diamonds and do-goods

so, OMP is supposed to be about success and fulfillment - meeting God's plan and working to my actual maximum potential, right?

paying off all my bills really seemed like a great start (keep in mind, in the interest of full disclosure, that i still have credit-card debt and a gigantic mortgage).  unfortunately, i may or may not have been a little too enthusiastic in my leap into stress-less living.  since september 1, i have spent over $2600 paying off bills - the same ones for which i paid over $580 in late fees.  this means that right now, i'm dipping into my rainy day fund and using my credit cards again, all in the interest of living a someone normal [social] life.  seems counterproductive, right?  

not quite.

i feel like the money i've been spending since this life decision has been productive money.  not on late fees, not on parking tickets, but on nice, good things that are reasonably priced and further my life/career/OMP.  for example, i just got these adorable Steve Maddens for less than $30 at Nordstrom Rack (thank goodness for having big [huge] feet and always having a great selection).  obviously no one sent them the memo that it's endless summer in SD and cork is always in style. 

these would be a poor decision if they were like any other shoe in my closet, (i own multiple pairs of the same classic nude pumps, black peeptoes and sam edelman flats for fear of destroying them before i don't like the style anymore), but they aren't.  i don't wear a lot of red so these will be easy to match with black and nudes and will add a punch to my outfit, and at a literal quarter of their original price, they're not only a steal but an investment.

at least that's what i'm telling myself.

another investment i've made since going on a budget? tickets to the stayclassy awards. for only $49, the privilege/opportunity of being surrounded by philanthropy's best and brightest:

"The red-carpet CLASSY Awards Ceremony is the most impactful and inspirational event in the country, bringing together philanthropic celebrities, social leaders and the next generation of philanthropists to celebrate as the 16 National CLASSY Awards Winners are announced live on stage. The CLASSY Awards provides a platform to celebrate and share the success stories of thousands of nonprofit organizations, raising awareness that materializes in increased donations, volunteer recruitment and support."

how cool is that?  eventually i'll be getting out of the military, looking for a 'real' job and continuing to try to make a positive impact on the world.  what better way to pay forward the blessings God has given me than to become involved with non-profits and charities?

oh, and did i mention there's OMP-approved shopping involved? after all, it's black-tie optional ;)

xx,

alanna

you know that lace is sex incarnate, right?

battenburg lace is what any southern girl with good intentions and poor execution needs to redeem herself after a successful friday/saturday/tuesday night full of embarassing random flirt sessions/wearing last night's makeup to brunch/meeting your boyfriend's mom with only a dry shampoo shower.

my reward for the first step in operation maximum potential?
 

battenburg lace everything, courtesy of abercrombie summer sale 2012 

(yes, i know i'm 26 and too old to be wearing abercrombie, but face it - if you recognize where any of this is from when it's on, it's because you were shopping the a&f summer sale too).

it whispers quietly (and we all know that sometimes works better than screaming), 'i'm so delicate, youthful and pretty - i can plan a dinner party for twenty at a moment's notice and wouldn't think of leaving the house without my hair and makeup done and i would absolutely never make out with someone i just met...treat me like a china doll and buy me drinks and look past my foul mouth and penchant for dirty jokes.'

are these not some of the most beautiful things you've ever seen?  i only hope they look as innocently sexy on as they do in my plans.  

so what did i do to deserve this wealth of generosity from myself to myself?  i moved my laptop off my bed and onto my desk.  you don't think it's a big deal?  i live in my bed when i'm at home.  first thing i used to do when i got home was prep something for dinner, turn my laptop on and sit on my bed.  i ate dinner, screwed around on the computer for an hour or two, ate something else (all sitting in bed), and thought about being productive.  usually i'd think about it for long enough that i'd decide to eat a good night snack and then eventually, finally, try to fall asleep, hours after i originally could have.

no more. 

now, if i want to use my computer, i have to be out of my bed, and at my desk - double whammy, because in order to make room on my desk, i had to clean it off and go through even more old mail, which was finally easy to do because i knew that the revolting stack of envelopes sitting there obscenely mocking my fear of finance no longer held any weight.  similarly, i would have nothing to do if i sat on my bed eating dinner - i don't have cable so if i'm not actively watching a show on my Roku, mindless snacking isn't really appealing.  

the power of habit strikes again, except now my cue (to relax because i'm burned out from a long day at work) will be followed by a routine that is not food/laptop focused.  and either way, a few hours later, the reward of being wound down enough to fall asleep will be well within my grasp!!

certainly a legitimate reason to spend $350, right?

fine. maybe i'll focus on finance next.

xx,

alanna

you'd think by now i would have matured.

less trashy television? Season 2 of RHOM starting. dream on.
finally reached goal weight? impossible with a 'promotion' at work and unpredictable hours that lay monthly unlimited memberships to any gym/fitness class to waste and limit working out to when it's dark outside, whether that's before work or after.
happy, healthy relationship? my last boyfriend told me, "Until you are willing to accept true pain and sadness as a potential outcome for an emotional investment, you will never experience true love and happiness." yes, he was smart and sweet and clearly quite articulate (not to mention hot) but there'll be more about that later. clearly i'm emotionally stunted as well.
responsible finances? i bought a house. everything after that is kind of blurry and involves things like IRAs and Roth IRAs and TSPs and all i've figured out is how to buy clothes and sell them on eBay for a profit.

i did make one big step,though, after reading the Power of Habit, and i already see it making changes in my life.

i finally paid my bills.

     if you happened to have read my old blog entries, you may be familiar with my fear of the mail.  keep in mind, there is absolutely no rational reason to be afraid of that part of the day so many crazy coupon ladies treasure.  i tried to overcome that fear by subscribing to magazines, but now that i have a subscription to US Weekly, Glamour, Newsweek, Cooking with Paula Deen, San Diego Magazine, Lucky, OK!, Fitness, Self and probably others i won't remember until they show up, i've developed a new fear of not checking the mail lest the mailbox overflows, dooming my beloved subscriptions to a life in the back room of some San Diego Post Office.  instead, i check the mail religiously now, but anything remotely unfrivolous or bill-like ends up in a pile that gets pushed to the side, buried under receipts or falls under the bed.  the problem with this [what i call] easy, efficient approach to bill-paying is that they don't go away.  it's taken me 26 years (i had a birthday or two since i last wrote!) but i've finally come to terms with it.  $795 for a red light ticket, $250 for my car registration, $208 for a TX speeding ticket, $625 for my HOA, $450 for a medical bill...and out of all of that, how much did late fees account for?  

$580.00

SO. a few days later, i was thinking to myself about how relieved i felt not to have those bills piling up.  of course, i'm disappointed with myself for letting the late fees get that bad, but all things considered, the pain of dipping into my 'spending money'/'rainy day' fund was nothing compared to the relief i felt from realizing that if i get pulled over in San Diego (and now in Texas, too!), i have an approximately 80% higher chance of sweet-talking my way out of a ticket as opposed to being arrested.  this led me to thinking...what else causes me daily stress, but stress that's so minor i have no problem forgetting about it?  after all, bills can't talk, and if you keep your voicemail full, neither can collection agencies.

here's what i'm proposing:
this bill paying business gets to be my catalyst - the one big [and this is a big change from someone who, when i initially saw a bill, looked at the latest late fee charge and just automatically read that as the total charge since i assumed i wouldn't get around to it until then anyway] change that really kick starts everything else in my life.  this is going to be the thing that makes all of the other things i've been meaning to do but never gotten around to actually happen.

re-starting this blog will hopefully be a great way to document my success [manifesting, obviously...if you don't know, you don't know The Secret and you should!] and remind myself just what i'm aiming for:
low-stress, high productivity living with the time, energy and desire to give back to the world. 
 - operation maximum potential - 

who's with me?

xx,

alanna