Anniversaries, Money, and the Big Hill in Reverse

Today is the one month anniversary for me and my new job.  We are definitely still in the honeymoon phase, as all is still good with our relationship.  There have been a few hiccups, but when I "get some" (i.e. get paid) and am home more than in my previous work relationship, I know I made the right decision.  Here's to one month, and many more!

One of my friends, let's just call her Mamasita, has been trying to convince me to join this investment club pretty much since I met her.  It's this group of women that get together once a month, put in some money and make decisions on how to invest the money.  The idea was intriguing, as I know nothing about investing, but I kept on telling her no because I was too scared that by giving $20 every month to something that is not tangible, like food or shelter, that I was being irresponsible.  So this month I decided I was going to Do Something and join this group of women and learn about investing in the stock market, and maybe have some fun.  Investing $20 a month is not being irresponsible - I am learning about being more financially responsible and I can pass this knowledge on to The Boy.  Plus with my new work relationship, I have more flexibility with my budget.  Who knows what will happen, but this group of women are smart and strong, and it's not a bad thing to surround myself with those kinds of people.

Today's Run

Today I decided to do the Big Hill in reverse, meaning I started out with a small uphill, the Big Hill going down, some more gradual downhill and uphill, and then a medium-sized hill to end my run.  The route is basically the same, but is a little bit shorter because of the pre-run warm-up route.  Today I ran 3.1 miles in 28:45, for an average pace of 9:23.  I think my run was the only time when my nose wasn't stuffed up or running like a faucet.  Starting to get the consistency in, that's for sure.  And the shoulder is getting better, so YAY!