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Meg & I have been on a quest to master the art of the personal budget. Much like being on a diet, budgets are an exercise in delayed gratification. Step one? Find ways to grocery shop more, and eat out less. Grocery shopping allows for better meal planning, and costs less that eating out - allowing us to squeeze those dollars! |
As you know, we're big fans of Publix, so naturally we grabbed the free Publix app, and started planning! Our favorite money saving feature at Publix? The weekly BOGO specials! Meg makes a point of menu planning around the weekly BOGO's, and I make sure she has everything she needs to feed us. The division of labor is pretty evenly split:
- Meg is the meal planner & cook
- I'm the grocery shopper & dish washer
It's a win all around. It ensures that:
(a) we don't die of food poisoning
(b) Meg doesn't have to do the dishes! |
| One other money saving idea we cooked up was to bust out our circa 1998 bread machine! If you aren't familiar with these wonders of the 20th century, they are pretty simple - dump in water, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast. Push the button, and come back in about 4 hours for a hot, fresh loaf of bread. The cost is pennies, and the fun factor is off the charts! :) |
For some reason, Meg wanted me to learn to make the bread. Her thinking was something along the lines of "Teach a man to fish..." I mean, how hard can this be, right? RIGHT. Afterall, the first loaf I made (with Meg's instruction) was perfection. Like, seriously - the best stuff ever.
The second (unsupervised) loaf... well, it's pretty spectacular, too - for a moon rock!
After we picked ourselves up off the floor (I'm not kidding - there were streaming tears and side-splitting laughs), Meg kindly took the time to document my bread blunder with her phone for public embarrassment. You're welcome. |
| So far our efforts have been going great and we've (wisely) put Meg back in charge of the Baisden bakery. My wife has become quite the cook, so I bet she'll jump on here and share some of her favorite new recipes soon - if for no other reason than to share them with her Mom who always 'needs to get a copy of that recipe.' We'll keep you posted on our kitchen adventures as we go! |
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PS - Have you heard? This blog is getting PERSONAL! |
It's no secret that Meg & I share a career that falls pretty far outside of the spectrum known as "normal". Instead of morning commutes replete with bustling subways, crowded freeways, and angry pedestrians, we quietly commute to our small home office - a whole 5 yards down the hall. |
Wedding photographer is not one of those careers that high school guidance counselors tend to "promote". In fact, I'd say entrepreneur is not really a career that most people think of unless they are introduced to it at a young age. However, being an entrepreneur definitely has some perks:
- design your own schedule
- take vacation whenever you want it
- work half days
- work from home |
Of course, those of you out there with small businesses are laughing uncontrollably because you know the real story:
- work endless hours
- work seven days a week
- never get a true "vacation"
- buy your own health insurance
So for every perk, there is an equal and opposite reality that comes with it.
But despite our odd lifestyle of non-traditional hours, and travel on the weekends, we do still find a little time to have some fun! A couple of weekends ago, we found ourselves exploring a new topic - gardening!
My birthday gift from my parents this year was a gift certificate to a local nursery. Meg picked out a chaste tree. |
Realize that Meg & I - neither of us - had ever planted a tree. Not sure how that happened, but somehow we both missed the "volunteer to plant a tree" projects growing up. So armed with Pinterest and iPhones, we set out to plant a tree.
After we assembled the requisite supplies (shovel, gloves), we discovered that digging holes... well, it's friggin' tough! Meg even got into the action... mostly supervising, but every hard worker needs a great supervisor!
However, the end result was worth it - we planted our very first tree! |
| It's a far cry from the end result we are hoping for, but so far, so good! We've been watering it everyday, and it's started sprouting new leaves! We will keep you posted! |
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PS - Have you heard? This blog is getting PERSONAL! |
I have a confession - I am a reward points junkie. Even though my mind KNOWS that it is basically a 20% discount, it's way more fun to watch those points pile up.
My obsession with rewards goes all the way back to the second grade. My teacher (who's name escapes me at the moment) had a "store" in our classroom. Good behavior allowed for rewards... which led to "bucks" you could spend in the store.
In the second grade, the every day commodities were cigarettes and girly magazines Snoopy shaped erasers, pencils, and stickers. The top shelf stuff... candy of course! I was a reward dollar earning machine... I would do whatever was required to get my hands on the second grade dollars so I could load my desk with useless trinkets.
Now that I am older & wiser, nothing has changed. My grown up obsession with rewards continues. It started with the Subway Sub Club. Remember those perfectly sized little stamps that you had to lick? On those little cards that sorta fit in your wallet. Free six inch subs. But if you were really patient, you could get TWO cards filled out, and cash those puppies in for a free foot long sub. OMG!!!! I was hooked! |
Nowadays, I've moved on to Priority Club points. The Priority Club group is primarily known for the Holiday Inn. Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn. Yes, that Holiday Inn. The Priority Club group is also known for its headliner hotel, The Intercontinental.
As with any franchise brand, each location of a hotel chain is independently owned & operated. The Crowne Plaza in New Orleans represents the heart beat of a city. Located directly on Bourbon Street, with an amazing oyster bar, and a front entrance on Canal Street, the Astor Hotel is one of the best known properties in New Orleans.
Alternatively, certain locations within the rewards group have been under construction, under staffed, and underwhelming. We have stayed in some truly awful hotels *JUST* to make sure I got my points. Meg often complains about it, but usually humors me (usually). We've also stayed 30 minutes from civilization at our favorite outcast property, the Candlestick Inn...err...Candlewood Suites (that was for you Ryan). |
But our all time favorite property within the Priority Club group is an amazing boutique hotel brand called Hotel Indigo! We were first introduced to this charming little hotel in Atlanta.
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| We instantly fell in love, as they are a pet friendly hotel. The Atlanta location actually has their own dog... fittingly named Indie the Indigo Dog. We've had the opportunity to meet Indie a couple of times at the Canine Cocktail Hour which is hosted in the lobby on a regular basis. |
If you are a points junkie yourself, and you haven't had the opportunity to watch the movie Up In The Air with George Clooney, you absolutely must see it! Clooney plays a character in the movie that has taken "points" to the extreme. This memorable quote from the movie sums it up fairly well:
"I don't spend a nickel, if I can help it, unless it somehow profits my mileage account."
So I'm definitely not that committed, but I definitely try to stick with Priority Club whenever possible. I do have the Priority Club credit card - which accelerates your earning power when used at a Priority Club hotel. And because of the consistency of staying "in group", we quickly obtain Platinum status.
This results in a free water bottle, or a newspaper at most of the hotels we stay at. But at the Intercontinental, it bumps up a bit to a free movie rental, complimentary wi-fi, and a 4:00pm checkout... which aligns nicely with a wedding photographers lifestyle! :) |
The Priority Club points obsession usually culminates with a once-per-year redemption of several hundred thousand hotel points. Our prior redemptions have landed us in New York City, where we fully embrace Meg's inner theatre freak.
So I encourage those of you that travel to consider getting loyal. We've endured some lousy hotel renovations, highly inconvenient locations on the outskirts of town, and ridiculously undersized hotel parking lots to make sure we got our hotel points. But in my experience, loyalty pays.
What brands are you loyal to? |
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 Follow Meg in her journey to reach 100,000 pins. |
Fall. It's a magical time of the year.
As summer releases its merciless grip of hot days and horrible weather (seriously... it rained for 7 straight days this week), we can start to feel the change in the air. The back to school chaos pulls teachers back in from their summer bliss, and drivers begin grumbling about those pesky school zones slowing their daily commute. But I breathe a sigh of relief. After all... this means that Fall is just around the corner.
My first sign that fall will be here soon? A promotional email from Starbucks tempting me with the seasonal classic, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Leave it to Starbucks to ring in the new season with an official drink change. |
As a kid, back to school was the worst! As an adult (even one without kids), I can't help but feel the opposite about the new season that is approaching.
Fall means so many wonderful things. First, we look forward to the changing seasons: fall leaves, that cool crisp air that brings an end to the endless sweating, and of course the arrival of the snowbird. |
| Here in the Panhandle region of Florida, we don't have to worry about amazing scenes of changing fall leaves, but we get our own special scenery on the wonderful beaches up and down the coast. |
| In addition to the fantastic weather we get to enjoy, we also ring in the beginning of college football in the South. If you're not from our "neck of the woods", you might not know that college football is more akin to a religion that a sport. And here in the Baisden house, as FSU alumni, we bleed Garnet & Gold. Go Noles! |
| We'd love to hear from you - what do you love the most about the Fall season? |
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The last year & a half of my life has been a journey of fitness. It started the day that I turned 30. There is nothing quite like the feeling of loss that comes with realizing... you're getting old. Now wait! Before you go nuts and remind me that 30 is NOT in fact old, don't worry - I couldn't agree with you more. But let's face it... my twenties are gone. No longer am I a "recent grad" or a "new homeowner". I'm now stuck in the middle.
My doctor got my attention at the beginning of 2011 when he advised me that my cholesterol was getting a little on the high side. At a newly minted 30, this was not the news I wanted to hear. And as the Michael Jackson song says, it was time to start with the "man in the mirror", and get serious about getting back into shape.
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| I've never been one to play the blame game. As much as I enjoyed the movie Supersize Me, I'm not the type of person to point the finger. I realize that my choices haven't been productive ones health wise, and I have no one to blame but myself. So I started off on my journey with my sights set on the overarching goal of getting healthy, losing weight and finally making that "change" I'd been putting off for far too long. |
I've been intrigued by the responses I get from people as they've seen me go from a rather swollen 355 lbs. to an approaching normal 235 lbs.
Usually, the first & most common question is "What are you doing?". I provide my somewhat boring answer of "counting calories and running". I can tell immediately that there is almost a sense of disappoint on the face of the inquirer... almost like a "That's it?". They are also quick to mention that if I lose any more weight, I'm going to blow away. It's a compliment for sure. :)
I get it... running and counting calories... it's not a sexy answer. In the day & age of the Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, the Paleo Diet, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, and too many more to possibly name, I think that folks want to hear something they can relate to. Just being hungry sucks! And running... well, that's just for crazy people!
But I guess I can share that I've had a bit of help... a support system of sorts. It's called MyFitnessPal. Unlike the parade of diets requiring books, calculators, special meals, and weight loss shakes, MyFitnessPal is just an good ole' calorie counting system. |
| The website allows you to enter the various food & drink you consume throughout the day, and guides you through the calorie goal setting process. Best of all - its free! They even have an Android and iPhone app that allows you to scan barcodes, search for foods on the go, and keep track of your remaining calories for the day. |
Just over a year & a half later, and halfway through a new calendar year, I find myself approaching my ultimate goal weight. My focus has shifted from a question of how to lose weight, to a question of how to maintain the weight loss that I've achieved. This is no small task. According to a variety of sources, somewhere between 80% and 95% of adults who lose a significant amount of weight ultimately regain ALL of the weight lost... and often times... gain more.
I'll keep you posted on the final stages of my journey, and as I turn the page into maintenance, I'm looking forward to sharing some "before & after" pictures with you! |
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Follow Meg in her journey to reach 100,000 pins. |
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