Happenings Lately Vol 12

Hey guys!  I hope all is well in your land.  Here are some things that I have been up to lately or just news that I have been meaning to write about. 

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday to my sister, Laura! 

I am going to my parents’ house tonight to take my niece trick-or-treating.  So fun.  She is going as Super Girl.  I will try and get a pic.

 

I did my American duty and voted

Let’s be honest, both candidates are not the best but I believe in one party 85% so I voted for that person.  We shall see how the election goes.

Picnic in the Park

We went to church last weekend and afterwards had an impromptu picnic in the park. 

Crackin’ Pecans

A friend gave me a big bag of pecans from her yard and I brought them over to my parent’s house to crack them.  We convinced my grandmother via Facebook to make us a pecan pie.  She said “How can I say no with all of these witnesses”.  LOL.  That was our plan! :)

 

She is a HAM!  I love that face.

5K eBook

I sold my first eBook on my 5K planning site.  I am not sure if I mentioned that I was making a website based on this post that sells an eBook on it.  My first one sold the other day and I was ecstatic!  I looked at my phone and noticed a PayPal logo on the notifications and wasn’t sure why.  I got a very nice surprise when I opened it and saw that my first copy of my eBook sold!!!!!!

Simmons Studio

I am saddened to hear that Richard Simmons is closing his L.A. Studio, Slimmons, in November.  I am so glad that I checked it off my bucket list when I did.

Ice Cream Sandwich

I am on a diet (25 lbs gone!) and noticed that this bench at work looks exactly like an ice cream sandwich.  The mind plays tricks on you when you aren’t getting sugar!  :)  #youknowyouareonadietwhen

Garage Sale Success

We had a garage sale at my parents’ house and made $375!  Well, I made $10 and my parents made $365.  I woke up at 4 am and was going non-stop until 1:30 pm, when I promptly took a nap.  I really love garage sales! #myparentshavealotofcrap

LinkedIn Lawsuit

Remember way back when LinkedIn contacted me about a class-action lawsuit?  Well, apparently they won and had to pay out.  I received a total of $20.43 that was promptly put in my savings account.  #savingforahouse

 

Please excuse the bad "MS Paint" job

Mystery Shop

Speaking of savings, I am still doing mystery shops for extra $$!  (Go to this post for a list of the reputable companies I have used.)  I got an email from Sinclair about getting a $15 (plus up to $10 reimbursement for food) bonus for a pizza shop in my area that is on the way home. I signed up because hey, who wouldn’t want $15 for pizza!  Pizza is not on my diet plan (cheese) so my plan was to give it to a homeless person on the street but I could not find any!  It was a Friday night so maybe they all went to do something else.  Anyway, $15!

Inbox Dollars

Also, check out Inbox Dollars to sign up for some surveys.  It is so easy to make money for them.  I have made $90 total but about $30 each time-usually about twice a year.  I know it isn’t too much, but if you sign up you can make money before Christmas and have some stocking stuffer $$.

Fun With Famous People

So last week I met two famous people, I guess it was a week of celebrities.  :)  Jose Altuve came to my work for a bit (I've met him a few times) and Rachel Cruze was in Houston for a book signing that I went to.

Rachel Cruze came to the Houston area to do a book signing for her new book, Love Your Life, Not Theirs.  Rachel Cruze, in case you didn't know, is Dave Ramsey's daughter and is a member of his Ramsey Personalities team.  She is super sweet and hugged everyone that came through the line.  I didn't feel rushed at all. She seems like a person you would really like to be friends with in real life. :)

I really liked her pants.  She told me what kind they were, but I don't remember what she said.

I have gotten through a few chapters and I love it!  It is about money management as well as not comparing yourself to your friends/families/acquaintances life.  She talks about how people use the #blessed hashtag (or a variation) as a way of humble bragging.  'My husband just bought me a new Mercedes #blessed' or something like that.  I really loved it.

They were also giving away $1,000 to one lucky person and also a wallet she designed.  I didn't win either one f those drawings. :/  That's OK because those people needed it more than me, I suppose.  But darn it, who wouldn't want a $1,000?!

Jose Altuve (of the Houston Astros) came to my work and I was able to take a picture with him. (That's all I can really say about him coming!  I don't want to mix work with my blog).

Anyway, it was the week of celebrity!

2/3rds Done-Galveston Toughest 10K Recap

Saturday was the Toughest 10K Galveston race that is the 2nd race of the Texas Bridge Series races.  It was not as bad as the first race, but it was not a walk in the park.  When will I learn that I actually need to train for races? Oh right, I thought these races would encourage me to train...nope!

I stayed at my Uncle's house in Pearland the night before the race so that my aunt Laura and I could get up early and head out to get the best parking spot.   We all stayed up way to late into the night talking and I hardly got any sleep.  I need my sleep or I am a crab (did you see what I did there...crab. Galveston...not funny?)


Anyway we got to the race and were able to park with ease.  The race itself was uneventful except I wasn't feeling it.  I really wanted the 4th medal though so I pushed on.  The things I will do for race medals.  I thought I liked the Kemah race better, but I really liked the Galveston one better.  I remember not really liking this race, but I liked it a whole lot more than Kemah this time around.  I think it was Kemah was just too hot in September.

I did 2 minutes faster (whoo hoo) than I did in Kemah, which is weird because I felt like I walked a lot more this time.  Who knows!

A few friends from church were running the race too and we took a picture.  . We were supposed to all wear our medals to church today, but my eye is a bit infected...I'm hoping it isn't pink eye.

After the race our plan was to go to the Farmer's Market, get lunch and then have mimosas on the beach but we got to the Farmer's Market area and apparently it is on Sunday and not Saturday. I"m not sure how we both missed that on the website, but we did.  We went to the Galveston Greek Festival instead!

The tickets were only $3 and then you paid for whatever food/dessert/drink/souvenir you wanted. Laura got the plate dinner and I got some sides mixed together.  I thought the grape leaf things I got were just rice filled but apparently they had some sort of meat, I think lamb.  I didn't want to waste it, so I ate it.  I know, it's not plant based but it was one time and I hate wasting food.

We watched some dancers do a little number and listened to a band for a bit before heading home.  We had mimosas when we got back to Roger's and I took a nap on the couch before heading home.

Fun day, fun weekend!  How was yours?

Have A Great Weekend!

I just wanted to pop in and tell everyone to have a great weekend!  I am not planning on doing much this weekend except veg out and watch the rest of the Walking Dead.  I am on Season 5 about halfway through.  I might go see a movie, either The Girl on the Train or Ms. Peregine’s Home for Peculiar Children.  I started reading the Peculiar Children book but haven’t finished it.   I’m leaning more towards The Girl on the Train movie. 

A few cute pictures of my niece!  We went shopping at Marshall’s the other day and my mom found these adorable pajamas.  They glow in the dark and have candy where the skeleton’s belly is. Kali loves going on walks in the neighborhood so I took her around while she was wearing her pajamas.   She wanted to “scare all the neighbors”.  When a car or person would come by, she would “roar” at them.  They were scared, clearly.

We also went to Trader Joe’s!  My mom had never been so we went and Kali found a little kids cart.  She was very proud of herself.  Now that is the only store my parents can go when Kali is with them because she LOVES to push the cart. 

Have a great weekend!  My 2^nd 10K is coming up next weekend.  Has anyone signed up for any races?