I'm still catching up on my routine tasks since I was on vacation in Eastern Europe and Denver for a good part of July but it feels good to be back. Both vacations were great, but the Europe trip was VERY hectic and my style of traveling didn't mesh so well with how the group traveled. I am super glad to have gone though, as I've only taken international trips if I have a others to go with. I had pretty high credit card spending in the past few months as a result of booking airfare for traveling; it's back under 1K now. 1K is a normal level of credit card debt for me each month if there are no irregular expenses. It's about to go up again as I plan to pay for my car registration and book a flight to my parents' place.
My investments are continuing to grow at a nice rate, and I'm pleased with where my portfolio is heading. My aim has been getting to 70% domestic-30% international and I'm almost there. Within the 70% domestic bucket I want to have a 70% large cap-30% smaller cap allocation. I'm currently at 90/10 but any new investments are going into smaller companies so this will get better over the next couple months. I do have some money earmarked for medium-term spending so some of what's in the stocks column is in cash or a money market fund. Meanwhile my emergency fund is in a high-yield savings account and I'm making a whole $4/month in interest. :D My mother has asked me to put trailing stop orders on all my investments but I feel like I would be better off holding them and rebalancing opportunistically, I'm researching this now.
I am having trouble balancing relationships lately. Until now I've been pretty good at keeping in touch with long-distance friends, but lately I go hang out with people in person instead. I'm dedicated to working out at least 3 times a week so there just isn't enough time to socialize with everyone after sleep, work, and exercise. Trust me, I've installed the News Feed Eradicator browser extension and cut out other sources of wasted time already. Right now I'm prioritizing: my family, my boyfriend and his family, in-person friendships, long-distance friendships. This way I have time for those who are closest to me and can see the difference we make in each others' lives. I need to accept that this means I won't be in touch with as many friends who are farther away. I know my close friends won't mind either way.
I've realized so many gains from working out, it's really adding up. I actually have triceps now!! Whoop!! My calves look more defined when I show my legs and wear heels. I know I have more stamina since I went on a 20km hike in Europe and wasn't dead the next day. I wasn't sore the day after I went kayaking back in April, and I picked up badminton again without too much soreness. In general I don't get as sore after workouts. I know how stretch to prevent injuries and how to deal with minor aches better. I fit my pants better and don't chafe on my thighs, but on the other hand I fit my shirts worse and chafe at my arms and chest. I'm more aware of how ergonomic things are and of maintaining good posture. I'm more mindful of my mood and my thoughts. I'm so thankful for my health, I'm going to continue my workout regimen as long as I can.
My boyfriend told me he loves that my lips are the same color as my gums. He'd previously said he likes that my gums show when I smile. I shake my head in front of him but it makes me smile thinking back on it. It gives me confidence that he notices me, takes joy in the little things, that they matter to him. He and his sister moved to a new apartment last weekend and I was amazed at how orderly the move was! Today when I reminded him not to throw cardboard in the trash, he collapsed it, kept it separately, and pointed out that he's been setting bottles to the side to be recycled. Environmentalism is one of my top values and it means a lot that he wants to practice my values in his home.
<3, Labangel
08/01/18 |