I buy there. There is just way too much temptation for wasteful spending at those stores. I tend to spend too much money on useless items just because they are priced low. It also takes way too much time to navigate the parking lot, the aisles, and the checkout lane. I feel like I'm wasting my life and money in there. Am I crazy for thinking that?

In the meantime, I'll keep doing what I can to pinch the pennies in areas where I am willing to give up a little. It makes me feel better about the occasions I do decide to spend our money on a brand name (or a vacation).

Do you have small things that you do to save money?

Current Affairs

I don't know what to blog about. Here are some things that have happened in the past week or so to me or are things that interest me.

• Book club was this week. We met at Laurel's house, so it was neat to get to see Elle for the first time and to see their house. I mostly enjoyed American Wife, so it was nice to discuss the book with everyone else. If you haven't read it, go to the link and read what it is about. I recommend for both men and women, despite the fact that the cover has a bridal gown on it.
• We've been trying to come to a decision on our housing situation. Chad's place has been on the market for 5-6 months. Just as we were starting to make up our mind and getting excited about the coming few months...surprise! A couple saw Chad's townhome over the weekend and seem very interested. They've asked for a bunch of the paperwork as if they are ready to make an offer. There is no offer, yet, but we are excited at all of the new possibilities.
• My Synthroid and Parlodel are starting to work. My BBT chart looks promising this cycle. We are still not trying to conceive, but it is nice to see that my body temperature graph is looking more like a 'normal' graph than all over the place. I'm crossing my fingers that this month will not include more than one or two days of spotting instead of 7-8 days like in the last two cycles. Usually it starts on day 18, so I have at least four more days to cross my fingers.
• Work is starting to ramp up. A few people at my company have been really bad about responding to my emails and it is causing me some underlying stress. Unfortunately I'm the low person on the totem pole in each situation, so I'm just going to have to find a way to contain my own stress levels. I can't make them email me back, after all.
• My leg was feeling better. Then, it started hurting again. Now it feels somewhat better. I am hesitant to run over 4 miles.
• I have already made my Christmas music mix this year and I love it! I've actually put it on my iPod and have run to it a few times. Maybe if you are good this year, you'll get a copy.
• The Tech game was pretty sucky. I don't really care that Tech beat us. Mostly I care that Texas was not on top of their own game the first half. Most teams have a few series where they hit a 'slump' in the middle of the season. You hope that the slump hits when you play Baylor or Kansas. Oh well. The big grumble that I have about Tech is that they think they are our rivals and that they are a big deal in Texas. Whatever. Most UT students do not consider Tech their rivals...A&M and OU are. Also, Tech is a back-up school for most people. A lot of people end up going to Tech because they couldn't get into UT or A&M. (Maybe that's a little harsh, but it is somewhat true.) I consider them 2nd tier. I hope OK State pounds them.
• I'm so glad Obama was elected president. I voted for him. If you know me, you know I lean to the liberal side of things. I am finding that I'm even more liberal as I age, which apparently is opposite of the trend in America. I like to think that I am more compassionate and aware of the social issues as the years pass. I am becoming more tolerant. I do respect the opinions that are different than mine, however I prefer to listen to the opinions expressed by people that know the issues and have taken the time to educate themselves. It was amazing to see how many people forwarded all sorts of crazy, misinformed emails around (for both parties) before the election. It made me sad to think that people fall for those things. Every time I got one, I tried to do the backgroud research to confirm or deny the statements that were being made. Anyhow, I enjoy belonging to the following demographic categories when the TV people start bringing up the statistics - white non-hispanic female, college educated (some post-graduate), educator (at least formerly), middle income, straight, married, no children, goes to church occasionally. Maybe I should have posted separately about this...this bullet point is getting to be long.

That's about it for now. What else do you want to know?