I know... I haven't posted in like a week.

I have a few posts that are coming together.  I will do a giveaway, and I will be doing a fantastic update on how I am transforming my home office (which Boyfriend had taken over with trash) into an office/crafting studio. 

It's all in the works.

I promise.

In the meantime, I've been up to a lot latley:

- A little bit of "fall madness" cleaning/reordering.  I don't know why, but I've been sort of "nesting" latley trying to make the apartment more homey ( I think it's because I've finally resolved that we aren't going to be buying a house for quite some time now)

- Lots of crafting.  I have several greeting cards in the works (including some halloween cards I'm sending to a few besties this year).  Some wedding DIYs.  And several pieces of beaded jewelry.

- I took up playing "Magic: The Gathering" (now, before you go calling me an uber-dork, hear me out!)  Boyfriend has been having trouble making friends, and recently we found a place where he could make some friends through playing Magic.  HOWEVER, due to his social anxiety and hermit-like ways he doesn't want to go alone.  Also, he hasn't played in over 10 years and is afraid of being laughed at by the other boys because he doesn't know the new rules.  So, I decided that I will be his buffer.  I took up the game in hopes that I could ask all of the dumb questions, and make him feel more comfortable. 

-I am also organizing and creating a catologue system for my DVDs.  They have taken over the living room.  I'm removing them from boxes, putting them in sleves, assigning numbers and ordering them.  Then I put the movies in my catologue system (which I'm using Google Docs for, so that it can be accessed on my iPhone) which can be sorted alphabetically, by genre, by year of release, or on a scale of 1 to 10 based on the like of either me, or boyfriend.  So far I have processed over 100 movies, and am about 1/3 done with the movies.  Then I will start with the TV shows, then workout videos.  I still haven't decided where to put all of the boxes (which I naturally want to keep)

Anyway, This has gotten too long.  more updates to come!

XOXO,
Miss Rachel-Ann

Religion and Rachel

I'm gunna get deep for a second.

 

So, I've always had one fundamental problem with Christianity as an organized religion.  The lack of tolerance for other lifestyles.  I'm not saying that Christianity itself has this flaw, but rather, laws of man have added this component. 

 

I've always thought that Christians would have a much better public image if only they would stick to the teachings of Christ himself, instead of becoming hung up on the laws imposed by the bible (seriously guys, it's NOT the word of God, as much as you want it to be, it was written by humans and as such will have inherent flaws, just like humans do.)  I simply do not agree that it is somehow okay to hate any group of people because they are "sinners".  I honestly, in my heart, believe that this is a core value that Jesus tried to get across.  However, certain very public, people have abandoned this core belief. 

 

I can distinctly remember having a Saturday night slumber party as a child, and going to Sunday School with my friend the next morning.  I was raised Catholic.  My friend went to a non-denominational Protestant Church.  The Sunday school teacher, upon hearing I was a Catholic told me that he would "pray for me".  That some day I would "see the error of my ways", and stop "worshiping false idols".  He convinced me, at 12 years old, that I was going to Hell.  All for worshiping the SAME God, and following the SAME teachings of Christ.  He actually told me that if I wasn't saved, I would go to Hell.  He said that because in the Catholic Religion you pray through certain figures (Jesus, Mary, other Saints) I was worshiping false idols.

 

This has shaped a lot of my views in the past years.  I simply do not believe in chastising people for their beliefs, and feel like no matter HOW you worship, or even don't worship, that Heaven is a reward for those who are good people.

 

I wish I could find some organized religion that thought that.  Where the only laws are "Be a good person, respect others, and stand up for what's right"  A religion that is all accepting and tollerant.

 

That would be a religion I can get behind.

 

I guess in the meantime, I will focus on myself.  I will try to do my best to be a good person, and respect others.  I will always turn the other cheek, and I will never hate any person for any one sin.  I will do my best to send love in all directions.  And most importantly, I will do my best to stand up for what's right.

Gym Membership, Money, and Motivations

I'm thinking about biting the bullet, and joining a gym.

I'm thinking about this place:
http://www.foxysfitnesscenters.com/index.php

It's very close to my apartment, and seems to have everything I'm
looking for, including a Cardio Theater (which is pretty much the
coolest thing I've ever heard of, I joined a gym one summer in college
in Cincinnati that had one, and it was a big motivator because I'm
nuts for movies, and I get engrossed and don't want to leave).

Any input, ladies(or gents i suppose, I'm not sure who reads this after all)?

I'm still not sure on the pricing structure, but if it's any cheaper
than the 70 bucks a month Anytime Fitness is trying to charge, I'll
take it.

In other news, I have spent entirely too much money latley. Starting
after i pay for the gym, I'm going to start saving my pennies for my
looming summer trips (because afterall, there WILL be at least one
splurge-a-rific trip when I'm in Ohio, and Vegas a'int all that cheap,
baby). Boyfriend and I actually got into a fight about it yesterday.
He's bitter that I keep spending while he's trying to save money for
what he said was QUOTE "a major purchase" (I think, RING), and pay off
debts at the same time, while I'm paying off debts, pulling my weight
with other bills, and still spending tons of money at the same time.

So, in an effort to help out his ego, I'm just going to cut back
spending on myself, and save it all for one giant trip to the mall at
the end of April. Can I get a hell yea?

Spring Break…. Or, How I learned I’m too old for this shit

For the past few weeks, I've been yearning for a Spring Break. That
week of sand, fun, and (naturally) alcohol. When my Brother came into
town this weekend with his girlfriend and their friend, they posed the
idea of spending a day in New Orleans. I suggested that we instead
get a hotel room, and spend a night.

So we did.

We got into the city around 8pm, checked in, and then started walking
over to Bourbon Street. First order of Business: Hand Grenades all
around (remember when I said I wouldn't drink one again? I lied).
After two rounds of Hand Granades, we are all feeling pretty good, and
danced away the rest of the night. Around 12, Brett and I realized,
we were too tired to go on, and left the younger half of the group to
head back to the hotel.

All day Sunday it was like a game show called "Rachel's body makes
strange noises, and she doesn't know what that pop was! Care to
guess?" I'm still feeling the effects of sugary liquor and doing the
Solja Boy Tell 'em dance.

When did I get so old? I remember going out with Amber and drinking
so much that she puked in her mom's bathtub. We woke up the next
morning feeling downright chipper. Now I wake up and go "oh shit, did
I get hit by a bus? And who turned on the fucking sun?" What
happened to me?

In other news, I'm starting to diet again. Yes, again.

Starting today. My new diet is called "Don't stop at McDonalds in the
morning, or Taco Bell at night you dummy" I looked at where my
calories are coming from, and a lot of it is that I'm in a rush in the
mornings, and stop for an egg and cheese biscuit, then I don't eat a
big enough lunch, get hungry at work, and get Taco Bell on the way
home, but then still eat a dinner once I get home. It's too many
extra calories, and I don't need em.

Well, I suppose I should get to work. The plant isn't going to engineer itself.

New Computer = YAY

I've been considering getting a new computer for about a year now. Mine is 6 years old, and I can't play Peggle and listen to music at the same time without problems. So, I looked into the employee discount I get through my company with Dell... turns out, I can get this super awesome laptop that's about 4 times as powerful as my home computer for 500 dollars off. Plus, and this is the important part, I can order it in pink. So, I ordered it this morning after about 2 full weeks of flippy-flopping about whither or not I want to wait for Windows 7 to come out.

I'm super excited, because I bought a computer, outright, for cash, with my own money, AFTER I paid all of the neccesary bills (and above the minimums). It's a nice feeling.

The only downside, is now I have to wait for dell to build it, and ship it, and all in all I wont get it for another 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, i got put on two more projects at work, and I'm super busy today, so, I need to run.

Money, Money, Money...

So, Today I crunched the numbers. And it is impossible for me to reach my goal of "Debt Free by 25." HOWEVER, I do now have a realistic goal of setting aside $1,500 every month for Debt Payoff. If I do this, I will have it all paid off by the end of 2009. If I only set aside $1,000 each month, I'll be paid off by my 26th birthday. So my goal is 1500 each month with a MINIMUM of 1000. I want financial independence, and I'm gunna obtain it.

That said, I should plan a trip to the 'nati in the near future. When do things thaw out up there again?

Best Day Ever

Dudes and Dudettes. I am in the best mood ever today. Why, might you ask?

For the first time in what seems like my life (though, it's really just "in the time, since I've gotten credit cards" so, at least 7 years) I did my monthly finances, and found out that after rent and the minimum balances on my credit cards, and all other bills (electricity, cable, water, trash) have been paid I still have enough money leftover to completely pay off the balance of one of my cards (the balance on this card is low, only about 700 dollars... but that's one card paid off people!). AND still have a couple hundred dollars left to cover me for the next two weeks. HOWEVER, sometime in the next few days, I am scheduled to get my federal tax refund money (which is a little over a grand). Half of that money is already slated on getting the title of my car transferred to my name (and the state of Louisiana), and buying car insurance for the next three months. This leaves me with a little over 700 bucks for a "cushion".

I've never felt financial security before, but I'm pretty sure this is what it feels like. I still owe about 400 on my Macy's store account, and I'm debating using the rest of the tax money to cover that, taking me down to only having 3 balances left to whittle. But there's this part of me that wants to take that $400 to the mall... and go bat-shit crazy. I mean, That's money I'm supposed to use to stimulate the economy, right?

So, here's a question i pose to you, dear readers, What stimulates the economy more, paying back the bank? or shopping sprees?

PS - the reason that I am hoping to pay off a higher balance card than my Macy's store account is two fold: 1) The Macy's store is an open account, so holding a balance on that does not affect my credit AS negatively as holding a balance on a closed visa account. (though I am aware that it's still hurting my credit) and 2) the APR on the visa is like 4 times that of the Macy's account.

Another thing to consider. I have a goal to pay off all of my credit debt by May 22nd... My 25th Birthday. I view 25 as the "official" adult age (*and I have a set of rules - at least for myself - to follow once I turn 25*), and part of being an adult is being fiscally responsible and I have to start saving money for "the future" because kids are expensive, and unlike certain guests on the Maury Pauvich show I know that there is never such thing as "enough money" when diapers are involved. Also, I want to buy a house by the end of 2009 (probably even more towards the end of the year, giving me a half a year to save up a hefty down payment and work on that Credit Score).

Anyway, (I think I answered the question for myself in this last paragraph) what do y'all think I should do? Spend like it's going out of style? or Pay off one more bill?

*More on this in a future post...