A Few Thoughts

Life is going great. I only have a few more assignments for school, I've made a lot more money this month than expected and summer is right around the corner. There are a few things that I want to get off my mind.

First, I need to set up a morning routine. Right now, I go to bed around midnight but I don't wake up in the morning until 10:30 or 11 and that's only because my alarm is set for 10 (I hit the snooze a few times). I don't like wasting half my day sleeping. In the afternoon, I do title selecting from noon until 5. After supper, I do school work and, if I have time, work on my niche site. I really need to start working out. I don't get any exercise at all. This is why I would like to set up a morning routine. This is what I was thinking:

8-9 a.m. Wake up, get into workout clothes, eat a light breakfast
9-10 a.m. Workout and eat a light snack
10 a.m.-12 a.m. - Relax in hot tub, shower, get dressed, put on makeup (something I don't do now but feel better when I do), clean up bathroom, make and eat lunch

I feel that this routine would work the best. Mornings would be taking care of myself, afternoons would be working and nights would be relaxing. It provides a good balance of work and life. The hardest part will be implementing this plan. Lately, I've had to drag myself out of bed in the mornings. I'm going to try to go to bed early tonight and see if I can get myself out of bed by 9 the next morning.

The second thing I want to get off my mind is about money. I got a larger than expected tax refund because I'm a student. There are a lot of things I could do with this refund and I'm not sure what. I'm also making more money in title selecting than I was expecting so all my bills are caught up. In fact, I'm going to pay off my credit card at the end of the month. Here are the options for my tax refund:

• Pay extra on my car loan - this seems like the most logical choice but it's boring. I already have a plan to pay off my car by August anyways so it would only help me pay it off a week or two early.
• Buy 3 Nook Colors - I could give one to my mom for mother's day, one to my dad for father's day and I have been wanting one for myself. I would love to be able to take a Nook on the cruise and it would be nice to have some reading material for the 14 hour drive to Bonnaroo and the 26 hour drive to Florida. A Nook Color is $250. I might be able to get one for 1/2 off through Demand Media but I've been having trouble logging into their deal site. I emailed someone about it but I don't know if they will get back to me.
• Buy a HP Mini 210 netbook - Back in December, I found this really neat netbook. I love the features and it would be a lot easier to lug around a netbook on the cruise than a heavy laptop (I'll have college classes I need to check into while on the cruise). I've been trying to work outside when it's nice but my laptop is clumsy and the battery is pretty much dead. It won't recharge past 20%. A netbook would make it a lot easier to work outside. The HP Mini 210 sells for $324 with free shipping.
• Concert tickets - There's a concert my mom wants to go to in August. I was thinking of getting her tickets to the concert for her birthday or mother's day. Tickets for the three of us would be $100.
• NASCAR Nationwide Tickets - The NASCAR Nationwide race in Iowa is the same weekend in August that my dad has off from work. I was thinking of getting him tickets for Father's day. The concert my mom wants to go to is on the same day so it's either tickets to this or tickets to the concert. Not sure how much these tickets are but I think they would be $200.

I can't decide what to do. I want both a netbook and a Nook. If I get a Nook, I want to get one for my parents too because they've been wanting one as well. If I could get a great deal on the Nooks, then I might be able to afford a netbook as well. I'm going to do some more research and see if I can find some B&N coupons and discounts. Also, I should mention that I have decided to put the HP Touchsmart on hold. My laptop is holding up great right now so I'm going to focus on paying down my debt before I get a new desktop as I don't really have a need for a desktop right now.

I also need to use some of my refund for my brother and SIL's baby shower gift. I was thinking a subscription to Parenting magazine. They already have EVERYTHING for the baby. SIL's sister gave them a gift basket full of baby medicine, thermometers, baby powder, shampoos and conditioners. My mom gave them baby safe laundry detergent and dish soap. SIL's mom got them a crib and bedding, as well as a huge stack of baby books, toys and a ton of diapers and baby wipes. SIL's dad got them a car seat, a playpen, a dresser, a changing table and a rocking chair. They also have three huge boxes full of baby clothes of all different sizes that people have given them. I think my mom has given them at least 15 different outfits. The baby show isn't until next month so I'm sure they will get even more stuff by then. The only thing I can think of giving them is a subscription to Parenting magazine and they might already have that (I hope not).

Sorry this was so long but I had to get that stuff off of my mind. I can't concentrate on work when I have those thoughts flowing through my head. I keep getting distracted by reading reviews of the Nook and HP Mini 210. I need to make up my mind about what to buy so I can stop worrying about it. It's a lot of money to spend and I'm afraid of spending it on something I don't really need. I do think I would get a lot of use out of a Nook and a netbook. I'm sure my parents would think otherwise. I'll post what I decided sometime next week.