I fixed the freecycle treadmill. And it WAS FUN to be responsible. :p Now I can run indoors on DH's long work days and outdoors on weekends. A perfect wintry compromise. And it only cost a few bucks for the part. :p

Oh, and I really wanted to buy DS1 this loft bed on craigslist, but decided to wait given the budget for the month. Saw one on freecycle, but missed it. Then, out of nowhere, another freecycler who posted a loft bed on a day I was running errands emailed me that the first lady had forwarded my name to her. And now DS has a loft bed with a built in desk. :) (well, the desk is in the car till morning, but he has the loft bed set up right now)

Speaking of being responsible, we're probably going to stay here in the cheap, but too far from the big city rental house for a few more months. We can stash some money in savings and still get DH his not-from-1983 TV if we do.

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Just sayin'. I have a list a mile long of family wants, stuff we've been holding out for, waiting for the house to sell. Top for me is a working treadmill. I'm just going to run in the ice and snow (keep in mind, I'm a Florida native who can't stand being cold :p ) because I will not spend money from the house proceeds on stuff that will just go down in value. And this month, there's not any extra because of the 2 week xmas tour of the southeast last month (that got a little expensive between renting a house for a week, a hotel for 2 nights, gas to go from Va to Fl and places in between, AND all the food).

Next month, well, that's another story. I might have a little fun with the 2nd paycheck. :smirk: Our cost of living is pretty low now that we're just paying rent, not trying to also support an empty house in another state. 6 weeks. I can be a grownup about this for that long, and it will feel a lot better buying it with actual money, not with credit.

i totally get ya! but on the same note I constantly remind myself that the nice $$ things that I want aren't really always what they are cracked up to be. I mean i could often find a similar "thing" cheaper and be just as pleased with it..so many strings attached to names and products IMO that for me sometimes it is hard to see threw it all.

I agree! I usually end up buying nothing at all, something used, or something similar.

These things are things we've considered carefully, picked out the right one, and are just patiently waiting for the right time. Or impatiently, perhaps. :p I'm sure I'll learn to dress right for cold running while waiting for a treadmill. It's not like I'm going to be out long enough to freeze to death. I'm just being a wimp. ;)

I'm secretly hoping I'll learn to like running in the cold and realize I don't need a treadmill after all.

I'm sure I'll learn to dress right for cold running while waiting for a treadmill. It's not like I'm going to be out long enough to freeze to death. I'm just being a wimp. ;)

I'm secretly hoping I'll learn to like running in the cold and realize I don't need a treadmill after all.

What a hoot!

I write my lists over and over. Somehow it makes me feel like I am getting closer to getting something...lol. How pathetic am I!!!!:o

I hear ya...I think back to when we moved up here, we went a little crazy with "stuff" - mostly dh, LOL, and I kind of had to indulge him because the poor man never gets anything he "wants."

Well he hardly uses anything he bought, and now wants to ebay it all. Sigh. Lesson learned, I hope.

Anyway...I think something like the treadmill, yeah, you know you're gonna use it. But heck, winter's almost over. ;)

oh no! did the treadmill not work after the move? :( don't want an xt-cicle!

I'm secretly hoping I'll learn to like running in the cold and realize I don't need a treadmill after all.

You will! At least *I* did!

I abhored the dreadmill for running. I much prefer running in less-than-perfect weather conditions than running on the dreadmill. In fact, I sold it to my mom because I wasn't using it.

As soon as we get our lives back on track, I'm after some new exercise shoes myself..my sneakers suck.

It's so good to get to a point where you don't feel so strained :D

oh no! did the treadmill not work after the move? :( don't want an xt-cicle!

Well, umm, as I was disassembling it today to take to the landfill for recycling, I noticed a loose wire. Of course, I already broke the circuit breaker thingy trying to fix it a few days ago... But I found a replacement circuit breaker for $2 online, so we're going to at least try to fix it in a few days when the part comes (shipping will be 4x the cost of the part, right? :rolleyes:). Wish us luck! Hopefully plugging that wire back in and putting in that new breaker will be all we need.

(It's not exactly a real runner's running treadmill, but it'll do for the really icky days till I'm doing enough to care again - I probably won't care for a long while - I'm a pathetic runner.)

So if it gets fixed, then a TV that's not from the early 1980's is next on the list, according to DH.

You need a good pair of long underwear, you'll be out there sweating! My mountain hardware unders have changed my life.

Funny story about long underwear..

I live in freaking florida...a couple of weeks ago, we had a couple of nights of below 30 degrees...I am SO acclimated I had to put on long underwear in the 40 degree weather to make it through the day without shivering to death.

It's a really good thing I don't live where it gets cold for longer than a couple of days!

nope...no fun at all...in the short term.

Stephanie, you are so right. I can't tell you how glad I am that we did work hard to pay off the cars and the HELOC. Any month except this one, we'll have a surplus thanks to all that no-fun responsibility. We can afford a house in this insanely expensive place when we do buy one, and we won't feel stretched because NO OTHER DEBT! Woohoo!

We're just paying for a lot of travel expenses from xmas, and there's not any extra this month, and there hasn't been for a while. But now that we're down to one house, the move is paid for, and xmas is over, things are much easier.

Gael, I went to Target and got one set of Target's Cuddlduds and some track pants. And a fleece zip up from Wallyworld. All that, plus one of DH's longsleeved Tshirts (I like the triathlon one for inspiration), and running outside is downright pleasant. Actually, I didn't even need the fleece jacket yet. :D

Cool update, Christy! :)

Great update..I love reading about you because you are so much more smart about things than I ever am :D