Mevolving

The Difficult Decisions

Amy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:05:44 +0000

Sometimes in our lives we have to make decisions that we are unsure about. The trouble with being indecisive by nature is that there is a tendency to turn to others for assistance in making those decisions. Some decisions, however, only you know the answer to, and those are the hardest ones to make. They are hard because despite knowing that you are the only one who can decide the final fate, there is still a desperate attempt to get someone else to tell you the answer. I have and always will be indecisive. Sure I can occasionally decide what I want for lunch or what I’m cooking for dinner but much more than that and I get nervous - what if I pick the wrong door? I have a tendency to “Alice” my way through life - I give very good advice but I very seldom follow it, and my life now comes to a point where I have to start making big decisions all by myself and following my own advice. I tell you what, it scares the hell out of me.

Monday Mingle - March 15, 2010

Amy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:01:25 +0000

It’s Monday again which means only one thing! It’s time for Monday Mingle! If you want to get in on the mingling fun drop by Jen’s blog over at EightyMPHMom.com !

This week’s questions were:

1. If you were forced to choose between skydiving, base jumping off a skyscaper, or rock climbing, which would you choose?

2. Are you an aggressive or defensive driver?

3. Due to a sour economy the genie can only grant you ONE wish. What would it be?

Here’s the link to my chocolate blog contest too

An Informal Acceptance

Amy — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:39:59 +0000

Late last night as I check my e-mail for the millionth time I found an e-mail from UNR asking if I was still interested in the program and if so they were interested in me and would like to offer me a position there. When I read it I admit that embarrassingly enough, I panicked. This late in the game I wasn’t expecting any acceptances and had resigned myself to that fact. The e-mail also offered to help foot the bill if I would like to go and visit campus. I contacted Buzz through text message (wouldn’t you know he was out at the time??!) and shared the news. I then texted Queen Bee and e-mailed my trusty dad to see what he had to say about the offer. The first to respond was Buzz with a “congratulations!”, and then Queen Bee who called me, and finally my mom who called after she had obviously been read the e-mail by my dad.

As I talked to my mom who was telling me how much I might like it out there on the visit I started to cry. The what if’’s started to get me. What if I’m not doing this because I love it but because I feel obligated to do something? What if I can’t stand being so far away? What if Buzz and I break up and I’m trapped across the country on my own? What if I can’t do it…what if…what if…what if. My mom put on her mothering voice and told me that it would be fine and that I would love it but as she started to flail just a little she handed the phone to my brother J and then my dad. Both brother J and my dad told me the same thing and reassured me that I would be fine. That I needed to go and visit and once I did that I would just know. I would know if it was the place for me. I would know if I had made the right choice. I would just know and in the meantime there was nothing wrong with visiting and getting to know the professors and students who could eventually be my peers.

So last night I picked out an outfit from DownEast Basics for my visit to the UNR campus, a brightly colored and comfortable outfit that matches my black boots well and is professional with a little fun mixed in. I am going to pay my visit to UNR soon (I’d say within 3 weeks or so) and find out more about my choices before making any decision. You never know what you’re missing until you check out all of your options.

I’m still panicked and the mere fact that I’m panicking worries me. I am a worrier. I have always been a worrier. If there is nothing to worry about I worry. I am so deathly afraid of picking the wrong path in life. I accepted the offer to pay the campus a visit, after all how will I know anything if I don’t? Queen Bee tells me it’s the fear talking, fear of change, fear of something new and maybe even fear of a challenge after so long of working alone. She could be right and there is no better way to get over fear than to face it head on. I didn’t tell my family that I was afraid I was making the wrong choice because they’ve heard it before. I was hesitant to tell Buzz. I confided in Queen Bee but after a few minutes of conversation with Buzz I burst in to tears and it all flooded out. Am I really afraid that I’m making the wrong choice or simply afraid of the change after so long? Only I will know that once I set foot on to the campus of UNR and until then I will sail along as I have been, with hopes for the future whatever it may hold.

A Great Big Grocery Shop

Amy — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:23:38 +0000

Today was the great big grocery shop. Being that it’s only Buzz and I in the house we manage to get away with one big grocery shop once every two to three weeks. This week our grocery store (Harris Teeter) did a special weekend flyer in Friday’s paper which included $16 of coupons for anything of my choice (as long as I wasn’t already using a coupon for it.) The great big grocery shop means a full two hours of planning the night before.

The picture above is what my pre-grocery shop looks like. A notepad with the weekly meal plan (each meal usually lasts 2-3 dinner’s), piles of coupons, laptop windows open to the grocery store website, the grocery store flyer and coupons.com. I do not usually have cash laying out - I pay for nothing with cash but this week I happened to have cash out of the bank and delegated it for the great grocery shop.

Most weeks that I grocery shop I limit spending between $60 - $80. This week I almost hit $100, with $16 off plus additional coupons and specials I could afford to splurge a little bit. The grand total before discounts and coupons came to $119 and change. Post coupons and specials my total was $80 and change. I love the satisfaction of saving that much money on my grocery shop - it’s so completely worth the time spent preparing.

Included on this week’s list: a boneless chuck roast for potroast, NY strip steaks (a once every few months treat,) Hebrew National hotdogs, 5 cans of Campbells soup, four boxes of mac ‘n cheese, 2% milk cheese singles, chicken breasts, chicken tender strips (unbreaded), Satay sauce, fajita strip steak, salad topper mix, creamer, oranges, a pineapple, celery, 5lb potatoes, carrots, pot roast seasoning, bread, hotdog buns, olive oil mayo, sweet potato fries, cereal bars, iced oatmeal cookies and more.