August 2010

August was a big month. The baby's here and things are still moving along. So a lot of what you read is going to be baby-centric.

Eat better
With a kid in the house we're eating even better than we were. Rach is watching what she's eating because the kid is getting it and it means even healthier items in the fridge. That being said, the grandparents have been/will be in and they're the ones the poor eating habits came from. There's been a lot of soda, snacks, ice cream, etc in the house too. And I've been eating them. Not a great month, but it'll get better once the supply runs dry.

Eat out less
Kind of a mixed bag this month. We ate out some because, as new parents, we didn't have time/energy to make stuff at home. But we didn't eat out as much as I thought we would because for the month before the baby was here we made and froze meals. Overall, we did pretty good this month considering.

Be less fat
I got weighed the other day as part of getting a life insurance policy. This one is not going well.

Become dinner party people
Even with the baby, and in some cases because of it, we are seeing more people and setting more dinner dates/social gatherings.

Become handy
Wasn't all that relevant in Aug. But I am starting to think of projects to do, hopefully more to come on this one.

Pay off my car loan
Getting close. If I keep my current payment schedule, I'm three months away. I have the money in my emergency fund/other accounts to pay this off, without draining them in any significant way and I've been debating just paying it off and putting the money I would spend on the loan in the next few month to refund those accounts. It's the age old debate of security (money in the bank) vs. return (about a 3% better return).

Be good
Things are going well on the baby front and I'd say I'm a pretty good dad. My brother-in-law said, "The only thing you have to do is keep them alive for a year, after that, it's pretty easy." Almost three weeks in and I've got that covered. I'm also learning that a couple of deep breaths, relaxing your shoulders and unclenching your jaw can help in a lot of situations. Plus, I can change a diaper and fold a swaddle in the dark - not exactly the super powers I would ask for given the choice, but they're pretty handy right now.