the giraffe life

Time for a goals update! Financial   •  Save $300 per pay  - Yes! Easiest goal ever because this was automatically deducted from my paychecks! Personal   •  Attend more than 67 yoga classes  - Nope! I stopped attending yoga classes in June because I was modifying so many of the poses to accommodate my growing belly that it seemed silly to pay to take a class that I wasn't fully participating in. I couldn't find any local prenatal classes so I switched to DVDs from the library until the very end when just cooking dinner felt like a work out. How do pregnant women who already have children do it?? •  Read 52 books  - Yep, a total of 70 . It was a banner year for reading actually, considering almost all those books were read before September. Now baby girl and I listen to audiobooks (electronically downloaded from the library to my cell phone) during some daytime nursing sessions when I want to read something. Plus I read a kids book to...

Side note: Thank you so, so much for your comments last week. I truly appreciate all the love and kindness - it warmed my heart. Mr. G and I visited NYC over the weekend. We are lucky to live close enough to make day trips there by bus. In the past, we've taken some very early buses. But getting up at 3:30 in the morning is AWFUL and the sleep deprivation makes me hungry (and a little cranky) all day. Not worth it.  This year we took a later bus and didn't get into the city until 11. We had a little less time but I felt like a normal human all day! Three cheers for sleep :) The bus let us off at Radio City Music Hall, so we decided to visit Central Park first. Central Park holds a special place in my heart because that's where we got engaged (on another November day trip). Mr. G tricked me into standing on this rock with him to take a picture and then when we got up there, he proposed :) After our trip down memory lane, we walked to Doughnut Plant , home of the C...

I was the sickest I've been in a long time last week. (I'm sure you don't want any gruesome details, ha!) And I felt guilty about neglecting my blog by not posting. Kinda like that week in September when I was too busy . But feeling guilty is no good. It's not productive or beneficial. So in the future, I'm going to stop worrying about having a post twice a week on set days, or even once a week. I still plan to post on Mondays, but I'm going to embrace a willy-nilly posting schedule if that's what the week calls for :) In other news, our TV company gave us a free preview of some premium channels to entice us to add them to our basic package. Which has turned quite a few nights and weekends into movie marathons. It's just so easy to find something you want to see when you can browse through hundreds of instant options.  The result? A few cool movies, lots of laughing together, and far, far less reading than normal.  And to wrap up this disjointe...

Yesterday was Election Day here in the US, which meant a day off from work for me. (Side note: It's amazing what a day off in the middle of the week can do for you! I went to a doctor's appointment, participated in a mid-day yoga class, voted, cooked a big casserole for the week's lunches and still had time to relax.)  Do you vote? I know it's required in some countries, but not here. linking up for wordless Wednesday

Sometimes I get caught in an internet rabbit hole - clicking on one thing leads to another, and another, and another. When I finally look up, I find out two hours have gone by and it's time to start dinner. Usually that means whatever I was reading or watching was worthwhile and held my interest. Over the weekend, one of those rabbit hole sessions led me to  Why We Sleep Together .  Our bed covered with the quilt my mom and I made for Mr. G A fascinating article! It talks about how people (and sometimes animals) sleep together for a variety of reasons, some logical, some not so much (a fear of witches).  Personally, I share my bed with a kitty or two every night, and occasionally my husband too. During the work week, I sleep during a fairly normal time:  9pm - 5:30am, but Mr. G works overnight, so he sleeps from 8am - 4pm. Which means we don't sleep together at least five nights a week. Sometimes on the weekends we'll have a commitment that requires Mr. G to ...

June went fast, right? Can't believe the year is already half over! I'm still feeling good about all my goals though :) This month I was able to cross off two goals - traveling twice and learning something new. We visited Ocean City for a friend's birthday, and then spent 9 days in California. (I'll post my final recap on Monday.) We still plan to fit in a day trip to NYC in a few months. Learning something new was surfing  lessons! I've already met my mortgage goal for the year, but I've decided I'm going to continue to overpay. I'm in the habit of putting extra money toward it anyway, so why stop? $2,330 total - yay!  As of the end of June, I've read 35 books this year so I'm on track for 50. This month's reads: The best was Daughter of Smoke & Bone , hands down. Bread & Wine - Memoir mixed with favorite recipes. I loved that she advocates inviting people over for dinner even when your house is a mess - been ...

One of the options on Pinterest is to get an email every time someone repins something you pinned (similar to a retweet on twitter). I got one of those emails last week for this picture: And it reminded me how much I love that poem and the sentiment. Plus the way Kristin  arranged and spaced the lines is just perfect. I should read and enjoy this poem more often. :)

We are slowly easing into summer time temperatures around here. It was 80° (27° C) on Monday, then cooled back off, and only a high of 56° (13°) yesterday. I've started checking the forecast in California too (three more weeks!), and wow, San Diego has some of the most consistent weather I've ever seen: Nothing new to cross off this month, but all's well. We are still working steadily on our savings goal and finding a book to read together ( Beedle the Bard didn't pan out).  This month wasn't anything special in the solo reading department either. I only read 4 books, partially because we started watched Modern Family, and partially because nothing really grabbed me. Everything was just okay.  I'm ready for June!

As much as I enjoy the cold, crisp air of winter, and the scenes of snow . . this in between time might just be my favorite time of year. Not too hot and not too cold. Plants waking up but not too many pesky weeds. Just lovely. This month I accomplished two of my 2014 goals so I made this handy dandy list in PowerPoint so I can cross them off as the year goes on.  Now, on to the details!  The mortgage:  I took on a temporary responsibility at work, which at first was only supposed to be one additional hour per week, but morphed into an extra seven hours! Thankfully I'm being paid for my time, and that unexpected money went to the mortgage for May, helping us pass the $2k mark. I still plan on putting extra toward the mortgage, just not as much as we have been.  My degree:   My projects were graded and I passed, so it's official - I'm finished! (Thank goodness because we already celebrated , haha). Reading:  This month I read a good bit . . 6 ...

Mr. G and I celebrated last night because I turned in the final project for my masters :) Now I just have to wait for my grade (eek!). He had Bailey's + whipped cream and I enjoyed vodka + carrot juice. Yum! I'm also treating myself by ordering this dress tomorrow :) Thank you again for all your kind words and encouragement - it was wonderful to have so many people rooting for me! Have you done any celebrating lately?

Mr. G and I try to plan our one big vacation each year for June because the weather is (usually) mild and we can double-dip and celebrate our anniversary too. This year we're heading to sunny California for a little over a week. We're so excited!  We're flying in to San Diego, making our way up the coast, and flying home from San Francisco the following week. Everything is booked (we slowly made reservations over the past few months to spread out the cost) so the only thing left is making a playlist and lots of anticipation. :) This had the potential to be a super expensive trip since there are plenty of cities in California renown for their high cost of living (San Francisco is #2 in the whole country!). So here are a few things we've done to lower the cost . . We used a Southwest credit card to earn free flights. Southwest Airlines offers a credit card that allows you to earn points for every dollar you spend. Plus, if you spent more than $3000 in the first th...

Oh, March. I called it in my end of February post - this month we had highs in the 60s (15° - 21° C) and several snowstorms. Such a tease! But for April, I'm hoping the weather cooperates with some more consistent (and pleasant) temperatures. :) Besides nicer weather, it's also time for some goal updates. First up is the mortgage: $1100! It looks awesome on paper, but in reality, it's just my tax refund and proceeds from selling my wedding dress. Yes, I sold my wedding dress! This is one of those decisions that seems to fire people up, but for me it came down to the simple fact that I don't plan to wear it again and it was taking up a ton of room in the closet. Plus the woman I sold it to was overjoyed, so I'm super happy with my decision. :) Books I read this month:   I was running a little short on time this month because I've been cramming in school stuff after work, but I still managed to fit in a little reading. I'd recommend: The Rosi...

It's been a good week. :) Robins are considered the first sign of spring around here, and guess what Mr. G spotted last week?  A robin! That robin may be regretting his decision when we get another snowstorm on Tuesday, but it was nice to see him while we could. I made bread! (Well, I put the ingredients in the bread machine, and 4 hours later, took out a perfect loaf of bread.)  I am sorely disappointed by the bread selection at my local grocery store, and unless I want to pay $4-5 dollars a loaf, I can't find any that are vegetarian! So I figured if I make my own loaf 2 or 3 times a month, it'll help us save a little money over store bought. Plus, there's not much better than warm, fresh bread with butter . .  And there's been a whole lot of typing going on . .  Getting closer to being finished every day! How're things going for you? What's the first sign of spring in your neck of the woods?

I've been thinking a lot about social media lately since I made the decision to join instagram. So I figured a post about my (limited) social media usage might be interesting. And of course I'd love to hear which ones you use :) The short answer is - I use Pinterest , goodreads , and instagram , of which only Pinterest and instagram are really heavy hitters popularity-wise (although not to the level of Facebook or twitter). haha goodreads was my first love - recording books I've read, following/friending people who enjoy the same books I do, adding books to a paperless to-read list? Perfect .  Then I added Pinterest mostly to organize recipes and pin information that would otherwise get lost. It's especially nice for a quick scan compared to cookbooks of yore, because I love seeing how a recipe looks when I'm browsing. And finally, I joined instagram because I like seeing how others capture little moments every day and was hoping to do so myself. It'l...

You may have noticed a few Rotten Ralph books in my recap of February. While I do love to randomly read children's books (and they're placed right next to the checkout counter at my library, so I often - unexpectedly - come home with several), I read the Rotten Ralph books on purpose. :) The author, Jack Gantos, came for a visit and book signing!  Jessica introduced me to him last summer, and I immediately read 3 of his chapter books. Dead End in Norvelt was probably my favorite, but they were all well written and made me laugh.  On the posters announcing his visit, there were a few Rotten Ralph book covers. And being a crazy cat person, I was instantly intrigued. I can't speak for all of them (there are 20 books in the Rotten Ralph series), but the three I read were enjoyable. Ralph especially made me laugh when he hid in the mailbox with a water gun to ambush the mailman (typical cat behavior, right?). Meeting Jack was lovely. He is so funny! I was nervous and...

I was a late adopter of cell phones in general - by the time I bought my first one in 2006, I was the only person in my circle of friends and family who didn't have one (excluding kids much younger than me). So it comes at no surprise that I'm way behind the trend on smartphones too.  But I don't mind being different so it's all good. :)  If you've been reading for a while, you may remember my post last year about my thoughts on  buying a smartphone and switching to Republic Wireless . Well, spoiler alert: I finally took the plunge and bought one (you may have already guessed that from the title of this post haha).  The biggest factor for me was the money saved. Since I first got a cell phone, I've always had the cheapest basic plan I could find. I was paying between $42-45 for 500 minutes and unlimited texts, plus taxes and fees, for a nice round total of about $50 a month. That's $600 a year for my cell phone service (no cost for phones because I a...

Ladies' Home Journal recently featured an article on Tiny Homes , about 3 different families living in small spaces. The average American home is 2,400 square feet (223 square meters) as of 2010 ( source ), while the homes featured in this article were 128 sq ft (12 sq m), 960 sq ft (89 sq m), and 336 sq ft (31 sq m). average size of an American home through the years The families ranged in size from a married couple to a married couple with 2 kids, and for the most part, they were happy with their decision to downsize and live in smaller digs. While I think the two super small homes are a little extreme, a family of four living in a 960 square foot home sounds doable. The most important thing is that the house be well designed for that scenario.  Mr. G and I lived in a house that was just under 1100 square feet and had ample space. Every room had a good size closet, the kitchen cabinets went right up to the ceiling, and there was no wasted space in the floor plan . . b...

My great-grandmother passed away last week. As you can probably imagine, that stirred up plenty of emotions. My memories of her are happy ones (zoo trips, Christmas celebrations, telling stories of her kids' antics when they were little) and her funeral was the cheeriest one I've ever attended. She lived a long, full life, and always seemed content. But it's still sad to know she's gone. I saw this illustration over the weekend and loved it immediately. Unexpected deaths are a good reminder in that way. We all have just one precious life to decide how to live. Image drawn by  Simini Blocker for goodreads.