I now have official proof that spring is coming. Want to know how I know? The Q-mart, that’s how! For those of you unfamiliar with the Q-mart I am referring to the Quakertown Farmers Market. I went this evening to pick up some stuff for dinner and was very, very pleased to find fresh strawberries, beautiful snow and snap peas, and wonderfully fresh brussel sprouts. Know what that means? That means that the growing season in Florida has been going on long enough to provide the first fresh produce of the season. And what that means for us is that spring will be creeping its way up to us sooner rather than later. (Monday’s temp is supposed to be 59 so maybe we’re looking at “sooner” rather than “later!”) I’m happy to report that my bulbs are starting to peek their way through the soil… and unhappy to report that they’re currently being covered in snow. 
Bring on spring!!!
Spring’s coming!!
Heather’s fantastic get-thin-quick plan!!
I’ve done it – I’ve invented a “get thin quick” plan that actually works! Okay, maybe invented is too strong a word… Anyway, the “get thin quick” plan is pretty simple – get yourself exposed to the flu bug that’s going around, get really sick, hang around in bed or on the couch for 4 or 5 days, forget about having an appetite, and – voila! – you can drop 8 – 10 pounds! In my case, I started feeling it a little over 2 weeks ago and then spent Friday – Tuesday of last week on the couch. Thanks to the flu I lost 8 or 9 pounds. I’m trying to keep some of it off but the very fact of starting to eat again is working against me! LOL!
I kept myself entertained by re-watching a bunch of our movies and availing myself of Netflix’ movies on demand feature. I actually watched the entire Lord of the Rings series back-to-back. It was the extended edition so each movie was 3 – 4 hours. It was actually kind of fun to watch them all back to back. I finally was able to put together some of the relationships & pieces that I hadn’t quite connected. I was also reminded just exactly how much I love the Ents. Man, those things are cool! Click here to read more about why I named this blog after the Ent wives. I also worked my way through most of the series called “Dead Like Me” about a teenage grim reaper. Kind of twisted humor but definitely fun to watch. In between all the tv-watching there was lots of sleeping, drinking fluids, taking meds, etc. but that doesn’t need to be detailed here. One of the Netflix movies I watched was a documentary called “Small Town Gay Bar” about two gay bars in the deep south. Made me feel glad to live in the Northeast…
Freedom!!!
As of February 1st Pete and I are officially out of credit card debt. The last payment was made and we are DONE! It’s kind of, um… exhilerating!! I’ve struggled for a long while with keeping my spending in check, using credit wisely, etc. I’ve never been too far in over my head but I could see the debt creeping up little by little. Over the past year or so, Pete and I – well, mostly Pete – have been working on getting a budget together. It hasn’t been without setbacks but it’s been working pretty well. The key was finding a piece of software called You Need a Budget. It’s allowed us to learn to spend only what we’re bringing in. Kind of obvious, I know, but easier said than done!
Now that we’ve got that piece of debt squared away, our sights are set on some savings goals (i.e. wedding, house, car for me (the Jetta is going to die sometime), etc.) and chipping away at student loan debt. I’ve been reading two personal finance blogs that have helped me put some perspective on things – Get Rich Slowly and The Simple Dollar. I highly recommend both of them.
We still have a lot of work to do to get us to where we want to be in the future but for right now it feels like we’ve achieved a major milestone! Don’t get me wrong – we still use a credit card on a regular basis. We have an AmEx that gives us cash back. We use it for everything we can – gas, groceries, household stuff, etc. – and then pay it off in full each month. That way we earn the cash back but don’t have to pay any interest charges or anything! Because we use it for our daily expenses, it looks like we might get as much as $500 back this year. Nice!!
Okay, now I’m rambling so I think I’ll sign off. Just wanted to share the good news! 
Update from 2/18 – I meant to mention a movie that I watched recently that is relevant to the discussion. It’s called “Maxed Out” and it is about the credit card companies. It goes into detail about their policies, how they make their money, etc. As Pete said, it clearly has it’s agenda. However, it makes a lot of interesting points. It also made me want to stick it to ‘em in any way I can. I fully plan on continuing to use the AmEx, happily accepting the free money they’re going to give us, and continuing to pay it off in full every month so they don’t get any interest or fees from me. (They still get fees from all the vendors where I use the card but there’s no way around that.)
