Hello February! It’s good to see you again. Snow has had its chance and now I’m ready for Spring. This month is promised to be a good one with plays to attend, trips planned and a wedding the last weekend (yay!). Here are some of the things I’d like to get done this month.

February Goals:

• Read at least one book
• Travel to Nashville with my sister and mother in law
• Do something fun on Leap Day, after all it only comes once every four years!
• File our taxes and figure out what to do with our refund
• Consistently read my Bible five days a week
• Cook and blog three new recipes
• Finish reading Simple Blogging and put at least three things into practice this month
• Participate in the Fab Ab February:

Curious to see how I did on my January goals? Not so great. On the other hand, we stayed well under our budget this month, which is always rare and welcome. :)

January Goals, recapped:

• Workout three times a week. :: Fail. I did workout some… but maybe two times a week average.
• Finish reading Life of Pi and start another book.
• Don’t spend any money on clothes, accessories or decorations. :: I did buy some clothes, but I only spent like $30 on three things and saved like $90, so I don’t feel too guilty. Perks of post-Christmas shopping!
  
• Be intentional about morning and evening routines. More on this later :)
  
• Blog four times a week. :: Yeah we all know this didn’t happen.
  
• Only purchase fresh foods at the grocery store and use all of our freezer and pantry items. :: What a vague goal I set for myself… of course there’s still freezer and pantry items that I didn’t eat, but we did try to use what we had this month.
  
• Take at least 30 minutes for lunch and don’t eat at my desk. :: Major fail. I think I did this January 2 and that’s only because it was a holiday for everyone else. Perhaps this will be easier when work calm down? 

(top photo credit; fab ab image found via pinterest – who’s surprised?:)

Oh boy! It’s February 1st! You know what that means!

IT’S TAX TIME!!!

I love tax season. I get practically giddy when I receive my W2s in the mail. I love organizing all of our accounts, income,  charitable donations, interest and calculating the amount of money we should get back from ol’ Uncle Sam. Ah! It’s so exciting.

I know there’s a whole camp of people who feel differently and see tax refunds as frustrating and boring. And I get that, it is kind of a tedious process. I also know many personal finance gurus see tax refunds as cheating yourself of a year of compound interest.  But there’s just something about receiving that large (or small) payout all at once that does a heart good. Plus how much interest are you really getting on your saving accounts? The most I am is a measly 1%.

Anyway, we plan to file our taxes this month. I wonder how much money we will get back this year?  Eeee! So excited!

So, what about you?
Do taxes make you confused and frustrated?
Or do you find yourself excited putting together your taxes?
Do you outsource your taxes to an accountant or use an online version?

I’d love to know!

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PS – Check out my last few years’ tax refunds: 2010, 2009, 2008

PPS – I’m starting to rethink my calling… perhaps I should have been an accountant? Hm.

This past Saturday I drove to Greensboro to spend some time with my grandmother Gigi. I turned off her TV and put on Celtic music. She napped while I crocheted granny squares. I read aloud passages from the Bible and an article on cherry blossoms from my January copy of Southern Living. I told her stories of what was going on in my life today and memories I had of when I was younger.

She didn’t remember who I was, but it was the perfect morning. At one point I said, “I love you Gigi!” and she laughed and said, “Well, I love you too!” as if it was silly to have any other response.

Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies. To participate, fill in the blanks in the comments section, or post it on your blog and link below. If you do post it on your blog, please credit MPP and link it back here. Thank you for participating!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on prescriptions. But this doesn’t really count since I have a Flexible Spending Account and will be reimbursed.

2. Today I am thankful that I did not have to serve on a case last week! I was summoned to jury duty but stayed in the jury lounge all day reading and chatting it up with other Wake County residents.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was getting a pedicure with my mom and Lucy.

4. I will consider this week a success if I blog every day. After last week’s sparse posts, I have a few scheduled so this can be accomplished.

5. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. My sisters and I would play school any free time we got. We had a little shed in our backyard that we converted to a school house.

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1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I am thankful ___________.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. When I was a kid I wanted to be ________ when I grew up.

Oh hi there, Blog. It’s been a while, no?

This week has been… work. Lots and lots of work. I love my job and I love my position, but right now things are busy and I find myself drained at the end of the day. Thus no posts aside from the usual Monday check up.

But enough excuses — it’s Friday! That happy day that puts an end to work and starts a weekend of rest. (Or at least for some of us.:) What are you up to this weekend? J has to work Saturday so I am going to Greensboro to spend some time with my family and catch up some housekeeping items that have sadly been neglected lately.

Five happy things for your Friday:

1. Lasagna Rolls — What an ingenious way to make lasagna (and maybe you won’t overeat, a problem I always seem to have with lasagna).

2. I’d like to make this lovely window coffee table, via Oh! Glory Vintage

3. How pretty are these terrariums? I’m thinking about making one for a side table.

4. I love these Amy Butler towels, available at Bed Bath & Beyond.

5. Last night at Target, I bought a bag of these. I suggest you do the same.

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I hope all of you have a very good weekend. I promise to post more next week. :)

Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies. To participate, fill in the blanks in the comments section, or post it on your blog and link below. If you do post it on your blog, please credit MPP and link it back here. Thank you for participating!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on buying expansions for the game Dominion.

2. Today I am thankful for the laziest Sunday ever. We stayed in our pajamas until the early afternoon (don’t judge), crocheted (me), watched sitcoms, overate Chinese food for lunch, and talked about how gross it was outside.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was host my father in-law’s Carolina-Hurricanes-themed birthday.

4. I will consider this week a success if I survive jury duty. Yes, tomorrow I have been summoned to serve in jury duty. I’m hoping it will just be a one-day thing this week….

5. The craft I am currently interested in right now is crocheting. I just finished my first granny square blanket this week and am working on my second.

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1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I am thankful ___________.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. The craft I am currently interested in right now________.

(photo credit)

Happy Friday my friends! What are you up to this weekend? I feel like I’m getting sick (not again!) so I plan to keep this weekend low-key and very casual.  Here are five happy things to end your week on:

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1. Check out the 10 Things You Do to Save Money that End Up Costing You More article on Life Hacker. Have you done any of those ten things? I confess I have gone out of my way to find cheap gas before. But haven’t we all?

2. This chart made me laugh, by GraphJam found via Cup of Jo.

3. I am hoping to finish this book this weekend. Has anyone seen the movie? I am curious to see how they manage to tell this story — it’s hard to imagine such a mind-thinking book as a screenplay.

4. Oh Jordan. Every time I visit her blog I find something awesome and fun. This week: DIY Surprise Lanterns!

5. Another funny find this week via Etsy:

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Have a happy weekend! xo

I’ve always loved snow. I love light flurries, I love heavy blizzards. I love when you have nowhere to go and can watch the snow fall from your window. Growing up, my dad would wake me up in the middle of the night so we could be the first ones to experience the white untouched grounds. I loved snow so much I decided to spend four years of college with it in the NC mountains.

My love for snow, however, ended in 2010.

Some of you may remember the Mid-Atlantic snow attack in the winter of 2009-2010. In fact, some of you experienced those unsettling few weeks. The weeks where snow billowed from the sky for days, wind was fierce, and a couple of feet of snow remained on the dirty streets months afterwards. These three storms were affectionately called Snowpocalypse, Snowmaggedon, and Snowverkill. The very last one, Snowverkill, was one of the worst weeks of my life: I was home alone, out of power, got food poisoning, and was severely dehydrated. I had never felt so alone and helpful. I hated snow after that miserable experience.

But, just like any relationship, a little time can do wonders for hurt feelings.

After two years, I am finally ready to love snow again. But where is it this year? I have yet to see one flurry this winter, and it seems to be a trend across America.

Dear Snow,

Please don’t stay away too long. Can you visit at least once before spring’s arrival?

Much Love, Ginna

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(photo: of my apartment parking lot)

Sorry this is a day late! I took a break for MLK day. :)

Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies. To participate, fill in the blanks in the comments section, or post it on your blog and link below. If you do post it on your blog, please credit MPP and link it back here. Thank you for participating!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on groceries.

2. Today I am thankful for out of town friends that came to visit this past weekend. They brought their dog Poncho and it was so much fun having a puppy around the house!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was play Dominion with our friends. Has anyone played that game before? It’s our new favorite game.

4. I will consider this week a success if I blog four times this week!

5. My purse contains my wallet, tic tacks, small bottle of aspirin, Tide to-go pen, a pen, sunglasses, checkbook, BC, crumbled tissues (just being honest), sunglasses, and a little change purse where I keep gift cards and discount membership cards.

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1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on _____.
2. Today I am thankful ___________.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was_____________.
4. I will consider this week a success if I _____________.
5. My purse contains ___________.

(photo credit)

Happy Weekend my friends! What are you up these next few days? We have some friends coming into town and I’m so excited to spend the long weekend together. J and I tend to stay in our little neighborhood bubble, so I am looking forward to exploring new restaurants and fun things in Raleigh.

Five things to end your week on:

1. My new favorite fashion blogger.

2.  I found this post very helpful, from the Nesting Place.

3. Target’s new spring line! I’ve already found some items I can’t wait to purchase. :)

4. How to make gym cardio bearable.

5. I’d like to own at least one painting from Janet Hill’s Etsy shop. This one will do:

I hope all of you have a wonderful MLK weekend! :)