Now Whip It Into Shape!

I didn't blog last week. I was too busy working out. I'm not the type of lady that really enjoys working out. I have friends who say they enjoy the muscle pain they feel after working out. I very much dislike pain. I like sitting on the couch having a cookie, but that kind of behavior won't get me rock hard abs and a cute behind. In the past I've exercised on and off, but never regularly. I enjoy walking and have walked semi-regularly, but fell off my walking routine this winter cause it was too darn cold outside! Anyway, I started myself on an exercise schedule last week and I hope for the first time in my life I can keep it up. So far I'm enjoying it, which is weird, cause it is exercise after all.

In order to keep myself inspired I've taped up this free printable calendar from 505 Design, Inc. to my wall with some cute washi tape. It's really weird how much I enjoy drawing a smiley face on the calendar every day that I workout. And the calendar's cuteness and bright colors really make it a happy reminder that I need to keep it up.

I also made a printable myself. I really like the "I love you because..." printables that are all over Pinterest, so I thought an "I workout because..." printable might be just the thing to remind myself why I should workout regularly. I have heard that it is important to write down your goals. Here's hoping it works. :)

My reasons for working out are:

• I want to wear tank tops again (I don't like my arms at the moment)
• I want to buy a bra from any store (and not have some crazy size that costs $80 to $100 a bra!!)
• I want to keep my blood sugar regulated (diabetes runs in my family)
• I want to feel great about myself & my body
• It makes my back feel great! (Seriously... my back hurts A LOT and after two rounds of yoga it felt great! Hasn't hurt since!!)

I've made the printable available for free in case anyone would like a copy. Hope it keeps somebody else out there inspired to keep on trucking working out! 

Click here to download or print the Free PDF printable for your own personal use.   :) 

Department Store Couponing - AKA getting crap you want anyway for almost free!

This past weekend I had a fun day out just me and my Mom. We went to a boutique in Cumming, GA called Parsons. They were having a fashion show and giveaways. The fashion show was fun, but not really to my clothing tastes. I did win a candle holder, which I gave to Mom. Later in the day, we happened across a free photo booth at a nearby mall and this happened...

Anyway, back to Parsons. The real excitement for me was the $5 store coupon they handed out to everyone. I didn't see on the coupon whether or not there was a purchase limit. Normally when department stores give out coupons like this they make you spend at least the amount of the coupon. I know this isn't coupon rocket science, but I treat these occasions as a personal challenge to get as close to the coupon amount as possible. Now I'm not condoning buying a bunch of crap just because you have a coupon. That is a no no. But if there happens to be something at a store that you have a coupon for, that you need / would have purchased anyway / could gift to someone, then by all means milk that puppy for all it's worth! I've gotten birthday gifts for people for $5 or less this way, by using the coupons to purchase a clearance item I knew the receiver would love. I've also gotten a Food Network oven mitt for 50 cents. I have an Aunt that purchased a new fluffy white towel each time she received a $10 Kohl's coupon in the mail. With patience and persistence she now has a linen closet full of new towels for most likely less than the cost of one towel.

Some might call me cheap for doing this. They'd be right. But I can't help it. It's so much fun! Anytime I get one of these coupons from a store I know I could use something / find a gift, I walk around the entire store and pick out a few things I want / need for as close to the coupon amount as possible, while still being just a weeeeee bit over or right at the mark. This time at Parsons with my $5 coupon I found two hair elastic bands that I've been dying to try for $2.50 each. I picked two out, took them to the register and got them for free!! That's the closest I've ever gotten in this coupon "game"! I normally try not to spend over a buck or two. Definitely not even $5 over (unless it's a gift. $5 for a gift ain't bad!).  It's fun to see what you can get for free or under a couple dollars. So bring on those $10 coupons Kohl's, World Market, & DSW! I'm on it!!

Organizing Taxes

I started a very simple system for storing my taxes last year, but I didn't finish it until this year. Well it was finished, but it wasn't pretty. Do taxes need to be pretty? No, but it makes paying them just a wee bit happier. Anyway, I thought I'd share how I have them organized.

I purchased an expanding file folder with 6 dividers inside (I think at Target, but I couldn't find it online) with an elastic strap that goes around the entire folder.

I also purchased a poly envelope, which I labeled with the current year.

I had some pretty file folders I wasn't using, so I labeled them with the last seven years.

I slipped each file folder into its own slot in the expanding folder, and I slipped the poly envelope underneath the elastic that goes around the back of the expanding folder.

When a new year rolls around I can shred the documents in the oldest year's folder and relabel it with the latest year. The poly envelope I use to wrangle all the documents I will need for the next years taxes. Things I store in the envelope include: our W-2s once we receive them, donation receipts, property tax information, banking interest information, car registration information, etc. Pretty much anything that is deductible that I might use when filing next year's taxes goes in that envelope. I don't organize things within the envelope, because I generally don't collect that many things to put in there and I haven't found it to be a problem. I really love having one place to put everything I will need for next year and knowing where to look if I need to access it.

I have seen more complicated tax organizational systems that work well for people who have more paperwork and receipts by the end of the year, but this simple system works really well for us. Everything stays together and I like being able to easily add items throughout the year in the envelope.  It's super easy to maintain.

Next step will be to scan the past years documents and save them on my computer. I'll still retain the paper copies, but I think it will be nice to have a digital copy as well.

Junk Mail Make Me Lose My Mind

Yeah, I'm totally singing the title of this post to the tune of this song...

Mail piles up quick and makes the biggest mess doesn't it?? I try my best to go through it regularly, but it does still get out of hand from time to time. This may not be entirely normal, but occasionally I think I might lose my mind if I see one more piece of mail from Xfinity or State Farm. Those two are the absolute worst for me. Imagine me shaking my fist at them and yelling out "I wish you people would leave me alone!". Well instead of the neighbors finding me in the yard ripping envelopes into tiny pieces, while muttering softly to myself, I decided to take action. 

I really appreciate it when companies make it easy to remove yourself from their mailing lists, and I do take advantage of that. These two companies however, listed no information whatsoever about being removed from their mailing lists. The State Farm mail had an email address, so I sent an email kindly asking them to remove our address from their list. Xfinity had a 1-800 number and after sitting on hold for way too long, I finally got a dude who had never even heard of a do not mail list, but he put me on hold again, figured it out, and took me off the list.

It feels really great to have finally taken care of that. It's the little things! 

People Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

Meet Otis. Silliest dog this side of the Mississippi.  AKA The Tan Terror.

We adopted him 4 & 1/2 years ago from a local shelter. We were supposed to adopt his brother Oscar as well, but the shelter messed up and adopted Oscar out before we arrived. I am still a little heartbroken they had to be separated, but I supposed it wasn't meant to be.

Otis is a Shih Tzu. I'm pretty sure he's full blooded (i.e. not a mixed breed). He will be 6 years old this April.

Otis' favorite things include:

• Napping (the more pillows involved, the better)
• Dinner time
• Treats of all kinds (especially his dental chews and fresh veggies)
• Staring into the wind looking majestic
• Generally being terrified of just about everything 

In summary:  We loves him! (Anybody else watch Derek?)  

Howdy Partner!

Hi World! 

Katie & Charlie here. Nice to meet you! We're vegans. We live in a ranch style home. Thus, the Vegan Ranch. Plus we love us some vegan buffalo wings and ranch!!! Who's with me? 

We hope this blog will be a place we can post updates on our home, the occasional recipe, some organizational tips, and just general life happenings and goings on. We're excited to have a visual diary for ourselves and we hope you'll come along for the ride! Let's do this thing! 

~K