Home Remodeling: Faucets, part 1

As you might recall, I've set some home remodeling goals. This is not one of them. One of my goals is to replace the kitchen faucet, but seeing as how I haven't done much plumbing, I decided to first work on the bathroom faucets. I have 3 bathrooms. If something went horribly wrong in one of them, at least I have a few spares to work with. If I messed up the kitchen faucet I'd be washing dishes in the bathtub...and that doesn't sound too appealing.

Anyway, so on with it!

I thought about showing a step by step process but it was just too difficult to get good photos. Plus it was a decent amount of work so I'll just show you the before and after.

Here is my master bathroom faucet before. Note that I had already started taking things apart which is why there is some junk in the sink. Anyway, the faucet was totally functional but not at all attractive. Also, I am not a huge fan of chrome. So for this sink I replaced both the drain and the faucet.


And here is the finished product! I like the brushed nickel A LOT more than the cheap chrome one. I think it looks a lot more finished and gives it a more complete finish to the whole bathroom.


This is the first time I have ever done something like this, which satisfies one of my other goals. This was a great learning experience. Replacing the actual faucet part wasn't a huge deal but replacing the drain was A PAIN! I learned a very valuable home improvement lesson. No matter how many times you check to make sure you have everything you need, you're wrong. You absolutely will need to make at least 1 additional trip to the hardware store for something. In my case, it was a wrench big enough to loosen the drain.

In the end, it all worked out. I love my new faucet and I am feeling confident about attempting more home improvement projects!

2011 Home Remodeling Goals: January

I am loving all these goal lists. It keeps me so motivated!!

So how did I do on my home remodeling goals this month?

2011 Home Remodeling Goals
- Tile Backsplash for Kitchen - not yet
- Paint rest of house (dining room, hallways, living room, master bedroom) - not yet
- Replace light fixture in dining room - not yet
- Replace kitchen faucet - not yet
- Replace towel racks in all bathrooms - one down, two to go!

I am pretty pleased with what I accomplished this month. In addition to replacing one towel rack, I also started putting money away to pay cash for some of these bigger goals!!

February Grocery Budget Challenge

Crystal has been talking recently about how to maximize your grocery spending and ultimately how to reduce your grocery budget. She recommended starting with $20/person/week and this got a lot of people talking about how this was an unreasonably low amount and how it was impossible to eat healthfully while still maintaining this budget.

Well, that got me thinking. Could I do it? There is only 1 person in my household so this would be a total budget of $80 for the month. That is less than I currently spend.

Obviously I have some items in my pantry so I wouldn't have to purchase every single item that I eat, but I also don't want to survive on pasta and peanut butter sandwiches either (this is not a great way to Fight the Fat).

So here is what I am thinking. My goal is to not only limit myself to $80 for the month but also to eat healthfully throughout the entire month. This mean - plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, limited processed foods, and overall good choices.

Is it possible? Do you think I can eat healthy meals all month for only $80? We are going to see! And to prove that I'm not eating junk - here is a picture of my lunch:



Doesn't it looks great on that blue plate?!? How pretty (and tasty!).

So, I'm off. As added incentive, I've put aside $80 in cash as my grocery money and put the extra (that I typically spend in a month) aside for my home improvement fund. If I need it, I'll take it back but I am hoping that not having it in front of me will encourage me to stick with my goals!

Financial Goal Update: January

Without further ado, here are my 2011 Financial Goals.

- Pay cash for all home remodeling goals so far so good
- Make an extra principal payment each month yes
- Pay off 5% of my mortgage this year. I have paid off 0.25% so far this year.
- Up my retirement savings by maxing out my Roth IRA. Not maxed out yet, but contributing!
- Continue saving for a new car. Yes
- Pay for all travel in cash Saving for summer travel
- Pay for Christmas gifts in cash Saving for this goal

Menu plan, week of 1/31/11

The theme of my meals this week will be "veggies." As you may remember, I am trying to fight the fat that has recently appeared in the form of multiple lbs. So, healthy eating rules this week!

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, fruit, cereal
Lunches: Salads with chicken, homemade bread, leftovers
Dinners: Baked chicken, steamed veggies, salads
Snacks: Pudding made with skim milk, pirate booty.

If nothing else, I am thinking I should be feeling a lot better after this week!

2011 Personal Development Goals: January

One month of 2011 is already behind us! How is it possible for time to go so quickly?

So how did I do this month?

2011 Personal Development Goals:
- Read at least 3 books per month. Accomplished this month!

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Book 1-4
Book 1: The Lightning Thief
Book 2: The Sea of Monsters
Book 3: The Titan's Curse
Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth

These books were very entertaining. They are children's books so they are very easy reads but I really enjoyed the story. Now I just need to wait for the library to have the next few available!!


- Try 1 new recipe per month. Huge success here.

Chicken and Dumplings
It was delicious, what can I say?!?! This will definitely be working its way into my meal rotations!


- Attempt 6 "Do it yourself" projects. Half success.
I replaced a towel rack in my master bathroom. But I had done something like this before so I am not sure if this counts. I will count it as half a do it yourself project.

- Volunteer somewhere at least once per month. Fail.
I didn't do any volunteer work this month. But that just means I need to step it up for the remaining 11 months!!

All in all, I'd say this month was a success in terms of my personal goals!

Why I need a schedule

Prepare yourself blogging world, I am about to reveal something to you - my messy house! No judging here folks - this is an extreme example and is not representative of what my house normally looks like.

Anyway, this is why I need a schedule. When I get off my schedule bad things happen. I don't make my bed, laundry piles up, and apparently I just randomly throw things on the floor.

Exhibit 1: My bedroom - view from the door. Obviously this is a disaster.


Here is the opposite view:

Seriously, I must have just randomly thrown pillows around because they are not generally on the floor, even when I am asleep!

The good news is, even when something looks as bad as this mess, it only takes about 5 minutes to put it all back together.



And all is well in the world again.

Seriously though, this is why I need a schedule. When I have a set of goals I need to accomplish in a day, I tend to be more organized overall. I do not write "make bed" as a goal each day but I find that I make my bed automatically on days where I know I have a lot of things to cross off my to-do list whereas things tend to be more of a mess on days where I have no set plan. Moral of the story - having a schedule works for me. It might not be for everyone but it sure makes a difference in my life!