saving electricity
Transitions have always been difficult for me. My sisters even tease me that I hate change so much I didn’t want to be born (our mother was in induced labor with me for 3 days. The doctors finally figured out I was stuck and had to do an emergency C-section.). Tuesday March 3, 2009 will be a memorable Tuesday for me because recent life changes caught up with me.
On February 21st (which is also my birthday) I moved into a new apartment in Nashville. I moved because I was living in Columbia and working in Nashville, which made for an hour or more drive to work. This move was good because it significantly reduced my driving time and moved me closer to good friends from college, but I was also sad I was moving away from a church and friends I love.
This transition caught up with me on Memorable Tuesday #9 in various ways. First, I finally got the cold I have been trying not to get since the move. This is probably related to the stress and lack of sleep related to moving.
Moving
Second, I got my first electricity bill from Nashville Electric Service. The bill was only for a week of service, so I expected it to not be very expensive at all. To my great surprise, the bill was for almost $150! Needless to say, I was pretty upset about the whole thing. I couldn’t help but think that if it was going to cost that much to live in Nashville I should just move back to Columbia! My fiancé, Adam, and I went into electricity saving mode and ate dinner without lights on and went and bought light bulbs from Lowe’s that use less wattage. Once I got home I replaced every light bulb I could get my hands on with the new less wattage bulbs. Fortunately, the whole electric bill was a mistake. Adam, being the wonderful fiancé and person he is, called NES the next day to ask them about the bill (I usually ask him to take care of these things because he’s much better at being assertive than I am).
They had made a mistake and accidentally sent us the bill of the lady who previously lived in the apartment. So the much less expensive electricity bill should be arriving in the mail later this week!
The third and final way the transition of moving caught up with me on Tuesday is that I had a pity party for myself. This was most definitely related to the fact that I was sick and had stayed up too late the night before reading the seventh Harry Potter book (which I’ve read before so it was silly of me to stay up late reading it). In the past six months I have gotten very used to having a roommate. I’ve been used to someone being there when I want company and someone to talk to. Now that I don’t have that I realize how much I have taken that for granted. So warning to my friends that live near me…I might be randomly showing up at your doorstep like a homeless orphan looking for company!
Like I said, transitions aren’t easy for me, but I have faith that this will all be for the best in the end!
Hello :) I am Anna and new to the site. Right now I live in Nashville (new to the area), and I'm a stay at home mom to my baby who is 7 months old. I recently got married (New Years Eve), and just trying to get involved and meet new people!
Even though we're halfway through February (wow time flies!) I'll post what my New Years Resolutions were... though I've already failed miserably at a couple.
Number One-Blog/Journal at least once a week. I want to write here at least once a week. I think I'll start something private too because writing has always been therapeutic for me, but I have yet to begin.
UPDATE: I'm doing it (and actually writing two now)! Success :). I am new to the blogging world and just loving it. For anyone who is curious, my blogs can be found at 
Number Three-Exercise at least 3 times a week. I got a Wii Fit for Christmas (YAY!) and I'm hoping to use it for at least 1/2 hour three times a week. I really need to work off this baby fat, and sitting around, doing nothing isn't helping.
UPDATE: Of course, I failed! I actually did really well, but couldn't stand being weighed every day. Then I got sick, and quit for a week, and never started again. With the nice weather last weekend, I walked for a couple of days with the baby, but that trail hasn't seen me since!
Number Four-PORTION SIZES! Phil and I eat pretty well, but we eat WAY WAY WAY to much! So, I've started cooking for two, or if I do cook more (for leftovers), I make sure we have leftovers. We kind of started this one before the New Year too, but not seriously. I mean we had a wedding and all with a buffet I wanted to enjoy! I've been doing a little reading on the subject and definitely need to do more. I think I'm going to invest in a couple healthy eating cookbooks.
UPDATE: We've been doing really well! I just dish out our food so that you get what you get! I haven't done any reading yet... I think I'll add it to the list for my next library trip.
I've also added one more resolution... I guess you could call it that. We're going to be DEBT FREE! We have started Dave Ramsey's program, took his class (FPU) in the fall, and are working on our debt snowball! I am blogging about the experience at 
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Yes, NES sucks!!! I had a friend who was getting billed for someone elses apartment… then they threatened to cut off her electricity when she didn’t pay her bill, but she thought she was paying hers. Oh and we a bill at $200 this winter… granted we’re in an all electric apartment, still… I’m definitely on and have been on energy saving mode! Good luck!