tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68572832024-08-28T20:43:36.991-04:00Vicki's goals, manifesto, random thoughtsVicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-7120571713515998162015-04-28T10:04:00.000-04:002016-08-09T10:37:51.276-04:00

Another birthday is coming. (38 for anyone counting) It's a good time to look over and update my list of things I want to do before I turn 40.    40 things to do before I turn 40 (May 4, 2017) Take a family road trip/vacation (done 5/18/13. Trip to Kentucky for a wedding. 6/13/14 Trip to Maryland for a wedding) Have $20,000 in an emergency fund See a movie in a drive-in theater Have

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-80547473349969076902013-05-29T08:16:00.000-04:002014-01-02T09:24:52.452-05:00

Yeah, it's been awhile since I last posted. I'm not going to go on about that. Last year I turned 35, then I had a baby a week later. On maternity leave, I decided to make a list of things to accomplish over the next five years, before I turn 40. I tried to come up with a list of 40 things, but I've only got about 25 so far. (I'm open to suggestions!) I tried to keep them achievable, because

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-35058407346549308152011-08-07T21:24:00.001-04:002011-08-07T21:35:54.173-04:00

I wanted to give Henry a special second birthday party so we went with a train theme. He's obsessed with them! We got a Thomas helium balloon, train napkins and decorations, and I made him a train cake and a train tablescape. It turned out really well. Here's how the cake turned out. I think it's great. I made and frosted it the night before the party. Here's how I made it. I started with three

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-2921202297008180972010-03-16T21:17:00.000-04:002010-03-16T21:17:22.147-04:00

We've been wanting to tap our silver maple tree ever since we moved in, but never managed to do it until this year! Mike tapped the tree on Feb 28 and a week later we had a bucketful of sap. We had a couple more bucketfuls but they fell off the tree, darn it. Mike boiled it down and we got about enough syrup for a couple pancakes! Can't wait to use it up. Beautiful elixir! Backyard

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-89165027715852741062010-03-09T13:44:00.000-05:002010-03-09T13:44:54.563-05:00

Woah, where did 2009 go? Has it been almost two years since I posted? A lot has changed. Changed jobs, planted a garden, had a baby! As Project Vicki gets ready to celebrate 6 years as a blog, I thought it was time to bring it back.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-33621136083142930822008-06-13T13:21:00.003-04:002008-06-13T13:25:19.568-04:00

We have wild strawberries growing in several places in our yard. This was the first one to ripen. Mike and I split it after we took the picture. It was maybe one inch tall. There won't be enough of them to really do anything, but we're excited nonetheless!

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-74731987262265816472008-04-01T13:13:00.003-04:002008-04-01T13:27:30.260-04:00

Project Vicki is 4 years old this month. I put my first post up in April 2004. Project Vicki started out on paper as a collection of my goals, my strengths, weaknesses, and just me figuring out who I was/am. I even wrote my own mission statement like Stephen Covey advises.I put it online so I could update it regularly. Four years later I still don't update as much as I'd like, but it helps me

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-87964424243992129272008-03-12T11:27:00.003-04:002008-03-12T11:30:36.980-04:00

We got socked with over a foot of snow plus the snow drifts. Here's my honey, knee-high in the snow investigating little critter tracks. When I say "critter," I really mean a frightening, smelly, stripy, stinky skunk. I'm afraid to leave the house in the morning in the dark.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-56020001451233910382008-02-21T11:36:00.002-05:002008-02-21T11:50:51.855-05:00

Does anyone else have the February blahs? You know, nothing is really wrong, but nothing exciting is going on. Every night I come home from work, fix dinner, maybe run the dishwasher, pay bills, then get in bed and watch tv or read. Just sort of maintaining. Not accomplishing much, not falling behind. Blah.Now that the days are getting longer, and it's almost light out when I leave for work, I

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-69241531344862878372008-02-02T13:39:00.003-05:002015-04-28T10:07:38.424-04:00

My Goal is to earn an extra $5,000 in 2008. That breaks down to $417/month. It doesn't include any income from my primary job. And it doesn't include my husband's job, or any extra money he makes. Jan 1: half.com book sale $6.86 Jan 24: esearch survey $3.00 Feb 8: mysurvey.com reward $10.00 Feb 12: esearch survey $2.50 Feb 21: discover cash back $40 Feb 25: etsy sale $1.64 Mar 20: discover

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-91149611004962217162008-01-14T11:35:00.000-05:002008-01-14T11:31:06.359-05:00

For the last couple of years I've tried to pick a phrase or word to describe what I want for the year. In 2006, the theme was Quality. In 2007, Make it Pretty ( i can't find a link).For 2008, my theme is: You are what you eat. I'm not only talking about food, but about life. In other words, garbage in, garbage out. At work it means that if I put in hard work and thought, I will get good results

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-78421571308718391812008-01-10T08:19:00.000-05:002008-01-10T08:34:43.687-05:00

I'm a little late with my wrap up of 2007. First, one of my goals was to earn an extra $5,000 outside of work, and not including wedding presents! I fell short, making $1,341.30. I'll keep the same goal for 2008.I found $11.23 in change since June. I made a To Do in 2007 list:* Get married* Eat at a celebrity chef's restaurant (Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, etc.)* Attend the opera* See a piano

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-63659189500108874972007-12-12T14:32:00.000-05:002007-12-12T14:37:06.927-05:00

This isn’t a finance blog but I do have some financial goals over there on my list. A couple weeks ago Mike and I had a “State of the Union” financial meeting, and made some big decisions. First, we’re going to try living on one income, mine. We’ll take $500/month from Mike’s pay and use it to accelerate debt payoff. And the rest of his pay will go to savings. We also upped our 401k

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-51216547559202165402007-11-02T09:41:00.000-04:002007-11-02T09:45:18.361-04:00

Right before we got married, Mike and I found and bid on this house. A month and a lot of headaches later, we are set to close next week.I am documenting our trials on a blog called Nesting Newlyweds. It will be more of a decorating blog as we move in.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-16118043967200844422007-10-30T08:11:00.000-04:002008-01-10T08:56:44.475-05:00

Back in June I challenged my now-husband to a contest to see who could find the most change on the street.He won that month but I continued to look for change and have recorded my takings.Contest month: June 2007: Mike $2.12 Vicki: $1.68July: $1.62August: $1.02September: $0.73October:$2.55November: $2.93 (dimes were everywhere!)December:$0.70Total change found: $11.23 (not including Mike's $2.12)

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-79299902918334032052007-10-19T11:36:00.000-04:002007-10-30T08:07:58.664-04:00

Excuse my absence, I've been busy getting married! Details soon.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-46431897594629175312007-09-10T07:36:00.000-04:002007-09-10T07:38:51.249-04:00

The November issue of Pack-o-Fun magazine features one of my earrings designs.I can cross another thing off my list of things to do in 2007.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-23384463554964692612007-08-29T11:42:00.000-04:002007-08-29T11:44:56.033-04:00

It has been a long time since my last post. Been busy with wedding stuff.Here's a status on some of my goalsEarn extra $5k: $1,059.46Find change in the street: $4.20 since June 1More posts to come soon.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-91909417474874743332007-07-11T08:24:00.001-04:002007-07-11T08:29:23.761-04:00

I managed to find a recipe for biscuits and gravy and fixed breakfast in bed for my honey last weekend.Here's the proof:(it doesn't look appetizing to me but I was told it was good)In other news, we hit our goal to save $10,000 for the wedding! Very exciting.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-64844437394916363732007-07-02T07:52:00.000-04:002007-07-11T08:30:34.502-04:00

Even this penny with a heart in it couldn't help me win the Change Contest.Final scoreMike $2.12Vicki $1.68

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-67955218948684481912007-06-28T14:43:00.000-04:002007-06-28T15:00:54.212-04:00

A couple weeks ago I was in NYC for work. I wanted to take pictures of each meal, since I knew the food would be outstanding. As happens, I ended up only taking two.My coworker and I had lunch at the bar in the hotel's restaurant. (not just any hotel, we stayed at the 60 Thompson and the restaurant is called Kittichai.)I had tempura bass with chili dipping sauce. And a ginger, coconut martini.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-12118962444569094562007-06-25T08:57:00.000-04:002007-06-25T08:58:35.224-04:00

I am falling far behind in the change race. Mike is suggesting I start figuring out how to make biscuits and gravy because that’s what he wants when he wins. I think I’ll check if IHOP has a To-Go service. :)6/20 Mike found nothing, I found a penny on the street by a parking meter6/21 Mike found two cents at mcdonalds, I found 5 pennies around the parking meters6/22 Mike found a dime at

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-43567229848407339902007-06-19T20:25:00.000-04:002007-06-21T15:34:11.364-04:00

Mike and I have been finding lots of change! Quarters!(saturday)6/9: Mike found nothing; I found 2 pennies going through the pockets of suits going to Goodwill. They were stuck to some melted candy and sticky.6/10: Mike found nothing; I found a dime outside of GameStop, then a penny next to the car.6/11: Mike found 22cents at the mcdonalds drive through; I found two cents by the parking meters6/

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-29541241320907079132007-06-11T14:12:00.000-04:002007-06-11T14:22:13.567-04:00

I thought I'd try to up my photography skills. So i'll try taking pictures of the same thing for several days in a row. And hopefully practice, practice, practice will make me better.I took a picture of this rose bush every day after work and on Saturday. It was overcast the third day. Click on it for a bigger picture.

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857283.post-83946622651192473732007-06-09T09:31:00.000-04:002007-06-09T14:12:48.122-04:00

As of this moment Mike is at 20 cents, I'm at 34 cents.Recap of the week:Friday: i found a crusty old cent in a crack in the middle of the street, and one by the parking meters near work.Thursday: I found a dime and then a penny by the parking meters, two more by some other meters, and a penny at the grocery store.Wednesday:I found a penny by the street vendor, then a nickel and penny by the

Vicki Burthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10827298044709370865noreply@blogger.com1