100

100

Well it’s been a couple of weeks again since I wrote.  Tonight’s 30 minutes of time for me (see my last entry) are writing this entry.  It’s been an absolutely manic last couple of weeks.  School has really taken its toll recently as project deadlines loom and exams are going on last week and this week.  On top of that, last week was probably the busiest week of work I’ve had since I started at Victoria's Secret in September.  Tons of deliverables and presentations.  Fortunately things went quite well and I was able to catch up on some sleep this weekend.  One more crazy week and I should be in the clear for a while.  March should be good with food tasting for the wedding, Spring Break (no classes that week for OSU, yahoo!), and hopefully things will settle down at work.

On to today’s topic.  So I’ve heard people say they can never go to Target without spending at least $100, no matter what they had on their list going into the store.  I’ve experienced this myself, especially as a new homeowner.  But it’s not Target that’s getting me lately.  It’s Lowe’s!  We have a Lowe’s just down the street so we go quite often.  Anissa and I are like lost puppy dogs in there.  We can’t find anything and we pretty much have no clue what we’re doing (but we are starting to figure it out).  So I thought I’d share our latest trip to Lowe’s including what we bought that contributed to our $100 tab this time.

Initially, we just wanted to get a couple small sample jars of paint.  We’ve been testing colors in various rooms throughout the house and hope to start painting rooms as soon as next weekend.  We are so excited!  For our family room we are going for a peachy-beige-like color which should go well with the fireplace and our furniture.  In the kitchen we want a light green.  Unfortunately, the first sample we got was more like mint chocolate chip ice cream green so we are still working on just the right tone for that room.  Also, the kitchen is tarnished with 7 (yes, SEVEN!) oil paintings of what we assume are fruits, except the fruits portrayed don’t grow on the same vines (or vines at all).  We will have to prime these parts of the wall before we can paint them.

I am just impressed that the seller managed to get 7 of these on the walls of our kitchen.  I can't stand looking at them!

 

We are probably going to do some sort of tan or yellow color for the dining and living rooms (they are white right now).  We’ve settled on our colors for the bedroom with a very pale blue for 3 walls, and a darker blue for an accent wall.  It’s kind of amazing how quick we’ve landed on colors; now comes the hard part - actually painting!

It's hard to tell because the lighting in our bedroom is terrible, but we are going with the bottom right color for 3 walls, and the top right color for an accent wall.

 

Of course, 4 small jars of paint at $3 each doesn’t get you to $100.  So what else did we buy?  First, we had to buy a new grill cover.  This Saturday we were able to break out of our Ohio hibernation since it was sunny and 55 degrees.  I can now see my driveway, get to my mailbox, and not worry about making it safely out of my neighborhood.  Finally, a break from Mother Nature (she’s been a bitch).  We opened our blinds to the deck on Saturday morning and realized our grill cover was gone.  I searched the yard and it was nowhere to be found.  We did have some blustery winds (and a tornado 15 miles north of here a few days ago) so it must have just been whipped away.  We also picked up another full-size gardening shovel (thanks to Mo for giving us our first) and an 18-inch hand saw.  We’ve got some bushes on our side yard that think they are trees.  The following picture doesn’t do them justice.  This was from early spring and they actually ballooned even bigger by mid-summer.  Oh, and btw most of that grass isn’t even our yard (we’re the terrible neighbors!).   They need to go in a bad way, and we need to start cutting them down before the weather turns for good and they start growing/blooming again. 

These damn plants have caused us so much agony.  I cannot wait to get rid of them.  Any ideas on what to put in their place?  This part of the house gets very little sunlight...

 

Throw in some outdoor light bulbs and a refrigerator filter and you’ve got yourself a nice little tab there.  The funny thing is, I feel the same way I do when I leave Target after over-spending.  No regrets, I’m just excited for all the projects we’ve got coming up.  I can’t wait to start putting some personal touches on this house!

For the record, other places I generally go into with good intentions and can’t leave without spending more than I planned:  Macy’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Banana Republic, Marcella's and usually Kroger.  Where do you overspend?

30

30

This entry is going to be a little less numerically focused than my last.  It really just stems from another one-off conversation I had with Anissa.  We were on our way home from an errand (okay, you got me, we were headed home from picking up a pizza at Donatos) and reflecting on what a manic Sunday it had been.  We got up and at it at a normal hour, 9am, and it was just go, go, go the whole day.  So we’re in the car and I just start talking out loud.  I know Anissa loves me because instead of letting me converse alone, which can be dangerous, she usually reacts to the haphazard thoughts spewing from my mouth.  I asked Anissa if she thought we’d be any happier if we had a longer day, say 28 hours.  After some back and forth, we both kind of agreed it probably wouldn’t make us happier.  We’d sleep a little more, but also work more.  We would be expected to be even more productive and we’d still be stressed out.  Then Anissa said, “I wonder what would happen if we just had an extra 30 minutes; that would be a cool little experiment.”  And it got me thinking about an entry I wrote a few months back where I contemplate what I’d do with an extra 8 hours in a week.  It made me think, what would I do with an extra 30 minutes each night?  Or what should I let myself do for 30 minutes each night?  Well tonight, the answer is easy.  I’m blogging for 30 minutes.  I love doing it.  It helps clear my mind.  It’s relaxing. 

One other thing I have only (relatively) recently come to enjoy doing is reading.  Ironically, I started to really get into reading about a year before I went back to school for my MBA and now, I read so much for school that I actually cannot fathom the thought of reading anything more.  However, once I am done with school (hopefully only another 15 months!) I am really looking forward to getting back into it.  I’ve got a long list of books lined up that I’ve been wanting to start.  I am actually taking school off this summer for the wedding, so I’m hoping to squeeze in some quality time with the Kindle.

Now let me side-step this topic to provide a little more context.  The past month or so has been a rough one for me.  Anissa and I were both very sick for most of January.  No joke we were pretty much under house arrest for several days each and there were more than a few days of work that were hard just to get through because of how crappy we felt.  Couple that with a new year, wedding planning, a car accident, some personnel changes at work, and a large course-load of evening classes and suddenly I have absolutely no time.  This all really hit me hard this past weekend.  Anissa and I had pre-Cana all day Saturday this weekend and then did chores/errands/school Saturday night.  I knew that I had to spend at least a solid 10-12 hours on schoolwork on Sunday.  Knowing what Saturday and Sunday would hold, this left Friday night for Anissa and I to do dinner and watch a movie, which was a fantastic night.  But what did I not do this weekend?  I didn’t work out once and it’s been well over a week now since I’ve even done an at-home workout.  I didn’t go to church.  And I had no time for most of our house stuff (simple cleaning, let alone getting to any projects or things that need fixed).  I was sitting on the couch last night at 10pm wondering what the hell happened to the weekend.  It’s a horrible feeling going into the work week knowing you are so far behind in absolutely every aspect of your life: work is piling up, school is bearing down, you feel unhealthy, and you can’t live up to any personal commitments.  This might be one of the lowest points I’ve had since I started back to school. 

So let me bring my pity party back to the main topic.  I am committing to myself at least 30 minutes each morning or evening to do something for myself.  To read.  To write.  To pray.  To think freely.  To stare aimlessly at the TV.  To just lay on my back with my eyes shut and reflect.  One of the things I learned from the priest who will say our wedding mass in July, Father Charlie, was that Anissa and I need to put our relationship first, even before any children we might have.  This might sound selfish at first thought.  But how can we take care of our children if we haven’t taken care of ourselves?  Upon further thought it makes a lot of sense.  So my 30 minutes is an attempt to put myself first amidst the chaos of my current life.  An attempt to bring some sanity to a manic day.  A chance to relax and breathe.  I deserve it.  And so do you.

13

13

As I was thinking about potential blog topics today I was preparing food for all my meals this week and it dawned on me:  I should figure out how much money I’m saving by packing breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day (I pack dinner on school nights) versus eating out.  Stick with me because you may be surprised.

So I started by breaking down “typical” meals I pack for myself including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I’m a creature of habit and generally stick with a simple approach for each meal so this was not very hard.  In many cases a single purchase lasts over several servings so I tried to break out the cost for 1 serving for the related meal.  For example, I am assuming I use 1 of 10 servings from my milk carton.  Since milk costs me $3.00/carton, each serving costs $0.30.  Okay, so let’s get to the details.  I will start with breakfast.

Breakfast			Total Cost		% of Total		Serving Cost
	Milk		$        3.00		10%		$0.30
	Cereal		$        2.50		13%		$0.31
	Banana		$        0.75		17%		$0.13
	Coffee		$        9.00		4%		$0.36
							$1.10		vs.		$4.00	Tim Horton's

If I didn’t pack breakfast (or eat at home), I would stop at Tim Horton’s (for those not familiar, think Dunkin Donuts).  When I pack, I usually include a glass of almond milk, a bag of cereal, a banana, and a 20oz thermos of black coffee.  If I stick with my usual brands, this costs me $1.10/day versus the $4.00 I would likely spend at Tim Horton’s.  Only 1 meal down and already big savings!  Keep in mind, I costed out my meal components assuming I paid full retail for everything, but I’m a coupon cutter and probably do even better than what I have in here.  On to lunch! 

Lunch
	Chicken		$        6.00		38%		$2.25
	Salad		$        6.00		7%		$0.40
	Clementines		$        4.00		13%		$0.50
	Mixed Veggies		$        7.50		13%		$0.94
	Chips		$        2.00		10%		$0.20
	Granola Bar		$        2.50		17%		$0.42
							$4.70		vs.		$7.00	Work Cafeteria

If I don’t pack a lunch, I’m usually stuck eating from our work cafeteria.  Don’t feel bad – it’s actually quite good, but we just don’t have good alternatives outside our building.  At the work cafeteria I would probably get a grilled chicken salad, a side of fruit, a bag of chips and a bottled beverage.  This would run me about $7.00 vs. the less than $5.00 from packing.   And as you can see I’ve got a pretty good, healthy line-up in my packed version!  And, more savings J  Now for the all-important third meal – the one that needs to carry me to my bedtime.

Dinner
	PB&J		$        8.00		5%		$0.41
	Grapes		$4.50		10%		$0.45
	Mixed Veggies		$        7.50		13%		$0.94
	Chips		$        2.00		10%		$0.20
	Cookies		$        3.00		7%		$0.20
							$2.20				$10.00	Panera

 

I calculated this as if I were going to class after work.  Class runs 6-9:15pm so I have to pack or grab something on my way from the car to my building.  The only close alternative is Panera which usually runs me $10.00 after I get a you-pick-two (extra charges for the “specialty” items I tend to pick, plus a drink).  If I pack a pretty standard lunch-style dinner, I can get to some totally huge savings on dinner!  Sometimes this meal doesn’t last me through the night, but it really should so I just need to be more cognizant of eating when I’m hungry vs. eating when I’m bored.

So there you have it – if I pack all 3 meals vs. not packing, I save myself $13.00.  That’s just for 1 single day!  Imagine extrapolating those savings over 50 5-day weeks – it would save you over $3,000 in 1 year.  That’s a vacation! 

Now let’s put some context around these calculations.  I tend to buy generic brands vs. name brands.  For example I buy Kroger brand cereal vs. Chex and Kroger brand chips vs. Lays.  Also, I snack from time to time, and that’s not included in this math.  If I pack my snacks, though, I am sure it would be cheaper than swinging through a fast food restaurant for a quick fix.  Also, keep in mind that being a “packer” involves some planning and preparation.  Anissa and I plan out our grocery list carefully each week and we spend a couple hours chopping veggies, cooking chicken/turkey for the whole week, and doing other food preparation to ensure we are set for the week.  One benefit besides the money savings is the wellness aspect.  Getting into the routine took me some time, but now that I have it down I am realizing some health benefits from making good choices when it’s easier (packing the meals) vs. making poor choices in the moment (eating out at Panera and getting chips and fountain pop instead of carrots and water). 

There you have it – all the evidence you need to start packing your meals.  Get to it people!

Cleaned and cut fruits and veggies

Individual servings of grilled chicken - ready to pack!

 

1809

1809

This entry will be spent reflecting on my four years at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  Miami was founded in 1809 and has come to be a very well-respected school, ranked among the best for business.  When I was deciding where to continue my education, it came down to Miami and Xavier University.  It was essentially a toss-up but I ultimately chose Miami for it’s reputation in business. 

Freshman year was a total blast.  The independence was liberating.  Classes were tough – I had to balance requirements for two different Honors programs which was not an easy task.  This was good though; it kept me in check when I needed it.  I was truly blessed to make incredible friends that year.  In fact we remained very close all four years and many of them are in our wedding this summer.  Some highlights from that year were learning to play disc golf (aka Frisbee golf, or frolf), watching Ben Roethlisberger destroy the competition, the worker’s union (food, cleaning) going on strike, and going on Spring break to Texas (we visited Dallas, San Antonio, the beaches near Corpus Christi).

We camped right on the beach on the Texas gulf coast.

Sophomore year brought a lot of the same.  Great friends, tons of studying.  I remember starting to really like school at this point because my classes started to become concentrated in business as I had finished a lot of general education requirements Freshman year.  I was also king of napping.  I usually napped from 2-4pm which left me with plenty of time to get some schoolwork done before hanging out with friends.  One highlight of Sophomore year was sledding.  We had a huge hill behind our dorm and with my extensive sled collection we were set!

Junior year was when things totally changed.  Thanks to some of my sister Mo’s friends referring us, we landed a killer off-campus residence that was 100 yards from the bars and less than a 10 minute walk to classes.  Score!  We spent a lot of time visiting our friends at their houses since that was the cool new thing for everyone (not being in dorms).  School remained tough as my focus in Accounting ramped up and classes got very technical.  Throughout college I always worked, so that also took a lot of free time.  Thanks again to Mo for a great reference, I landed a job at the bookstore (free books!).  I also kept working at the Columbus Zoo on school breaks. 

Senior year I stayed in the same residence with the same guys (1 of whom was my randomly assigned roommate Freshman year and now will be my best man).  I was loaded up on hours trying to get 150 credit hours to meet the requirement to sit for the CPA exam, but that didn’t stop me from living it up.  And senior year was the one year I let myself take a “real” Spring Break.  We went to Panama City.  Fortunately there were enough of us that we could afford to rent an entire house for the week and didn’t have to stay in a dingy hotel.  We had direct beach access, our own volleyball court, multiple patios/deck, grills, etc.  It was just a total blast on the cheap without the downsides of cramming 12 people into a single hotel room.  Graduation from Miami was definitely bittersweet.  I’ll never forget, my roommate and I ditched the big University graduation ceremony to get in another round of frolf.  I remember being underwhelmed by the Business School graduation (the one my parents came to).  I guess I just didn’t want to let go.

When I reflect on Miami and think about what makes it so special for me, I think about the hockey games, playing broomball (look it up) with the same guys and gals all 3 seasons of all 4 years, the amazing beauty of the campus, the best friends a guy could ask for, a stellar education that has propelled me into a successful career, and the best dining hall food any college student could ever want.  I’m very thankful for my parents who made a sacrifice to help me pay for school, and I remind myself of these fond memories every time I make a payment on my student loan. 

 

I dragged Anissa to Oxford so we could get some engagement pictures there.  It's a beautiful campus even when it rains!  And it's funny to see how some things change (new buildings) and some don't (the landscape, the feel of the campus).

P.s. One other big memory from my college years was studying in Luxembourg for six weeks in 2006.  This needs to be an entry unto itself so keep your eyes peeled.

8

8

 

This blog entry is not about the record-breaking cold, but it is inspired by it (remember, I’m a huge nerd when it comes to the weather!).  Well today is officially the start of Spring Semester for Ohio State (enter irony at “Spring”), and the temperature is so low that combined with the wind it is unsafe to be outside.  Therefore Ohio State cancelled classes for today and tomorrow.  I think it’s legitimate and smart of them to do this.  I still have to go to work and, having walked a good distance to/from my car to get in and out of the building, I can attest that it is indeed dangerously cold (I just checked and the actual temperature right now at 9:30pm is -9 and the wind chill is -35). 

For those of you who have attended a college or university, you understand what a rare occurrence it is to have classes cancelled.  Given the size of Ohio State including all the students and employees, it is definitely a very rare occurrence.  I have been very sick the past few days (I always seem to get these major sinus attacks around the turn of the new year) and I desperately needed a delay to the start of classes.  As I was chatting with Anissa today, she suggested I write about the hours I got back from not having 2 classes I otherwise would have had this week.  I could talk about how I am spending/intend to spend the actual time I would have been in class (watching the BCS National Championship, drinking wine, blogging, going to the gym), but instead I will talk about what I could do on any given day if I was given the gift of 8 extra hours. 

 

 

The 8 hours come from my 6 hours of actual class plus the time to/from campus.  Eight hours is a lot of time.  Allegedly it is a full work day, but I’m sure we all know that is more of a myth these days.  One thing that comes to mind when I think of big chunks of time is training for the marathons I’ve run.  Major runs usually took 2-4 hours each.  All of my marathons took me between 4 and 5 hours to complete.  With this gift from Ohio State I could run a marathon and still have 3 hours left to spend!

Another thought that comes to mind is how long it takes to do the menial tasks of a normal weekend.  I’m talking laundry, cleaning the house, taking care of the yard, etc.  With 8 hours I could clean the whole house, do 3-4 loads of laundry, mow the grass, weed the gardens, clean out my car, grab some groceries, and get to the gym.  If I slept in, that would be an entire Saturday of errands!

Okay, so moving onto another thought (you may notice my mind scatters erratically, so bear with me).  I love roller-coasters and thrill rides.  Having been to both Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) and King’s Island (Mason, OH) more times than I could reasonabley count, I have become a veritable wizard when it comes to maximizing ride time at amusement parks.  If you need evidence, just ask my family how I am at Disney World (it’s a blessing and a curse).  At King’s Island you could probably hit up every major coaster in under 8 hours, including some non-coasters and lunch at 1 of the 3 La Rosa’s (yummm!).  At Cedar Point you could probably squeeze in 6-7 major coasters – more than enough for the first half of the day if you don’t want anyone to get sick.  That’s a whole lotta fun!  Thanks for the bonus time Ohio State!          

One year I went to King's Island on Memorial Day.  They had a paraglider fly in the flag as they sang the National Anthem before letting guests enter the park.  It was a very cool start to a great day!

 

Two quick asides to the previous paragraph.  One summer Cedar Point introduced a new coaster that set the world record for height (420 feet) and speed (120 mph).  Me and 2 friends waited in line (mostly waiting out maintenance delays) exactly 8 hours to ride this coaster.  And it was so worth it!  No regrets.  Especially because when it got up and running every other person in the park got in line and freed up lines at other rides.  Cedar Point has the policy of letting anybody in line for a ride at the park’s closing time the opportunity to get on the ride before they leave.  At 10pm the line for this coaster was 4.5 hours long.  Yes, Cedar Point had to operate the coaster until 2:30am that day.  The second aside is that one summer I got inspired to engage in a vigorous writing campaign with the executives at Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point).  This netted me (and my party) the right to skip the line for 2 rides of our choice during our next visit.  Moral of the story here – persistence pays off!

I digress.  So what else for 8 hours?  Let’s see …you could fly from Atlanta to Brussels (Belgium) – I did that in the summer of 2006 when I studied in Luxembourg.  I don’t recommend getting on a flight like that just for fun.  It’s not fun.  You could also drive from Columbus to Syracuse with a 1 hour stop for lunch along the way.  You could probably complete a jigsaw puzzle.  You could spend a day at the zoo.  You could go golfing (with time to spare!).  You could watch 2 football games (hello college football Saturdays!).  The possibilities are seemingly endless.

In the summer (2013) Anissa's family (siblings, parents, nephews) came up to Columbus and we spent the day at the zoo.  These are the boys getting to see a kangaroo up close!

I hope that with this post I’ve given you some food for thought about how you might spend a gift of 8 hours.  And remember what a precious gift time really is the next time you receive it.  Lastly, there’s a lot to be said for just chilling out, vegging out, or catching up on sleep!

5

5

I thought it was about time I did a blog about my sisters.  I am lucky enough to have 5 of them!  I will take you through them from oldest to youngest.  But along with my parents and Anissa, they are my rocks.  You will see I have different relationships with each of them.  But they are my best friends and life would be so boring and meaningless without them.

Carolyn is the oldest and she’s about 4 years older than me.  Carolyn had the unfortunate responsibility of figuring everything out for the first time whereas I always had my 3 older siblings to test the waters before I dove into anything.  I’ve always been in awe of Carolyn’s artistic abilities.  By that I mean her musical talent (which impresses me more every time I get to hear her sing), her creative process, and her uncanny ability to give the most thoughtful, beautiful gifts (she makes me look like a chump at Christmas).  I also really admire her persistence.  She’s always exploring, always trying to get better at what she does, and I’m pretty sure she never sleeps.  She juggles so many things like balancing her relationships with others, fostering a thriving career, finding personal growth in her hobbies, and giving back to the community.  Whenever I feel overwhelmed I think about what Carolyn is able to accomplish and in doing so I find the strength I need to forge ahead.

Aileen is the next oldest at 3 years older than me.  Aileen and I were pals from a very young age.  We had secret clubs and at the tender age of 6 she taught me how to find opportunities to profit in the marketplace.  Aileen, like Carolyn, has great drive.  When you dig deeper you also find a great amount of passion that fuels everything she does.  When Aileen is on your side, you cannot be stopped (and if she’s not, then watch out!).  One memory I have with Aileen that I will never forget is when I was in Scottsdale, AZ with her.  She was out there for an extended period of time on a personal trip and I went out for a long weekend to keep her company.  We wined and dined ourselves and just relaxed.  It was a great time for us to just have nice, long conversations.  In our adult lives Aileen and I have come to have more and more deep conversations covering topics like why are we here, what am I doing with my life, or how do I make sense of what is going on around me.  She’s a great sounding board and I can always count on her to give me the time of day.

Maureen is the next oldest and closest in age to me.  She is 1.5 years older, but she was always 2 grade level s above me (over-achiever!).  In our younger years, Maureen and I fought a lot.  Given our proximity in age we had a lot of similar friends and that always created tension.  But after high school I went to Miami University where Maureen also went.  Although she was abroad for 3 of the months, we did have 2 years together at Miami.  Let me tell you, that was a blast.  Maureen just took me under her wing.  As I mentioned above, it was always great to have siblings ahead of me to figure it all out so I could get it right.  This was definitely true at Miami, and even after graduation (we are both CPAs).  I actually lived with Maureen for a while after I graduated and this just brought us closer.  Given our educations and professional similarities Maureen and I have a lot to chat about.  Sometimes I feel bad when others are around us because we just go spinning on our own tangents!  Maureen is great at giving advice and her heart is always in the right place.

I am the fourth child in the family.  The next sibling is Amy who is 3.5 years younger than me.  Growing up there was always separation between “the four big kids” and the 2 younger siblings including Amy.  Amy and I were rarely in the same school at the same time and therefore had very few similar friends.  Amy is also incredibly talented musically (I lost count of how many instruments she played in high school, but she excelled at them all).  She teaches special education now and I just think it’s the perfect fit for her.  Amy has always been someone who thinks with her heart first.  While that can be dangerous at times, it’s a really admirable quality that I think we can all learn from.  Sometimes in the moment I criticize her for what she says or does, and then reflect on it later realizing I actually agree with her.  I am very excited to see what Amy will do in this world because her heart is so big.

The “baby” of the family is Laura who is 5 years younger than me.  It’s hilarious that she is the baby because she might actually be the most mature person in our family (maybe it’s the outcome of learning from the mistakes of 5 other siblings!).  In her youth we always teased her for being lazy and a complainer.  Sometimes we thought she was complacent and unorganized.  Then she went to school at Loyola in Chicago and she really seemed to pull herself together quickly while there.  She’s now started her career teaching just outside Chicago and she loves what she does.  Every time I talk to Laura I am impressed with her poise and pragmatism.  I often forget she’s not my age or older.  Whatever guy she ends up with will certainly be one lucky dude!

These descriptions really cannot do justice to who these ladies are, but it gives you some insight.  Of course I left out some rough moments but everything that has happened brought us to today, and that is a good thing.  I love when people ask if I have any siblings because I just can’t wait to tell people about my 5 sisters.  As the end of the year approaches and I reflect on my life I realize that I just might be the luckiest guy in the world.  People always have a reaction when I tell them I have 5 sisters and I often joke that they can have a couple if they don’t have any sisters.  But the truth is, I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in this world.

 

Okay, enough gushing, Kent out.

1992 at Disney World

Left to Right:  Amy, Me, Carolyn, Laura, Aileen, Maureen

 

2011 at my cousin's wedding in Boston

Left to Right:  Me, Carolyn, Laura, Aileen, Maureen, Amy