Sunday, December 5, 2010

Lots of things going through my head

I just want to get this all down, especially before I get my shower this morning.  I've been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of reading, a lot of learning and am now trying to figure things out again.

I read that Volkswagen is working on a hybrid Jetta for 2012 or so.  I'm super excited about that, as I'm going to need a new car soonish and I want another Jetta.  And I've been working hard on going more green here and there, and a hybrid car would be awesome.  So now I need to save up money so I can put a huge down payment down, to reduce my monthly payments.

We discovered that the new dental plan may cover my braces after all.  So I need to contact the orthodontist's office and see what they have to say about this new company.  We owe only about $2400, and the insurance would be a lifetime max of $1500.  Which means we would possibly only owe $900.  That would help immensely.  The Dr. is still working on my teeth, and I've seen a lot of progress, but I'm getting anxious to be done, so I can start working on whitening my teeth some.

I was originally going to quit the program I'm in, because they were never able to get a lab for the tox program.  However, I spoke with the department head and he suggested I speak to one of the instructors who also works at the Coroner's office about getting and independent study set up with him.  So that will allow me to continue on, to get my masters, and to keep those student loans from coming due yet.  The department head said that some of the students that have done that have been hired on there, too.  So it may be a foot in the door for me.

I've also been thinking about doing a yoga teacher training course, but with this change in the way I'm doing my school stuff, that may get put on the back burner for a while.  Plus, I really need to get back into shape.  I hate looking at myself in the mirror anymore, so I'm trying to figure out what to do.  I've been speaking with a few people, and I'm changing the way I think.  I thought 20 minutes of exercise each day was enough.  I've been taking to some women in my class, and they mostly say that they exercise for closer to an hour a day.  And these are women that are thinner, so they must be doing something right.

I'm beginning to see that my parent really made things difficult for me.  The portions my mom would put on my plate probably could feed two adults, not one kid.  And they never do anything except sit at home and watch tv.  So I grew up hating exercise and eating a lot.  My mom blamed it on the soda I drank, which probably didn't help a lot, but they would have at least one a day, so I thought it was ok to drink it, too.

Now I'm trying to fix this.  My braces have actually helped me get to a point where my portions aren't so large, because of the initial weirdness and occasional pain in my mouth.  I had a period where I didn't eat a lot, so not eating much feels more normal now.  Now I just need to push myself and do more yoga, work on the stationary bike more, and go running some when it gets warmer.  The cold weather kills my lungs.  Some people suggested I get a bandana and put it around my like a mask and that should help.  But because I don't like the cold, I think I'll stay inside for the winter and try the running thing when it gets warmer and I want to be outside more.

Classes will be out soon, so that will give me time to work on the exercise thing.  Classes don't start back up until about mid January.  And with classes, I'll be able to pay off these few debts we've obtained lately, like my braces, the bed, and the new washer and dryer.  Deferring my student loans a year or so should help us catch up because I'm going to be full time all year, and my husband just recently got a raise.  I also went online at the suggestion of my brother-in-law and found that currently, INGdirect has a savings account with about a 1% interest rate.  So I'm thinking of creating a savings account with them to try to make my money grow faster for that down payment on my future car.

Wow, that's a lot of stuff I've been thinking about, and now a lot of writing.  Best to go get a shower now I think.