This post might get a bit long and boring, but bear with me.

One of my goals this year (#53) was to get on a written budget. Like a serious, I know where every dollar goes kind of a budget. This is really difficult for me, because I don’t write things down, ever. I just email myself reminders to do things, or scribble it on a little piece of scrap paper that I find 3 months later, or write it on my hand middle school style.

In every other part of my life, this works out fairly well. I don’t forget things like appointments or birthdays, but when it comes to money, I will forget that I bought Thing X if I don’t write it down within 1 second. I always have checked my bank statements online everyday, but that’s not always so reliable. So, after thinking about it a bit, and reading a few different financial blogs, my plan of attack has been something like this:

1. Have a name for every dollar of each paycheck

Every single dollar gets put somewhere ahead of time, whether it’s a savings account, bills, meeting up with friends for dinner account, buying a gift for someone, etc.

One of my biggest problems in the past is that I wasn’t good at setting money aside for things I knew were approaching. So, I might know that in three weeks I’ll be taking a weekend trip to blah-blah, but I wouldn’t budget for it.

Now I am actually setting this money aside ahead of time and thinking about how much I’ll spend on whatever it is. Example: I know that I want to roundhouse kick my busy-body, spinster, insane neighbor in the head one day, so I can budget ahead of time how much it will cost when sues me for her dental bills. Really, I know this isn’t rocket science, but making myself do this is really big for me.

2. Find some sort of budgeting tool of some kind. Force self to use tool.

I started with Quicken, but I couldn’t get it to sync up with my accounts. Then I switched to Mint.com, which I am going to marry and have a money baby with, more on that soon.

3. Do not buy stuff! Force self not to buy stuff! Bribe self that once the credit card is payed off,  maybe you will buy those Marc Jacobs sunglasses as a reward, but until then, do not buy anything you big baby!

In January, Smaussie (which stands for Small Australian, because she is small and from Australia) and I had a no-buy showdown. We agreed that we wouldn’t buy anything besides food and necessities from January 1 - March 1, and we held each other accountable for it. I highly reccommend a no-buy showdown if you have a Smaussie in your life. It will save you a bunch of cash. After it was over on March 1st we went to H&M and I bought 3 pairs of shoes and a spring jacket and was sweaty and thought I would throw up when I handed over my debit card.

These three things might sound kind of basic and obvious, but following this plan has made a really big difference for me. I feel in control. I can do anything! I believe in me!

Alright, now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let me tell you all about why I love Mint.com. Or better yet, let me show you.

Dang! look at that, every account is right there. It’s so convenient, I love it. I blurred out the balances, so back away from the screen, you creep. 

Mint has so many cool little tools, and charts your spending. It also emails me when bills are due, and when I’m getting close to exceeding a budget. It emailed me today that I went over my grocery budget by $1. whoops.

Look at these adorable charts:

Here’s a good example. I went to 7-11 to buy a bottle of wine last week. When I clicked on it in my statement, this little chart pops up. It says that the US average at 7-11 in February was $42. How do they know that? I can’t say, but it’s a fun thing to know, and also kind of gross. I bet that’s $42 a month in hot dogs and churros.

It’s also tells me I go to Jewel a lot. I knew this already. And btw, that Check 000000347 was for rent, not anything fun.

The most horrible discovery was when it told me I was a yuppie. I can just hear Mint mocking me from the screen, “Grande coffee with a soy topper please.” , 

There is the financial news! Do you want me to talk about cupcakes? No, that’s next time. Now I’m off to see the main squeeze play with Team Band.

And, I’m crossing this off the list. Of course this is an on-going thing, but dang it, I want to cross something off, I deserve it.

Love, me

You’ll be shocked to find out that since my last post 3 years ago I made some cupcakes. Life is buckwild and unpredictable these days - one minute I could be watching Dances with Wolves: The Directors Cut, and the next minute I might be taking the train to work or going to the post office. You just never know.

For #43 last week Riki made pizzas for us while I cheered him on and chopped a jalapeno. He had real things on his pizza while I had fake things on my pizza that are made in a lab somewhere to taste like the real things. And they don’t quite taste like them, but man, that was one good pizza.

Aw, so cute, they’re snuggling. Opposites really do attract.

Then, in honor of easter and my love of all things pastel, I made red-velvet cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes take over the world. Look at that icing, it’s shiny for crying out loud.

I have more things to write about that don’t include food. I’ll do this tomorrow, or in April.

Off-topic in that this post has nothing to do with my list, but on-topic in that it’s giving me some hope that life will get better… That one day soon I might need to paint my toes, slather up in sunscreen, and do a bunch (10, or 5 or so) of reps with the hand weights.

The temperature in Chicago was about 57 this past Friday, so the bike girls and I hit the streets. I had a flat about 2 seconds into it, and Jess came to my rescue. Thanks man.

At left, Jess. Right, Amy. They both said I could have their bikes for my birthday which is really nice of them.

my guy is dirty. I should be ashamed. 

Michelle’s hottt Watanabe, which is made entirely of those Back to the Future promo glasses you could get at Pizza Hut back in the day.

I am the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.

Veggie Bite, which is listed as Problem #41, is about 70,000 miles from my house. Veggie Bite is a vegan fast food joint, and their menu includes delicacies like faux Nachos Supreme, Chili Cheese Dog, and a Philly Cheese steak sandwich. Amy and I were going to bike to the location that’s a billion miles away, until news broke that they would be opening a location on the North side. But where on the north side?

How about 30 feet from my front door? That is a slight exaggeration, but it might as well be. Now, I don’t have to set aside a full day to bike there. In fact, I can army crawl there if I feel like it, or crab walk, or get a piggy back ride there. It’s that close!

This is why i’m the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.

There is a hole here where I can peek in and see progress.

Inside the hole: It’s hard to tell what’s happening here so let me explain. At the back you see the blue counter where you order, and to the left are green chairs where you eat and sit and think about how life could not get better unless if you were to find a bag of money in the bushes.

edit: Brian, look here!  And amy… rules, shmules!

Last night Riki and I had Lance and Liz, who own Permanent Records, over for dinner. Permanent is a local Chicago record store/label. It was really fun hanging out with them, and inspiring to hear their story about starting their own business, and doing something they really love, especially coming from people who are our age. Very cool.

Riki made the best dinner everrrr for the occasion: spinach and potato enchiladas, a side of asparagus, and home made guacamole. Oh man, I wish I was eating an enchilada right this second. I also made Tiramisu cupcakes, of course from Vegan Cupcakes take over the World, as problem #43. Check it out:

These even have booze in them. And coffee. And chocolate. A cupcake trifecta, some might say.

One more, why not.

And finally, not that this is big news if you live here, but look, it’s snowing in Chicago again today! How absolutely wonderful.

I curse you!!!

I am a fricking superstar.

Let me back up a bit - if you’ve kept up with the last few posts, you’ll know that it was decided by the People that I would be singing karaoke as a problem, something I was pretty terrified to do.

(Terrified is maybe a strong word, and relative to the situation of course. But you know what I meant. I do have some perspective, really I do.)

I figured I would wait a few months, or maybe until December to get this out of the way, and put it out of my head for the time being.

Then on Sunday, Riki mentioned that Team Band, the band he’s been playing with, would do a couple of Live Band Karaoke songs during their show at Quencher’s, and maybe this would be the perfect chance for me to get this problem solved?

I said yes immediately, for a few reasons:

1) Quenchers does not have the Friday night Pontiac live band karaoke crowd. I detest that crowd. Of course some of the people are ok and I’m being really general right now, but most of them are making a pit stop at Pontiac before they head to the Boundary, or to Nordstrom to buy a blue striped business shirt, or to their awful jobs as day-traders, or back home to Wrigleyville, or to Bally’s Total Fitness.

2) I’d get to sing with Team Band, who I personally know (look at me name drop) and who have great energy. Greg, the singer, would be there to help me out. Plus, Riki’s all dreamy on stage playing the drums.

3) I’d get to sing El Scorcho! From the album that defined my sophomore year in high school! (Mine and everyone else’s.. except the future Pontiac crowd’s)

4) Since it was happening that night, I’d get it out of the way without having too much time to think about it.

So I did it! And look, evidence! (Thanks to Matt Taplinger for the pics) Apparently video evidence exists too, but we’ll just let that be for now.

I was totally channeling Cher for my debut performance

In this photo I’m a little more 90’s Cher.

It all went by really fast, and was really fun and painless. As long as I didn’t look into the crowd.

And.. Maybe… Just maybe… I’ll do it again one day.

Guess what you guys, I completed a problem and I’m sooo excited to tell you about it!!

But I can’t, not yet, not until I have the photos to prove that I did it. I should get them in the next day or two, yay, yay, I can’t wait!

In the meantime, I’ve decided to add a few things to the list, mainly because I feel like I’ve been really neglecting my blog lately, and this will make me feel better. I’ll have more free time in the coming weeks (i.e. won’t be working as much), so I’ll be completing all kinds of problems.

Here are a few new ones as promised:

Meaningless Category:

#5) Fashion photoshoot at clothing stores around town
This was Riki’s idea - We’re going to go to misc. clothing stores around town that we would normally never set foot in, pick out outfits for each other to wear, and do faux fashion shoots in the store. If you live in Chicago, think Milwaukee Avenue: You know those weird stores like Futurgarb that you never see anyone in, but they seem to have a thriving business? Those stores.

I can hardly even say Futurgarb without wanting to punch myself in the face. I’ve never been in there, so maybe I’m totally wrong and this place is amazing, but I sort of think I’m not wrong in this case. Futurgarb… it hurts, it hurts..

Oh, and if anyone wants to join us, this could be a fun group outing… Looking at you Aaron. I’m dying to see you in a lovely gown.

#6) Dress up in a DisneyLand style costume and hand out popsicles at the beach on a hot day.
Remember this? This was my example for you guys when I was trying to get you to make me do stuff. It sounds fun, so I’m just gonna add it. I think the only snag I could see happening with this plan is if it costs a shit load of money to rent a Diz Land style costume. Does anyone know? I need to investigate. And worst-case scenario, if it is expensive, then I’ll owe 10 bucks to the Cornerstone jar instead of 5.

Healthy Category:

#26) Get my wisdom teeth out
Maybe this one is cheating a little bit. Maybe I already have the appointment booked to do this. Or maybe I don’t. But know this: I’ve been putting this off for over a year, and now one of the teeth is broken in half, so by God, if I want to add it to this list I will. I’ll post photos of chipmunk cheeks, ok?

The Culture Vulture:

#71) Visit the Museum of Surgical Science
Have you guys ever been to this place before? It seriously rules. You can see things like this there. (click at your own risk) I’ve been once to see a photography show, but it was closing right when I got there so I couldn’t really explore too much. I’ll take lots of pics.

Exciting, huh?!