...52 Week Money Challenge...

Monday, January 20, 2014

I was asked to attend a wedding in Africa in December of 2014. 
My first thought...how am i going to afford a trip like that!??
I am very good at budgeting and i am also good at traveling!  I am really good at researching and finding good deals.  and thank goodness for things like Groupon that make it easier to travel and get great deals on activities and places to eat. 
I was doing my usual blog browsing and i came across this graphic:

What you do is you get a jar...box...can...Tupperware...you get whatever you want and each week you deposit a certain amount of money in it. 

By the end of the year you should have OVER $1000 to do what you need to do with it.
My weakness is going to starbucks.  They have an amazing passion tea that I LOVE buuuut i does not agree with my budget each month.  my solution: i found a very similar tea on Amazon that i purchased (for a really good price) and i will make my own tea.  The excess money that i will have each week/month from those extra expenses that i am cutting back on will go towards this challenge.  
So at the end of the year when i am ready to go on my trip, i will have MORE than enough spending money to have fun with! I will not have to wait and fit the trip into my budget at the end of the year.  I will not have to stress about not being able to enjoy some good food or go shopping while i am there! 
So this is my challenge for the year.   Who else would like to join? Is anyone else doing any other challenges?   Please feel free to share! :-)

...Friday FITspiration...

Friday, January 17, 2014

This story has touched my heart...
http://www.wimp.com/womangym/
I encourage EVERYONE to try something for 100 days.  100 days....2400 hours...144000 minutes
100 days is all it take to make YOUR life better. No matter if it is something big or small  try to make a change in your life today! 

...2014: YOUR YEAR...

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

I know that i am a few weeks late 

buuuuutttt

Happy 2014!

Each year people always ask "What are your New Years Resolutions?"

And to be honest i say that i do not have any!!

Each month i will make monthly goals that i would like to achieve.

Being a personal trainer i have learned that making all long term goals makes it hard for people to actually accomplish. 

YES: I do have year long goals BUT i also have monthly goals that i would like

to achieve.  My monthly goals help me to lead up to my yearly goals.

I am a very goal oriented person and i am always striving to reach the next level. I want to always push and challenge myself in all aspects of my life no matter what it is.

So my suggestion: Make a lot of mini goals.  Start with goals for today or even this week.  Once you can get those done work towards making monthly goals and then you can create a realistic yearly goals. 

Setting goals is all about making realistic goals.  Why set goals that you know you will not accomplish?  That sets you up to be discouraged and upset.  It is a vicious cycle that a lot of people are caught up in.

...2014: The Year of ME!...

Thursday, January 9, 2014

*Welcome back...Welcome back...WELCOME BACK*

Ahhhhhhh

Well ladies and gents I am BACK in the Midwest. 

And after being in Florida for a week and in Texas for two weeks

the Midwest decided to welcome me with subzero temperatures and snow

*sigh* 

It makes me wonder WHY i still live here :-P

Anywho...

A LOT has been going on with me

With the ventures with my business...modeling...school...and dating...

Me and Mr. Awesome did not work out.

BBBUUUUTTT that is OK!
There are more fish in the sea and i have decided to jump back into the dating pool

I decided to join a dating site...and WOW

LADIES! There are some CREEPY guys out there! 

I have decided that my blog would be a perfect platform to use to teach girls AND guys the best things to do (and NOT do) when it comes to dating from my perspective. 

My first advice guys (and girls):

Please Please Please find a good topic to talk about...and when a girl says No...SHE REALLY MEANS NO!

Exhibit A:

Now class...can someone please tell me what is wrong with this conversation...
(1) His topic of choice was not the best... Stating: "Hi, did you know that the first two people on earth were of african descent and that we all are decendants of them. Would you like to talk with me. If not I understand not everyone is made for eachother. Thanks for you time..."
This is NOT a good idea...at least for me... This guy is not of African Descent.  Although it is a great topic for discussion...it is NOT a good topic when you are trying to speak to a girl for the first time.
And also...SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK! I am not saying that i am the worlds best speller and that i spell everything right. But if your previous statement is that you are educated yet you misspell easy words within that very same statement that is a red flag...
Last but not least...if you send a girl a message...and see that she is online and does not reply back to you..that usually means she does not want to talk with you.
There are several reasons i choose not to reply to guys who i am not interested in. The main reason is because i really just do not have to.  If i did that i would spend most of my time replying to guys who i am not interested in!  And you never know a "nice" way to say you are not interested. I have tried to flat out say that i am not interested...or give an excuse (such as their height) to show that i am not interested.  But some guys will not get the hint and will continue to message you. I guess they hope that you will eventually give in? I don't know...but when i say no...i usually mean NO...
*Phew*  that was my little rant for today. ooooh don't worry i have about a dozen more of these examples to share folks. It only gets better from here! LoL
So i guess you guys will be long for the journey of me finding someone.  I do have a few dates set up.
I will be kind and i will protect the privacy of these guys and not give any direct details (such as name or other personal details).  So like with the other guys i have dated i will give them nicknames just to keep things fun.  
So welcome to 2014!
Set some long lasting goals Make 2014 YOUR year (because i know it is mine!)  And i am excited to blog more (one of my 2014 goals) and share the ups and downs of my life with you :-)