Things I did today

I burned a few calories on the Wii using the newly purchased Wii Fit Plus.  It was rather entertaining! I ran, skied, hula hooped and laughed at my mistakes. In Mere Christianity, I read the first 2 chapters. I find C.S. Lewis' book quite good so far! I'm also interested to know why his middle name is Staples... I'll be on a "cash diet" for my food for the next three months. This month, I want to work on only eating foods that I cook and not eating out. I'll be eating the last of the lentil soup today and tomorrow. On Monday and the rest of the week, I have my lunches already prepared and frozen. I made a large pot of... well, honestly, mush. I wanted to use the split peas before they expire. I combined: 6 c water (1 c to rehydrate the TVP) 4 c split peas ($2.26) 4 c crushed tomatoes ($1.23) 2 c celery ($0.50) 1 c lentils ($0.60) 1 onion ($1.35) 1 c TVP ($1.00) 3 tsp chili garlic sauce ($0.10) 2 tsp cumin ($0.10) 2 tsp mustard seeds ($0.30) T

We're also getting closer to the sun by inches each year. Or farther. I can't tell, and these astrophysics forums from my Google search are no help. I made lemonade, watched the ball drop in Times Square (I turned the TV on at 11:56... I don't see any point in watching hours of TV personalities trying to come up with something interesting and restating the current time as much as possible), did laundry, played with Elmer and enjoyed sleeping in. I read about half of The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing and it looks like I'm currently doing things right - starting early, putting away more than 10% and investing in a diverse set of low cost index funds. In 2010, I have goals toward saving more in my retirement funds. I skimmed the rest of the book and found that the rest was more attuned to the work I'll have to do with my portfolio in my 40s and 50s. My mother requested waffles for breakfast, and I'm the designated waffle maker. Fortunately for (lazy) me,

I'm over my cold! Yay! I have to do laundry today because I haven't in a long time. I'm wearing my last pair of socks (have some clean underwears left though). In 2010, I want to achieve some financial goals: I need to supply my Emergency fund just in case I have another emergency. That will be my first priority. I'd love of max out my Roth IRA contribution, but that would take more than 25% of my net income. I'd like to contribute at least $1,500. My 401(k) currently stands at $6,500 and I'd like to see it rise to $10,000 by the end of 2010 with help from my contributions and my company's contributions. I want to achieve some culinary goals: I'd like to attempt to write a cookbook. Lofty goal! I would like to attempt it to see if it's something I'd like to persue. I'd like to devise a regular monthly meal plan so I can track prices and predict my monthly food budget. Currently, hitting my budget is difficult because I buy f

I've just been laying low, sleeping when I can, staying warm, drinking water and orange juice. I'm feeling much better, but I'm not 100% just yet. On Monday, I went to the shoe repair place to hear that the shoe wasn't ready yet and the bank to realize I forgot my checks on my desk. On Tuesday, I put the checks in my wallet, went back to the shoe repair place to get the shoe and deposit the checks in the bank. My father and I wandered around the grocery store deciding what to put in the vegetable soup that we'll be making today.  I finished Life of Pi, and it was quite a story. I was hoping the book would delve more into the story line of Pi being a devout believer of Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. After the shipwreck, one hears nothing of his comparisons of the three major religions. That realization was a bit of a let down for me. His zoo-keeping background helped him survive, and was interesting, but I'm not sure why his religious exploration made up s

Oh noes! It is true. I have a cold. Stuffy nose, sore throat. Luckily for me, I usually don't get colds. I haven't had one since December 15, 2007. I'll be battling this current cold with: Plenty of water Plenty of sleep Orange juice (with pulp!) Tylenol Cold Warm lentil soup Elmer Elmer is a good kitty, and likes to stay around whomever is home. Today, it was me, mostly. He curled up next to me when I woke up and didn't feel like getting up. I still went to church and grabbed the other ingredients I mentioned in the list. The lentil soup was delicious! For the soup: 7 c water 3 c dry lentils 2 c celery chopped 2 c onions, chopped 2 carrots, chopped can of diced tomatoes 2 tsp salt 1 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp basil canola oil pepper to taste I simmered the lentils, water and salt for 30 minutes while sauteing the onions in the oil and mustard seeds. I chopped up the rest of the vegetables and watched part o