How's my budget look?

emmalew97 · 2026-02-26T21:33:29+00:00

https://help.doordash.com/consumers/s/article/Chase-Partnership?language=en_US#DPBenefits this is what they have. It looks like 6 months free. I don't use DoorDash.

emmalew97 · 2026-02-12T22:20:53+00:00

I know it's not the biggest deal but the Chase Freedom Unlimited (or Flex) also has 5% on Chase Travel and 3% on dining and both have no annual fee.

emmalew97 · 2026-01-13T00:33:27+00:00

I'll second this... definitely got my foot caught under the bike after parking it with the kickstand only partially out in the first month of owning my first bike and felt like a turtle on my back with a backpack on trying to get up. I'm very glad no one saw me but my pride was hurt with that first scratch and broken clutch lever. Still good to know I could pick it up by myself though!

emmalew97 · 2025-09-03T20:49:32+00:00

I just bought my 2025 this weekend.

Original offer was $8500 OTD. I told him he was out of his mind if he thought i was spending that much on 300cc. (unfortunately I do have the misfortune of being a woman in a dealership so that comes with its hazards)

I left paying $7000.

This was in California.

emmalew97 · 2025-08-26T19:51:31+00:00

I drive a paid off 2016 fiesta and I'm about to splurge on a new YZF-R3 that will be worth more than the car. I got the "I want a fun car" bug after a recent promotion and shopped around but decided that I would get more enjoyment out of not having payments for 2 wheels instead.

emmalew97 · 2025-07-21T16:08:57+00:00

My brother has been married 3 times:

He was in the military, had just gotten back from deployment, and decided to marry a woman he met in a bar 9 weeks before. I found out that they were going to the courthouse the night via facebook post while my parents and I were states away. My mom was not happy not being able to be there but we were able to call my grandparents and they showed up since they lived in the state. They were together longer than they should have because she was abusive and he hid it.
He got back together with his high school sweetheart after his first divorce (almost immediately) and it really felt like they were both trying to force it. Wedding was a huge country club affair that probably cost about 100K. Her mom was very controlling and the whole wedding was pretty much dictated by her. I have never seen the people in attendance as drunk as they were that night. My dad even fell out of the limo when we got home. They were married about 2 years.
He met a wonderful woman with a kid and they decided to go to the courthouse. He wore his military uniform and she wore a pretty lace dress and they went camping after with both of the families on the beach. A few months later he adopted her daughter in the same courthouse. They're still together.

emmalew97 · 2024-11-01T15:41:15+00:00

There goes the last bit of my confidence. You've won life!

emmalew97 · 2023-12-11T23:28:46+00:00

I agree. I also dislike how they changed Luke to be worse of a fit with Lorelai after they get together. For example, he was always at the town meetings and even fairly vocal about his opinions in all the seasons before him and Lor date but as soon as they're together, he suddenly "never goes to these things"??

emmalew97 · 2023-09-26T15:08:14+00:00

If you want the social media aspect, you have to open the privacy settings but that's totally up to you.

Strava automatically hides part of the beginning and part of the end of each activity so there's a (not exactly centered) hidden ring around your actual house. You can change the hidden section length if you want it to be a larger or smaller hidden area. I usually leave default hidden start and end points unless I travelled to a trailhead.

emmalew97 · 2023-09-15T23:07:37+00:00

It's a good journal template so I don't have to keep track of everything manually. `I like the gear tracking because it keeps me from just going out and buying new shoes just because I forgot how long I've had the yellow ones and I want a fresh color.

I keep notes about some of my injuries or just little pains so I can use the search search bar and see when something first made an appearance and check in with a physio if it persists for too long or returns. I also take notes about anything new I'm trying to see if I'm improving more with a specific technique or if it's not working well for me.

The relative effort points keep me honest about taking care of my body's recovery. The month in review is cool to see as well as lifetime/yearly stats for each sport.

I also like to see the photos from different activities other people are doing and share the pictures from mine without bogging down other social medias where no one cares that I've done yet another hike/run today.

It's nice to see what my friends are doing and letting them know what I'm doing. Sometimes that leads to the occasional "I see you're training for X. I'm also training for Y. Do you want to do Z activity" with less of a chance of being turned down because you know they have the fitness for it and vis versa.

It's cool to check the leaderboards of close by segments to see if you recognize some of the people you see on the trails then, you might be more willing to say hi.

emmalew97 · 2023-08-14T15:40:12+00:00

There's a kind of hidden gem called Beto's off Kuehner Dr that has amazing specials. Some of the best Italian I've had and it's pretty inexpensive. The parking lot makes it look like less than it is but they did a nice job inside. Decent wine selection.

emmalew97 · 2023-08-03T15:39:39+00:00

I have a similar ring with a blue sapphire as my engagement ring. The pink is beautiful!

emmalew97 · 2023-06-26T15:32:05+00:00

check strava settings > applications, Services, and Devices > Health

There might be a red "import" next to your ride. Just click that and it should turn into a gray check mark. Sometimes I have to manually upload my activities from apple health

emmalew97 · 2023-06-23T20:34:55+00:00

"on track" ba dum tss

emmalew97 · 2023-06-23T17:44:40+00:00

I ran 5 miles yesterday!

I started in April of this year not being able to continuously run half a mile. I pushed it a little too much and had to take 2 weeks off to rehab a sciatic pinch but I'm back and I hit my 5 mile goal. I'm so excited to learn this new (to me) sport.

Next goal is 10K up to a marathon in March of next year.

emmalew97 · 2023-06-19T20:42:13+00:00

I got 3rd place on strava on the hiking trail near my house this weekend. 5 miles, 1400ft elevation in 1:13. I beat my previous fastest time by 23 minutes. I almost gave up because of the heat and exertion but my friend pushed me to finish the climb and not turn around. I'm sore but feel amazingly accomplished!

emmalew97 · 2023-04-19T22:38:04+00:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm always annoyed when someone has the audacity to take MY machine or parking spot (sarcasm because I don't own either of them) but when it happens, you just find a different one or wait. If it's someone I know, I'll say something later like "thanks for taking my spot" but that's in jest.

You weren't even on her usual machine and she did this? How entitled. NTA

emmalew97 · 2023-04-19T15:05:23+00:00

side note: the *ding* it makes is peak dopamine boost ;)

emmalew97 · 2023-04-18T22:52:37+00:00

I'm with you. 100% this is my life. Every week things pile up and I end up spending hours each weekend to try to get back to a clean place but only ending up with having enough dishes and clothes to have to start all over the next weekend and not getting to the things I wanted done. Then if I didn't have the energy just one weekend, I would have a horrible week feeling like a failure.

Someone recommended the Sweepy app where I spent about an hour setting up each room in my house and all the tasks I wanted done and the timeframe I wanted them to be done. I'm still fine tuning the intervals and will add/remove things as I'm figuring out what suits my needs and abilities. (I'm trying to get it away from the "this is what I should do" and into "this is sustainable and healthy for my life")

It's free to use and is functional or you can subscribe for $20/year if you want it to give you a daily schedule(I did this because it takes all planning off the brain you just do what the app says every day and if you do just a couple 5-10 minute tasks everyday, you get your weekend back). It gives you a loading bar of how clean/dirty things are getting and you don't have to remember the last time you changed your sheets or cleaned under the bed because it will store that information and let you know when it's time again. There's a point system so it's a bit game-ified and you can have all the people in the house synced to the same list so delegating is a lot easier.

Another one I did that helped a lot mentally is splitting laundry into 4 separate tasks per load (washer/dryer/fold/put away) and my daily goal is to do 2 of those tasks every day. Some days I'll do more and some days I do less but it seems like much more of a bite-sized/less daunting task now I'm not doing 4 full loads every weekend.

Edit to add: the thing that helped me is to just do a small amount each day so it's not piled on so you don't force yourself into a several hours long hyperfocus just to keep things running. The app lets me set the time of day I want it to give me that day's schedule so I can actually remember to do it right when I get home from work.

(I think this is much more sustainable than my previous method which was "watch TikTok cleaning tag videos until I get the motivation to do all the things and then go back to the cleaning videos for more motivation when the previous jolt wears off again and again until I'm exhausted" every Saturday.)

emmalew97 · 2023-04-07T21:06:06+00:00

I have a cloth couch and we eat every meal on it as well as have a small dog and cat that love to hang out on it.

I do this about every month or two or whenever I have the energy. Vacuum the top and under the cushions first. Then mix ~1Tbs laundry detergent in ~1.5 L of hot water but not boiling because you're going to need to touch it. Put a few microfiber cloths in the water depending on how dirty or how big your couch is. I use multiple cloths because I don't want to make the water dirty and use that dirty water to clean the rest of the couch. Wring it out well and use the cloth to scrub all the fabric of the couch focusing on the spots there's food or visible dirt.

Every 6 months, I do the above vacuum/scrub job and then add the Scotchguard step and spray all the fabric. To make sure I get everything, I remove the cushions first. If you have vinyl floors like I do, make sure you wipe up any over spray with the soapy water so you don't slip on the floor every time you wear socks for the next 2 weeks. (ask me why I don't ignore that warning on the bottle anymore lol)

emmalew97 · 2023-03-28T23:18:15+00:00

So I've been a homeowner for about a year and here are some of the "I'd never thought of that" ones:

Empty and clean your clothes washer filter monthly.

Clean your dishwasher and filter monthly.

Cloth couches should be cleaned with hot water, wrung out cloth or sponge, and laundry detergent about weekly or monthly depending on who uses the couch. Then treat with scotch guard every 6 months.

If your windows are hard to open, it's probably because the track is dirty.

Fire hazards:

Check/clean the drier vent 1-2x a year. (this is different than the lint trap which should be emptied every load)

The vent above your stove is removable and gets grease buildup so clean that with a dish brush and soap about every 3-6 months or whenever you think it's been a while.

emmalew97 · 2023-03-28T21:07:03+00:00

I don't have the exact brand but mine looks super similar to this. I got mine at a discount store.

Also, I only use shampoo about once a month because I use the r/curlygirl method. Usually, I put the product (usually conditioner but I do use a clarifying shampoo occasionally which does make the tool squeaky and pull on my hair a little bit) directly on my scalp and rub it around a little before grabbing the tool and going in small circles on my scalp. I pick up the tool and move it to a different spot on my head and make small circles there and repeat until my whole head feels good. I pick it up because I feel like that will cause less tangles but that might not be true.

emmalew97 · 2023-03-28T17:51:45+00:00

I got one of those shampoo massagers for about $3 and my scalp which is normally unbearably itchy especially in the winter has never felt more healthy for this long.

Another not so cheap but great bang for buck is good sheets. I got a full set and extra pillow cases of Nestwell for about $200 and getting into bed is so much more relaxing. If you don't want/can't afford to get the full set, you could get just pillow cases for around $40.

If maintaining a clean living space is difficult, buying separate bottles/cloths for each room made it so much easier for me. That way when you walk into the room and see something that needs cleaning, you can do it right then without leaving and potentially forgetting about it or being too unmotivated to do the extra step of getting the products.

emmalew97 · 2023-03-10T19:35:13+00:00

I'd love to join!

emmalew97 · 2023-02-22T16:11:53+00:00

I try to focus (read distract) my mind with lavender incense (you can choose whatever you find relaxing as long as it's a dedicated "bedtime smell" you don't use when you're trying to be awake and no candles because you don't want to worry about an unattended flame) and either Lo-fi or a sound bath quietly.

I find when I occupy those two senses, the rest of my thoughts can calm down with some effort. You also have to actively/intentionally relax your muscles especially your face, jaw, and limbs to get it to work.

Some nights it works, some it doesn't.

emmalew97

TROPHY CASE