Back in Philly

As my friend Nicole constantly reminds me... I am a lousy blogger! Sorry it's been so long since an update, but without further ado... UPDATE!!!

Well, tomorrow will mark the 1 month anniversary of my move. It's hard to believe I've been home for a month already and still haven't had a cheese steak. I have, however, seen a ton of friends, been camping at Ralph Stover, went Tubing down the Delaware, been to 3 (Winning) Phillies games and eaten my fill of Soft Pretzels! So far so good me thinks.

Next weekend I'll be heading to the Ren Faire and 2 weeks after that I'll be down the Shore.. WOOHOO!!!

So, living back with the family is certainly a little strange. You get into certain habits living on my own for 7 years that just don't work when there are other people in the house, such as waking up at 3am and having to throw on a robe or shorts instead of walking out to the bathroom in ur Undies or having to let your family know where you are, when you'll be back and if you'll be home for dinner. But none of it is a bad thing, just something to get used to again.

I guess a quick look at how this years goals are coming along are appropriate at this point.

Moving Home: SUCCESS!!! I am home and I'm never going back.

Weight Loss: This has been going slowly, but going. Since I started on Weight Watchers 14 weeks ago I've lost 15.5 lbs. It's strange because every other diet I've been on has allowed me to lose 10-20 lbs real fast (1-2 months) but then would stall. I'm currently averaging about 1lb a week and it feels so much better, it really feels like I'm doing it right this time so I'm pretty happy. My goal right now is to be able to fit back into my 36 jeans my Christmas time. so that's 3 pant sizes over 4 months. I know it's a lofty goal, but I think if I manage to stay on the diet and continue to increase my exercise, it's a goal I can achieve!

Money: The move home sadly cost a good deal more then I really was hoping to spend, so my savings is a little on the short side right now. However, rather than continuing to pay 20%+ a month to my credit card companies, I decided to take a loan from myself and pay off all my debt. It'll take 18 months to pay myself back what I borrowed with 9% interest.
The downside, I'm poor for the next 18 months because close to 1/2 my paycheck is being auto-withdrawn to pay myself back, and if I somehow become jobless during that 18 months I am heavily boned.
The upside however is tremendous. Over 18 months I will be saving close to 6 Thousand dollars in interest and after years and years trying to get even I am finally out from under the weight of my credit card debt. Talk about a relief!

So, that is what's been going on. Spending tons of time with Jenna (She starts back at work today, please send her your love and good thoughts), re-discovering what it is to be a Philly Boy and just loving being back home.


EDIT: Here are some pictures of my move home.

My Move Home (Staring Gnomo the alternative lifestyle Gnome)