Word of the Day: Neophyte

I have a nifty little app on my iphone from Dictionary.com... it gives us the word of the day, as well as a full thesaurus and dictionary. That's great for me, as I've lost most words out of my vocabulary over 3 syllables.... and is it bad that I counted the syllables in vocabulary after I typed that? HA!
I liked today's word... Neophyte: a novice
I'm a novice..err.. neophyte in many aspects of my life.. I'm in this period of my life where I want to jump in and try so many new things, but I don't know where to start. I'm limited by my budget and by my time... and it bites! I've made so much progress in the past year with getting some debts paid off, but I'm not at goal yet. I need to keep focus, yet find balance in getting new hobbies for myself without breaking the bank. I'm a neophyte when it comes to hobbies. My time has always been filled for me in the past, or I lacked the confidence to try something new because I was so heavy. Now, I'm ready to jump in and try something, but at the same time, I don't want to lose sight of my ultimate goal, which is trimming all the fat out of my life.. DEBT!
I keep going back and forth on whether I should get a second job.. as that would help me with both cutting down on debt, as well as giving me something to do in the evenings. At the same time.. a job isn't a hobby, right? LOL Ahhh..... Frustration!!!
I know I'm venting... this is a place where I go to try to clear out the fogginess called my brain!

Here are some things I'd like to do in the very near future:

• Learn how to garden... I want to start with something "simple" like an herb garden.. I can't keep a cactus alive at this point.
• Ride my bike more often... I still don't have the confidence that I should on it.. I'm very shaky!
• Read more often
• Spend more time outside while the weather permits. Houston is known for it's heat, but we've been so chilly here lately! The weather has been PERFECT, for me at least... Sunny, warm, but not too warm.. and just AWESOME!!!
• Catch up on Glee before the new shows start up - I just started watching this last night, and fell in love with it! It's fun and quirky and just overall entertaining! :)
• Figure out whether I should get a 2nd job or try to find extra ways to "cut the fat"
• There's plenty more, but I don't want to overwhelm myself! LOL

Oh, if you've been reading me for awhile, you know about our puppy chronicles.. If not, I'll give you a quick refresher. In October, we went to the SPCA and got a puppy. He seemed healthy, but got a cold when he left the pound, and it ended up being distemper. We lost him on November 10. Fast forward to December, we found an ad on Craigs List for a German Shepherd puppy that a girl got, but her boyfriend wouldn't let her keep. She also seemed healthy, but promptly deteriorated in health and we had to put her down on December 26. They thought she had pneumonia, possibly distemper and possibly parvo-virus. One of John's friends contacted us last week about a puppy that has been at another animal shelter for 3 months, and is about to be put down. His friend's cousin volunteers at the shelter and has fostered the puppy, so she won't be put down, and is hanging on to her until she can find a permanent home. They brought the puppy over, and she's adorable... but, she has a cold. That scares me.. I know that it's common for animals to get sick when coming out of the pound, as it's a big change in environment, but it makes it no less scary for us because of all we've been through. So, we'll see in the coming days what happens on that font!

Also, if you're a praying person, please pray for my sister and her family. One of their puppies got out yesterday, and they haven't been able to find him. :( He's just a year old.

I've gone on long enough for today, but I will return tomorrow!

xoxo