{7 Things to Know}

This week’s edition of 7 Things to Know...

1. I can't post pics with their faces or give you names of my foster nephews. It's really too bad. They. Are. Cute!
2. My parents drove over Thursday to give Ethan his birthday card and hang out with us. It's nice that they live close and that they come see us a lot!
3. My local sisters took my mom shopping on Friday morning for her Mother's Day gift. It was a successful venture.
4. On Tuesday I finally went grocery shopping. It's always good to have a well-stocked larder. I make healthier choices when I don't eat on the run and when I have meals planned.
5. Speaking of healthy choices - I worked out three times this week. I wanted it to be more, but I took a rest day on Tuesday (to go grocery shopping) and Thursday (to spend time with my family). I feel like the three times I did work out were productive: Monday-30 min elliptical; Wednesday-20 min circuit weights; Friday-20 min circuit weights (with more weights and reps than Wednesday), 10 min elliptical.
6. My weekend plans keep changing but they include rest, family, and friends.
7. I'll leave you with a couple of pics from a cool evening walk tonight with Jess, Luke, E, V, & F...

P.S. Stay tuned for birthday week! Tomorrow we start the celebrating!

Make it a great weekend!

{7 Things to Know}

This week’s edition of 7 Things to Know...

1. I survived tax day. The end.
2. Jen, Jess, and I are singing with my mom at Spooner Baptist's Ladies Luncheon on Saturday, April 28th.
3. This past Thursday brought another April snow. I was grateful to get to leave work early and get a jump start on a long weekend. This snow was worse than the previous week. Everyone here is ready for winter to end.
4. I enjoyed a day off on Friday! Still shoveled my car off, but didn't have to go anywhere too early. Morgen and Ethan came over for lunch and we watched most of "Lady and the Tramp".  
5. As you know, I'm participating in the Metro Women's Center's 4th Annual Amazing Grace Home Walk on Saturday, May 4th. This is my 4th year to participate. Will you join me in supporting this great cause by donating $5, $10, $25, or even $100? Click the DONATE button to the left. T H A N K  Y O U ! If you want to follow my fundraising efforts go to http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/bekah-flaming/4th-annual-amazing-grace-walkbike.
6. The big news of the week was the locating and killing/capturing of the two responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing. Since I was home on Friday I spent a good bit of time watching the news reporters speculate on the police activity of the day. It was interesting to see the events unfold before my eyes. I'm thankful that they were able to get the bad guys. Tough to hear about all the victims. Prayers continue for those families effected by this tragic event.
7. Yesterday I started and finished reading Karen Kingsbury's "The Chance". I wrote a mini-review at Good Reads.

Read and Returned! "The Chance" by Karen Kingsbury

Friday morning workout - snow shoveling.

All cleaned off! Now melt snow, melt!

 

Don't forget to DONATE! to Metro Women's Center's Amazing Grace Home

Make it a great week!

{7 Things to Know}

This week’s edition of 7 Things to Know...

1. Enchiladas! Oh, these were tasty! ...and I just happen to have everything in my cupboard when I made them last week. After reviewing several recipes I thought this was what best fit the ingredients I had on hand. Since I didn't want it too spicy, I added one ingredient: 1 can of cream of celery soup.
2. One of my favorite things about a Friday night is turning of my alarm for a sleep in Saturday. Ahh...zzzzzzzzzzz
3. I know of one person who seriously plays the ukulele.  (Shout out to April on Guam: Hey!)Watch this - you may never look at a ukulele the same way again. 
4. Don't miss it! Last week I blogged about on my job. Raise your hand if 5 times in one post is too many times to use the word crazy! :)
5. This week was just as busy as last week, and I'm already dreading next week. Tax day on Monday means that I'll be processing of many checks for clients trying to get in last minute 2012 IRA or Roth IRA contributions. Hopefully these checks will be for already-opened-accounts. Opening new accounts would add more work :/ Speaking of new accounts...I've been opening a lot of investment accounts lately, and not just to accommodate 2012 contribution checks, but for transfers for new clients or clients who had accounts at other firms. I think this week I opened 10 accounts, and I have several sets of paperwork ready for clients who are coming in for a meeting or I have mailed out paperwork for clients to sign and return.
6. The boys are back! Jess and Luke have had their 3 foster boys back since Saturday when they got back from their North Carolina trip to see Jake, Meg, Lily & Ella. E, V, & F have changed a lot in the couple of months they were with their family. I got to help with bedtime a couple of nights. My parents drove over this week to see them. V is really talking up a storm - well, as much as a 2 year old does with one word sentences. My favorite was when we were almost ready for dinner, the table was being set, and he came over to me and said, "come on" while waving his hand and motioning me to come to the table. Of course, I came. He even pointed to a chair telling me where to sit. So cute, so cute.
7. April showers bring May flowers. What do Mayflowers bring? We've had 8 days in a row of rain or snow. On one of the worst days (in order to not have to scrape my car and sit in traffic) I walked to the bus stop a couple of blocks from house. When I headed to the bus stop, the bus was supposed to be 9 minutes away. The sidewalks were not cleared so I sloshed my way through several inches of gloppy snow, but made it with time to spare...yeah, lots of time.

me at the bus stop...waited for 30 minutes for my bus

A view of the snowy sidewalk.

My car at the end of the day. The windows didn't need scraped -- just shoveled off.

My spot didn't get plowed since I didn't drive to the park n' ride.

Snow, snow, go away.

 

Make it a great week!

{7 Things to Know}

This week’s edition of 7 Things to Know...

I'm bringing back my 7Things to Know posts and kicking it off with a few recipes that I love or want to try sometime very soon!

1. Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Bar Recipe - These look yummy! Must try them!! ...can I do it without bananas?
2. Peanut Butter Protein Balls - My sister gave me this recipe and I've made them once...I have ingredients to make them again very soon though! The best part about this recipe is that you switch it up a bit depending on what ingredients you have on hand.
3. Resurrection Rolls - Warm cinnamon rolls with marshmallows? Yes, please!
4. Apple Bundles - When my niece asked my sister to put her hair in a "bundle", these Apple Bundles were not what she was talking about. (My Li'l Cop Sis regularly wears her hair in a "messy bun" and the first time my niece wanted to copy her hairdo, she asked for a bundle. :))
5. Broccoli Salad - Even before I liked broccoli on its own, I liked broccoli salad. I don't think I've made the salad for myself, but I think I'd like to try!
6. Cinnamon Swirl Cake - I love a good coffee cake, especially if it's cinnamon. (No, I will not be drinking coffee with this.)
7. Pizza Balls - Pizza is good any time! I was thinking it would be a good bake and freeze item to pull out in the morning and bring to work for an easy lunch. 

 

 

Make it a great week!

{200th Post?}

Well this was supposed to be my 200th post, but that didn't happen. It's looking like my 219th post, to be more accurate.

__________________________________________

I'm going to try to make this interesting for you, my readers, but I make no guarantees (as a member of the financial field, I'm not allowed to guarantee anything anyway).

So, let me tell you what I've been up to lately...

1. Foster kiddos. About 12 weeks ago Jess and Luke started caring for 3 little boys: E(3), BV(16 mo), and FD(1 weeks old). It goes without saying that Jess and Luke's world was turned upside down, but the rest of the family has been able to help out and pitch in whenever we can. A couple days a week, Jen helped out during the day while Jess worked. She had a couple of basketball players who helped out the other days. I've been able to babysit quite a bit during the evenings and weekends - mostly after they're in bed when Jess went into the office or while they went out on a date or ran errands. I also spent a weekend with Jess when she was single-parenting it while Luke was in Boston at wedding. About 3 weeks ago Jess resigned her hr/accounts payable position at church; she's now a full-time stay-at-home mom and the boys are loving it! At this point we don't know how long they'll be with Jess and Luke, but we're loving on them as much as we can while we have them.
2. Fundraising for Metro Women's Center. If you gave money to the annual walk event, I thank you. This past fall MWC was able to purchase a home and many people been working on fixing it up and furnishing it to be ready to be used by those in need. If you were thinking of giving but didn't yet, you can still by going to my FirstGiving fundraising page. For more info about the Amazing Grace Home, I invite you to visit Metro Women's Center blog.
3. Work projects - I've mentioned before how I was interviewing for a new hire in my office. Well he's hired and thankfully not my responsibility; my co-worker gets to train him. We call him "Sabrina's* Slave". We're also in the process of changing 160+ investment accounts and ~100 insurance policies to a joint rep # for clients that we are buying out from another advisor. This is just Phase I of the accounts coming to us. Thankfully Phase II is a much smaller list. Something else I've been working on  is the planning of our annual client golf event to be held in August. Invites went out the middle of the month and RSVPs are already rolling in. You can check out our website that I help with. The bulk of it is designed and updated by a marketing company, but I'm responsible for content that is firm-specific.
4. May Birthdays - My nephew Ethan turned 4 on the 15th and we enjoyed a yummy dinner at Red Robin on that Tuesday evening followed by cake at my sister's. My niece Morgen turned 8 on the 20th and she celebrated at a birthday party with 10 of her closest friends. Mom, Dad, and the rest of the Mpls Gang were all in attendance as well. It was quite the hub-bub-a-loo! 11 screaming 8-year old girls, that's something you've got to experience first hand! Jess's oldest E(3) enjoyed splashing the girls while he was hanging out in the kiddie pool; they enjoyed egging him on as well. 
5. Baseball and Kindergarten Graduation - not to be left out from all the May activities, my nephew Carsten (6) graduated from Kindergarten and started little league baseball during May. His graduation program included songs and a play from all the seasons while one of his classmates kept asking when he could fly his kite. Each season he would ask, "is it time yet?" and finally, when it was Spring, he was able to fly his kite - and it actually flew! They had rigged up fishing wire for him and made it fly above the stage - pretty cool for kindergartners! :-) The baseball games haven't been the most exciting, but it was fun to see him connect with the ball for the 2nd time. 
6. Weekends with Mom and Dad - It's been fun to have Mom and Dad so close - they've been able to come over on different occasions and I think they were here 2 times in May and I went to their house over Memorial weekend. Of course, that wasn't so much a fun weekend as Mom was sick. I did enjoy getting to see my aunt and uncle though! Dad's baby sister, Jan and her husband, Dale, drove up from Rockford, IL on Saturday to spend some time with my parents. Unfortunately Mom wasn't feeling so great, so it was up to Dad to entertain them :) Jan did make a yummy strawberry-rhubarb crunch. I was able to have some on Sunday when I got there.
7. It's a girl! Probably the biggest news is our latest Flaming addition, my 3rd niece, Ella Taylor. Ella was born to Jake and Meg and big sister is Lily Bug who will be 2 in a week! You can read about Ella's arrival and see some pictures on their blog. There's also some cute comparison pics of Lily and Ella. Ella was born on Thursday and came home on Friday. Here's what they've been up to since she came home.

I'm pretty sure their are many other things I've missed here, but I think I'll stop for now. 

And I wasn't going for a 7Things post, but it appears that's what this turned out to be! For many weeks in a row I've missed writing my 7Things posts. Back in March, I think it was, I scheduled about 2 months worth  "A Year Ago on Not the Last to Know" posts.  Next year I think they'll be a little bit more exciting since I had been blogging a bit more regularly this year (...until about mid-April...). 

Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the blogging habit again, but don't hold me to it. June and July are looking to be busy months too! I think I'll work on some picture posts. I downloaded 430 pictures from my phone tonight. I need to go through them and see if any are blog-worthy :)

*named change to protect the innocent

{7 Things to Know}

This week’s edition of 7 Things to Know...

1. After 8 consecutive 7Things posts, I missed 2 weeks in a row!
2. Jess and Luke have had a few busy weeks adjusting to three kiddos taking over their house: zero to three in short order. I've been able to help out on occasion as it's quite an operation to run the household containing three kids and two working adults - seems there's always something happening: meal prep, diaper changing, napping, crying, playing, snacking, drinking, laundry, sleeping, bottle feeding, snuggling, reading, racing, throwing, quiet time, movie time and the list goes on! Oh, and you probably already know, many of these things can happen simultaneously! 
3. A good friend was in town last week for a regional work meeting. Pam and I went to the Macy's flower show downtown. I've lived here 5 years, but I had never even been in to Macy's downtown. I was excited to be a tourist for the evening!
4. Be sure to check out the YouTube videos from our recent Deo Cantamus concert! You can view them here.
5. Work has been extra busy lately. The two biggest things have been coordinating and conducting 11 initial interviews for a new hire and processing business like it's pre-2009. I still have three, initial interviews this coming week, and I'm in the process of scheduling second interviews (but I won't be conducting them). 
6. My workouts have been less than stellar - I only got two in this week, two last week, and two the week before. I had been doing so well with an average of 4 times a week!  
7. I'm hanging out with my parents this weekend. It's nice to get away for a couple of days. It's even nicer that they are coming to the Cities next week! Dad's doing some chaplain training and Mom's taking care of some Grandma duties :)

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Make it a great week!

{7 Things to Know}

Another edition of 7 Things to Know...

1. Happy Birthday to my Dad! 
2. 3 New Foster-Nephews! - On Monday my sister Jess and her husband Luke are getting 3 little boys (ages 3 and under). Jess and Luke will have them for an unknown amount of time. I can't share details on the blog, but please pray for all of them as they adjust to this new situation.
3. Project Time - Since my boss was gone on vacation all week I had extra time to work on projects: 
• I reviewed 14 resumes. We're hiring a new financial planning assistant (a.k.a. Sabrina's slave) and I'm responsible for assisting with creating the job description, posting the job on 3 sites (2 universities and 1 financial planning site), collecting/reviewing resumes, generating interview questions, communicating with applicants, and conducting initial interviews. 
• I reviewed a dozen or so financial planning websites to get ideas on what to do and what not to do on our website.  
• I finalized two What to Expect pieces and a Changing Technology piece for our advisors to use with our clients.
• I updated 3 computers with Windows updates. I do this once a month for myself and two others in the office. This is one of my annoying tasks, as it doesn't take a lot of skill or creativity, just time.
4. Curiosity - I'm curious if anyone has entered their email address on the left-hand side of my blog to receive and when I put up new posts. I'm not sure if I can track/see when people do this, so I thought I'd mention it in case you want to get an email when I put up new posts. Go ahead - enter your email address. And thanks! :)
5. In Case You Missed It
• Goal Progress - a quick update on my workouts with pics of my gym
6. Links of the Week
• Don't say "I Don't Have Time"
• Cars
• Buying a home compared to buying a car  
• The $2000 Car
• Goals - "Setting goals is easy, but working towards them, making life changes, and starting new habits is difficult."
• Movies to Watch - Check out PluggedIn.com before going to RedBox!
• Innovative Idea - Cereal dispenser for car trash can!
7. Weekend Pics

Anything else you would like to know? Please ask!

Make it a great week!

{7 Things to Know}

Another edition of 7 Things to Know...

1. One of my goals for this year was to blog more. As a regular reader, you know that I have been blogging more in the past 6 weeks via my weekly 7 Things posts. I've been working all week on a new feature for my blog and it will be revealed on Tuesday. Hope you enjoy it! ...and I hope I can keep it going!
2. A Few Good Reads
• Ack! That Desk Job is Actually Killing You! - includes an interesting infographic about how we need to be more active.
• Save Hundreds on a New Car in Two Haggle-Free Steps - Everyone needs to save money but especially someone who is about to make a large purchase...
3. Tune My Heart - Don't forget about our upcoming Deo Cantamus concert on Saturday, March 24th! We had two rehearsals this weekend. Since my dad is also singing, it was nice to have my parents in town again!
4. A friend posted a link on Facebook to the Olive Garden restaurant review in Grand Forks, ND that went viral. 
• Did you read it yet? 
• My dad can probably relate to this review since he's done a few restaurant reviews when he worked for the McPherson Sentinel about 10 years ago.
5. I worked out 3 times this week and was excited when I exceeded my 400 calorie burn goal 2 out of the three times.
6. I'm ready for Spring. Last week we had a snow storm and this week we hit 50 degrees. Growing up in the Midwest, I don't expect to have much of a Spring, but a girl can dream...
7. I attended a self-defense class this week. It was the first time I've ever done something like this. I tried to take notes on my phone, but I don't think I did a very good job. Here are some key things that I remember: 



Julie, the instructor's assistant bulldog

• Per the instructor, a lot of people are apathetic and think "it can't happen to me", so they don't believe it when it does happen and they freeze. The better thinking would be "it might happen to me".
• We learned a bit about the central nervous system (brain, spine) and that there is a spinal reflex for every injury: the body moves away, hands move to the injury, the eyes move to the injury. If you kick someone in the gut, they bend over, their hands go toward the pain, and they look down toward the pain.When injury occurs, it should give you time to get away.
• The goal is to injure the attacker, not just cause pain.
• Be observant/aware, make eye contact with those around you.
• Most of the class was listening to the instructor but the end of the class we got to try out a few moves. There's more to learn, but it was a good beginning.

{7 Things to Know}

And now for the post you and I have been waiting for all week...

7 Things to Know posted here each Sunday.

1. I forgot to mention in last week's post that my mom scheduled 3 job interviews in 2 days! Last month I helped her revamp her resume to look hip and help show off her mad skills. I hope it pays off real soon!! I really like helping people with their resumes and wish I could some how turn that love into a money making opportunity...
2. Busy week of work: productive project meeting, opening of accounts, calling clients to schedule appointments, calling clients to update them on their new accounts and transfers, generating forms, website updating (favorite!), scanning of daily work, etc., etc.
3. "Snow, glorious snow!" - yeah, I'm not usually singing about snow this time of year here in MinneSNOWta, but this winter has been one for the record books for having the least amount of snow. So when I almost got a snow day on Leap Day, I was kind of excited! I say "almost" because I while I did have to come to work, it wasn't until 10:30 am. I got a text at 6:15am, but didn't see it until the phone call at 6:30 am which is right about the time I was thinking of getting up. If you know me at all, you know I jumped at the chance to go back to my warm, cozy bed!
4. Yearly goals. Do you have them? For the second year in a row I've typed mine up and I track my progress monthly. I've been following a blog of someone who updates weekly on how what he did that week towards his goals. Well, I'm not that ambitious but reading that blog has helped me remember to check on my goals.
• This week I learned about SMART Goals and I hope to incorporate these into my yearly goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based.
5. I did not schedule my annual appointments like I mentioned last week...FAIL! I did however reach my fitness goal of burning 400+ calories two times this week! SUCCESS!!
6. A few blog posts I enjoyed this week:
• From my finance tracker, Mint.com - Ways to Save When Buying a New or Used Car
• From an encouraging website for singles, Boundless.org - What to Pray for Those Who Don't Know Christ:
• Pray that God draws them to himself (John 6:44).
• Pray that they seek to know God (Acts 17:27, Deuteronomy 4:29).
• Pray that they believe the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 2:13, Romans 10:17). 
• Pray that Satan would be kept from blinding them to the truth (Matthew 13:19, 2 Corinthians 4:4). 
• Pray that the Holy Spirit works in them (John 16:8-13). 
• Pray that God would send them someone to lead them to Christ (Matthew 9:37-38). 
• Pray that they would believe in Christ as Savior (John 1:12, 5:24) and confess him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10). 
• Pray that they would turn from sin (Acts 3:19, 17:30-31). 
• Pray that they would yield all to follow Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15, Philippians 3:7-8). 
• Pray that they would take root and grow in Christ (Colossians 2:6-7).
• From Lifehacker.com - What to Buy and What to Skip at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, Create a Hidden Cork Board Message Center on the Inside of a Kitchen Cabinet, and Use CD Racks to Organize Container Lids in Drawers
• From CookingLight.com via Lifehacker.com - Cooking Tips
7. This week there are two more things to cross off the "theJob* Relocation 2011" project list: track lighting installed for the artwork from last week AND our etched glass logo arrived! You can see both in this picture:

"I am not young enough to know everything."

-Oscar Wilde

So you see! There's no end to the things you might know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.

-Dr. Suesse


*theJob = name changed to protect the innocent

{7 Things to Know}

And now for the post you and I have been waiting for all week...

7 Things to Know posted here each Sunday

1. You've heard of a peanut allergy, a pollen allergy, and a cat allergy (I used to wish I had a cat allergy!), but have you heard of a cold allergy? That was a new one for me. Read here about a Minnesota boy who's not moving to a warmer climate, but he is allergic to the cold!
2. I think it's funny that Lifehacker posted this about What You Should Do if You Suspect a Car Is Following You. Say, what?! :)
3. Some call me organized (thank YOU), but I'm not so organized that I have my annual Doctor, Dentist, and Eye Exam check-ups scheduled. This was a good reminder to get on that. I already have the tools they mention and I've even set a reoccurring reminder for me to schedule the appointments, but no, I haven't done it yet this year (or last year for that matter). I'd like to take care of the scheduling before the end the month...yikes! Only a couple of days left!!
4. This is mainly for my sister-in-law Meg who just started couponing. I've often asked myself, "Is Couponing Even Worth Your Time?" The link has some good thoughts on the subject. Interesting note for the blogging world - upon checking the stats for my blog, Meg's blog is one of my biggest traffic sources!
5. Christian Personal Finance - I've referred to this site before and I'll say it again, it's a great resource! If you don't subscribe to a reader (i.e. Google Reader), I'd encourage you to sign up for their weekly email.
6. This devotional arrived in my inbox the day after I mentioned or maybe complained to a far-away-friend about my own local friend(s) status. Funny thing, a couple days later I got a text to hang out and go bowling. Both the devotional and the outing were encouraging to me!
7. I was excited last month when plants arrived and now after 4 months in our new space, we finally have art! Yay - we're getting closer to being "done" with our move!! Currently we're still working on signs for our cubes and a sign at our front door and trying to get conference table bases repaired or replaced - very thankful to have the company we purchased them from cover the costs. I think there are a couple of other things still left to do, but for now I can't remember what they are. I'll be very glad when I can put the "move" behind us - it's been a long 2 years of planning, ordering, waiting, calling, emailing, meeting, ordering, waiting, calling, etc., etc., etc.! 

Make it a great week!!

{7 Things to Know}

Below is the 4th post in my new 7 Things to Know which are posted on Sundays.

1. My mom's birthday was Friday. The Mpls Gang (Mom, Dad, Jen, Eric, Morgen, Carsten, Ethan, Me, Jess and Luke) celebrated at Jess & Luke's.
• Luke broiled up steaks and mashed some potatoes, Jess made salad and green beans, I brought garlic bread (yum!), and Jen brought homemade cupcakes. Probably the best meal I've eaten since Christmas!
• Us kids gave mom a bunch of money to go shopping and Jess and Jen took her on Saturday. I got to see her haul after Dad and I got back from Deo Rehearsal.
2. Workout update - This week I didn't quite reach my goal of 400 calories in 33 min.: Wed - 386; Thur - 397; Fri - 396 --so close! The default calories on MyFitnessPall for 33 min is 552. I have a ways to go to get there, but I'm up for the challenge!
• This link from Lifehacker says "that working out actually helps boost your energy level, not dimish it." Personally I agree with the first commentor of the post: I usually want a nap after I work out!
3. I'm ready for a new car. My muffler has sprung another leak (probably the same hole that was patched last fall, but maybe a new one...?), and it's starting to sound like (as my nephew would say) a "super-fast" car. I'm not really ready to go car shopping so I'm officially inviting someone (anyone?) to help me. Any takers?
•  This week the Better Business Bureau posted this JD Powers article
•  Good Question: Should I buy or lease a car?
4. Morgen helped me grocery shop this week - not sure if she was so much "help" as she was just good company :)
5. As you know from time-to-time I review books here on my blog which would lead one to believe that I like to read, which is true! I read about "Little Free Library's Pop Up In Twin Cities Neighborhoods" and thought it was kind of a cleaver idea. Of course, I'm about to purchase a Kindle, so I'm not sure I'm a good candidate to be a lender from a neighboring library...
6. I post links from this site all the time on facebook. I love their ideas! Here's a few I starred in my Google Reader this week:
• This week they asked, "What aren't you using this winter?" Check it out!
• This Transformer Jacket looks really cool! I think I'll at it to my Giftie Giftie list!
• How to organize your gadget accessories was another great post.
7. I love Twizzler's. Notice I didn't say licorice or Red Vines. I said Twizzlers. I've loved them for as long as I can remember. I even wrote it down as my favorite candy in my high school senior memory book. The only thing better than Twizzlers is Twizzer Pull n Peel. I'm pretty sure those came out while I was in college as I some pictures from choir tour with us playing with them while we waited for a meal that was late (Ooh, that's a funny memory! The power had gone out at the church, and whatever it was they were planning to serve didn't get hot. I think they brought in McDonalds for us. That was a first!)

{7 Things to Know}

As a way to hopefully increase my blogging, I started a new feature called 7 Things to Know. I plan to post this each Sunday.

1. This is a question weighing heavily on my mind and it seems to becoming up more and more! Should I hold out for an iPad 2 ($499 or $449 on sale...) or just get a Kindle ($79 or $199 Kindle Fire)...? I know I wouldn't buy the iPad until the end of the year at the earliest, but I know I would use the Kindle today if I had it!
2. I typed the previous early in the week and then I got a phone call - well, two phone calls actually - that are helping me decide when to get a Kindle and which one. So remember my first 7 Things post...when I mentioned Virtuwell.com? Well, it turns out they are working with some research company who wants to pay me $75 to come in for an hour and review a smartphone app for them. Uh, letmethinkaboutthat...yeah, I think I can do that!! (Never mind that the patch-job on my 1996 exhaust pipe has decided 3 months was long enough to stay on as a temporary fix, now sounds like I added a glass-pack to my muffler, that I should be out car shopping and saving every penny...)
3. We're working on hiring a new person at work. Lots to do yet: figure out what the person is going to do (my boss has a list in his head!); buy new computer(s); set up office space (i.e. me make list and order more supplies); post the job (first with our affiliate company and not sure where else yet); I'm sure I'll have more to add in the coming days...
4. I mentioned before that I track my workouts through My Fitness Pal. It's really come in handy to help me stay motivated. The end of last week I started a new program on the elliptical machine and am now trying to increase my calorie burning each time. From last Friday to this Friday I increased my calories by 23. I'm hoping to increase by that much and more by next Friday.
5. My co-worker has been putting off a project - I should send this link. Two ideas from the article stuck out to me: the six-box to do list and make an appointment for yourself.
6. Blogs and articles about organization and how to do my work better always interest me, but blogs and articles about lists make me down-right giddy! #listnerd 
7. Since I work in the financial planning arena, here's answers to 5 retirement questions you may have. You may or may not be interested to know that question #3 about RMDs pertains to a big part of my job. I have almost 100 accounts that I keep track of all year long to make sure the RMD gets calculated and distribution are made.

Hope you learned something new today!

Happy Sunday!

Have a great week!!

{7 Things to Know}

As a way to hopefully increase my blogging, last week I started a new feature called 7 Things to Know. I plan to post this each Sunday.

1. Here's a lesson on how to pray that I am still working on learning. 
2. Wednesday was change your password day. Did you change your passwords?
3. I've been mulling it over for about a month: I need to quit drinking pop. Ok, I'm going to make it official and say that I am quitting. Who's with me?! There are other beverages out there that will quench my thirst just fine. I need to have less sugar any way. I might have to try some of these ideas.
4. Have you ever gone to bed with bad attitude? One night this past week I was really struggling and I know it was just one thing that set me off, but I couldn't shake it: I tried. I tried again. I moved on and then something else set me off. I finally prayed about what I was struggling with and decided to go to bed after journal-ing a bit about how I was feeling. The next morning I woke up with a better attitude, but swollen eyes :/ Later that day I read this post. I appreciate this author's honesty and his way of tackling problems: with lists! :)
5. Hanging out with my nephews and niece are 3 reasons I live in Minneapolis.
6. I can be a football fan, but I choose not to be. I watched a bit of the big game with it on mute. I was happy for the Giants' win, but I enjoyed a movie on Hulu more!
7. I started reading a book to review called "The Final Hour" - stay tuned for my review blogpost!

Carsten and I decorated cookies on Saturday :)

Three random pics from today: Me & Ethan at lunch; Smoothies for this week's breakfasts; My last day of medicine for my sinus infection!

{7 Things to Know}

As a way to hopefully increase my blogging, I'd like to start a new feature called 7 Things to Know. I plan to post this each Sunday. Good idea? I think so!!

1. This week I was sick. I diagnosed myself with a sinus infection and then confirmed my diagnosis through virtuwell.com instead of going to the doctor. Virtuwell turned out to be a huge money and time saver. I really liked how easy it was! Now I'm on the mend with some antibiotics and feeling so much better!
2. A friend is ghost writing for a few blogs. One of them is amazonkindlebooksforfree.com/, which I've really come to like. I don't have a Kindle, yet, but I'm enjoying the Kindle for PC feature for now.
3. I'm still working on getting out of debt. Blog posts like this one from are helping to keep me focused. My current project is eliminating my student loan.
4. Working out 3-4 times a week for the past few months has increased my ellipitcal trainer use from 20 to 45 min. The gym is on the 1st floor of my work building so I really have no excuse! I'm now trying to incorporate some core-strength training via a video at home. Hope to do the strength training 3 times per week. I like to keep track of my workouts at www.myfitnesspal.com.
5. My brother turned 31 this week. In case you missed his birthday blog post or any family birthday from the past year, go here.
6. My current work projects include event planning, workflow, website updates and establishing an email marking campaign. Online account access and e-delivery of statements and correspondence is becoming a key way to helping our clients more quickly and effeciently. Something fun that I got to work on this last week was creating a one-page piece that can be used in client meetings as talking points for the advisors to discuss email addresses and our website with the clients. Our website has not been very usuable until this past year and I know I'll be spending a lot more time on our website this year.
7. Why did I pick 7 things? Maybe I'll have to adjust this feature in the future...ahhh...here's one: I finished my taxes this week! I know I have it pretty easy so it doesn't take me long for which I'm very thankful!

Well, that's it for this week's installment of 7 Things to Know. I'm already looking forward to next week's post!

Oh, and here's a bonus #8 - I read this devotional this week on comparing what is good with what is easy. This was the theme verse:

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?