So the J's job is official. We went and met his new unit on Tuesday, signed his initial paperwork, and now we're waiting for them to call to tell us when he need to report to the State Capitol for his PT test. As soon as he passes (which he will), they'll cut his orders and he'll start work. Giant relief there because while I was excited about his job, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and find out it wasn't real, or was going to fall through, or whatever, so until Tuesday, I was totally holding my breath. But now it's real. It'll be really real when we get that first paycheck.
I had also been waiting on pins and needles for my money to come in--the thing we were waiting to make us solvent for the remainder of the summer, and since it had been a week since I talked to the investment people and the check hadn't come, I was starting to think that was a joke/lie and starting to stress out. To be honest, I wanted to go shopping, but I was worried about August's bills and whatnot, too. And I need to have something put away for September, at least the first half, depending on when the J starts his job.
Now, the check finally came in, and we've been shopping. I can't say we've been irresponsible with it, and this is the thing about unemployment and underemployment and then finding out about employment and where it's hard to then be disciplined about paying off outstanding debt. All those things that we have been trying to save up for the past year which have been impossible to save for because you know, do you buy x or do you eat for two week is always the problem, has not been a problem this week. It hasn't been frivolous--we didn't go out and buy a whole new expensive entertainment center we don't need or a new kitchen dining room set or a $3k shopping spree (although, wouldn't that be nice!). Rather, we both finally got new running shoes after about 10 months*. I think we were both about a month away from having holes in the soles of those shoes. We replaced our blender with the Ninja! Really, my dream is to have a Vitamix, but I seriously can't justify that kind of money for that, not when I really also want the Dyson Slim Vac (hello, 1960s housewife anyone? I LURVE me some appliances!). Anyway, our current blender is about a decade old, gets used just about every day, but wasn't made to be used every day. We also bought a vacuum sealer for the food to help eliminate freezer burn, especially for the meats. My parents have had one for a really long time and they love it and say that it really helps keep things fresh and helps with the freezer burn. The other part of that equation was then buying a chest freezer, which we bought yesterday. One that might be a bit bigger than we need right now, but I think it's almost a necessity for us. Our freezer is so small (and we're not buying our own fridge until we have our own house), so it's impossible to buy bulk right now (like meats) and we buy a lot of frozen fruit, and sometimes those bags are too big for the freezer and the freezer door doesn't always close, which is a pain. Since we spend a lot of money on quality food, I don't want that to go to waste, so now we have a better system. The J would like to start canning. And by Christmas, I'd like to give a go at food dehydrating so I can make my own jerky and what not.
The J is also a big fan of cubicles for storage because you can get bins and stuff for them as well, so he's been wanting one for the kitchen for the tupperware because he hates our cabinet situation here. And then we got two more for the den for dvds so we can free up the bookcases for our books and get some more room in the office.
This morning I just ordered an item that I had been looking at in some form or another for almost four years (this isn't the one I saw four years ago--it's a fraction of the price, but has the same function). It's this. Actually, probably more than four years--I've been looking at something like this since my dissertation days, something I can slide up to me on the side so that I can take notes while sitting in my reading chair reading. And aside from ordering some food, we should be done with our shopping. And the Red Rocket is getting a haircut today too. I'm finally going to pay someone else to do it right and so I don't have to!
The other exciting/cool thing that's happened this week is on Monday (and we found out yesterday), a CrossFit box opened here in town!!!!!!! Oh happy day!! We went by and immediately joined!! I've been giddy with excitement since then! We went to our first class last night, and I was pumped! And then we're going to class this morning at 6 (I've been up since 4), and I couldn't sleep at all last night because I'm so excited!! I was going to use some money to buy some equipment, and while what we'll pay for a year's membership could get us our own set of stuff, now we get a trainer, we get unlimited access to the box and the equipment, and unlimited classes/training sessions. Plus, there's now way we'd be able to install rings or a climbing rope here or be able to purchase a rowing machine or GHD (glute & ham developer), so I think it's going to be awesome. And I really want to compete (I have a LOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go), so this will get me closer to that sooner. Plus, with a trainer, I'm going to see results much faster. So we are totally stoked about that!! Seriously!! We are now officially CrossFitters rather than people who do CrossFit because we now are part of an affiliate! Woot! We thought we'd have to open our own box someday or have a garage gym when we got our own house, but this is perfect. Plus, it's barely five minutes from the house! How awesome is that??!!
So that being said, I need to go get ready so I can get to class!! I haven't been this excited about an event since my wedding day!
*those of you who are runners might be cringing right now--in traditional running shoes, one should replace them every 3-4 months depending on mileage. We run in Vibram Five Fingers. Even with heavy mileage, we get away with buying a pair every 9-12 months, which saves us, combined, about $600/yr. We don't eff around with broken down running shoes.
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