January Round Up

I may have been silent for the past month, but I've still been busy!

10 Buy and TAKE a daily vitamin Health

Purchased a bottle of Vitanica's Women's Symmetry multi-vitamin, which I started taking a few years ago when I was having some health problems. I like it, because it was developed by an naturopathic doctor, contains no animal products and offers various dosage options, depending upon your health needs. While I was browsing the vitamin section at Whole Foods the other day, the clerk just happened to walk by as I picked up the bottle to read the label. Completely unsolicited, he stopped to tell me that was a "really good choice", so I decided to take it as a sign and bought it. Tomorrow, I will crack the seal and start taking it. That's always the challenging part for me, because I'm not really used to taking pills on any kind of regular basis.

17 Kick diet coke/caffeine Health

As of today, it's been at least a month since I have had any diet soda or caffeine. I am now to the point where I know that artificial sweetener would taste like chemicals to me. My next move will be to try to kick sugar (especially that of the high fructose corn syrup variety), which I just realized is not on my list of goals). Ultimately, the idea is to transition to completely to water and iced peppermint tea in place of soda, which I do still drink occasionally.

22 Buy a calendar for the sticker plan Health (completed Jan 09)

Lucky for me, I have such a nice neighbor at work that I don't have to buy a calendar at all. As in past years, she got me a castle calendar. Somewhere along the line, she decided that castles were my thing, which amuses me. While I like castles as much as the next person, I don't have any particular devotion to them. That said, the photography really is lovely and the calendar will work perfectly for posting exercise reward stickers. Yes, I know it's total second-grade-gold-star, but it really does work. When I see gaps without stickers, I feel shamed into filling them by moving my body! (The shame factor of everyone in my office knowing what the stickers are for and that anyone can see if I'm getting lazy doesn't hurt either!)

74 Try a new recipe each month Soul/happiness

Jan: Glazed Ribs with two Cabbage Slaw (from the 1/26/09 Women's World)

75 Try a new restaurant each month Soul/happiness

Jan: Thai Delight in Wilsonville

79 Join Amnesty International Soul/happiness

Joined in response to the articles and pictures that were coming out of Gaza during the Israeli seige. This happened right around the transition between the old and new goal scheme, so it is possible that this one was already counted on the old list. Amnesty is such a worthy cause and does such good work, however, that I'm happy to count it twice.

81 Do something nice for someone once a week Soul/happiness

Because it's going to be difficult to keep track of this one, my goal is to list at least four things a month that I did for someone other than myself.

January:
1 - Instead of buying the expensive, new Macbook I wanted, I bought a cheaper Gateway notebook, so I could also afford a desktop for my mom
2 - Took my mom out for Thai food
3 - Cheered Mary up after we learned about our pay cut on Friday
4 - Helped J. with his phone bill and groceries

92 Buy a new laptop Misc. tasks (completed 1/24/09)

After much debating about whether I could still afford the reward I'd planned for paying off all my bills (go debt free me!) in this economy, I decided that a promise (even when made to oneself) is a promise and ordered a lovely, red Gateway MD for myself. At less than half of what I'd planned to pay for the Mac I was going to buy (sorry Apple, maybe next time...), I think it was a really good and fiscally responsible compromise.

93 Buy a new desktop Misc. tasks (completed 1/24/09)

Like my laptop, our desktop computer was getting really old and slow. My 70 year old mother really uses it much more than I do, but it is still something I have been wanting to replace. Originally, the plan was to buy my laptop, then what until later in the year for the desktop, but with the money I saved by buying a less expensive model, I was able to afford both. Not only that, but I got a sweet, bundled deal that included a monitor and printer. So, I managed to purchase two computers plus a printer for less than I had originally been prepared to pay for just the laptop.

And in case it sounded like these are completely frivolous purchases, in addition to replacing two computers with a combined age of 13 years(!), I actually do need something more reliable to work on both for my day job and my moonlighting as writer and potential co-proprietor of a small press. What will be frivolous will be if I blow the rest of my Mac budget on a wii (which I am strongly considering because it will bring me that much closer to my wii fit goal)!

So, that's it for this month's official round up, but I'll be checking in on Anne and adding more progress reports of my own soon!

A New Start for 2009

January has been a tough month out West, which has not been greatly inspiring of blog posts. 2009 started out hopeful and good, but pay cuts, sick cats and general mild depression induced malaise have not been conducive to diligent posting. Even my January post-a-day project (which I've usually done with enthusiasm, but this year feels choretastic) on my other blog has been limping along. All of this makes it seem like a good time for some change.

While Anne has been cooking away on her goals (go Anne!), I have been reformulating (and working on) mine without actually posting anything about it. The challenge I encountered with this project last year was that some of my goals were either too big or too general. This year, I've tried to break them down into categories and then manageable chunks within those categories that will hopefully drive me closer to my bigger goals, which at this point are: 1) lose weight, be healthy and feel good about myself, 2) develop creativity and take ownership of it, 3) enjoy and find purpose in life, 4) cultivate those qualities that make me the kind of person I would want to have as a friend.

So, I have been doing a lot of thinking and categorizing and here is my new list. In some cases (light weight loss, which I have broken into small, manageable pieces), I have a specific goal and timeline in mind, but have left it general, because it makes me more comfortable. As with all things in life, these are subject to change. They are, however, at least a good place to start.

# Goal Category
1 Do a cleanse Health
2 Weight Goal 1 Health
3 Weight Goal 2 Health
4 Weight Goal 3 Health
5 Weight Goal 4 Health
6 Weight Goal 5 Health
7 Set up an exercise schedule Health
8 Create an eating plan/menu Health
9 Research which vitamins I need Health
10 Buy and TAKE a daily vitamin Health
11 Lower blood pressure to a healthy average Health
12 Buy wii fit Health
13 Cancel LA Fitness Health/Finances
14 Find new doctor and go for a check up Health
15 Go to the eye doctor Health
16 See the lady doctor Health
17 Kick diet coke/caffeine Health (as of Jan 25 09 it's been about a month, completed)
18 Work up to exercising 5x a week - Feb 3x Health
19 Work up to exercising 5x a week - Mar 4x Health
20 Work up to exercising 5x a week - Apr 5x Health
21 Incorporate my health goals into my blog Health
22 Buy a calendar for the sticker plan Health (completed Jan 09)
23 Take friends on their tennis/work out offers Health
24 Go for a hike Health
25 Go for a neighborhood walk Health
26 Go for a walk downtown Health
27 Take mom for a walk on Eastbank Esplanade Health
28 Buy a new NW hiking book Health
29 Look into organic grocery delivery vs.
foodshare vs. farmer's market Health
30 Run the whole way around the track Health
31 Plant a vegetable/herb garden Health
32 Buy a timer (for writing) Creativity
33 Create a writing schedule Creativity
34 January blogstravaganza Creativity
35 Take a photo jaunt every other weekend Creativity
36 Create a plan for my blog Creativity
37 Make something with my own hands once
a month (ideas: dress, collage, quilt, etc.) Creativity
38 Write a ghost story Creativity
39 Write a poem Creativity
40 Write a short story Creativity
41 Write an essay Creativity
42 Take a weekly artist's date Creativity
43 Write a monthly book review Creativity
44 Take a creative/beach weekend Creativity
45 Create a writing space Creativity
46 Create a notebook for existing writing Creativity
47 Create a character/plot collage
for mystery novel Creativity
48 Reread Charlotte Stieglitz' journals Creativity
49 Buy a train case for makeup Home
50 Organize hair stuff (clips, bands, etc.) Home
51 Paint bedroom Home
52 Pull up carpet in bedroom Home
53 Make curtains for bedroom Home
54 Organize/get rid of books Home
55 Organize/get rid of cds Home
56 Organize/get rid of clothes Home
57 Organize/get rid of shoes Home
58 Organize/get rid of stuff in garage Home
59 Organize/get rid of stuff in spare room Home
60 Have a good picture of everyone who is
important to me and display it somewhere Home
61 Organize Recipes Home
62 Paint front porch Home
63 Paint deck Home
64 Paint dresser Home
65 Pay off my car Finances
66 Create a budget Finances
67 Set up direct debit for savings Finances
68 Apply for a credit card Finances
69 Suspend 401k until company matching
resumes and reevaluate my investments Finances
70 Plan a picnic at the beach Soul/happiness
71 Plan and take a trip Soul/happiness
72 Learn about wine Soul/happiness
73 Make preserves Soul/happiness
74 Try a new recipe each month Soul/happiness
75 Try a new restaurant each month Soul/happiness
76 Take 3 trips to the beach this summer Soul/happiness
77 Plan/take a retreat Soul/happiness
78 Take a meditation trip to the Japanese gardens Soul/happiness
79 Join Amnesty International Soul/happiness
80 Join The Humane Society (or some other
animal organization) Soul/happiness
81 Do something nice for someone once a week Soul/happiness Jan: cplt
82 Do something with a friend once a week Soul/happiness
83 Attend an event (theater, concert, lecture,
museum) once a month Soul/happiness
84 Have a historical (ren/medieval?) dinner party Soul/happiness
85 Have a summer bbq Soul/happiness
86 Go to the Oregon Country Fair Soul/happiness
87 Get the schedule for movies in the park Soul/happiness
88 Spend a weekend at Timberline Lodge Soul/happiness
89 Take a research trip to Astoria Soul/happiness
90 Take risks and do new things regularly Soul/happiness
91 Renew my passport Misc. tasks
92 Buy a new laptop Misc. tasks (completed 1/24/09)
93 Buy a new desktop Misc. tasks (completed 1/24/09)
94 Go to a neighborhood association meeting Misc. tasks
95 Buy a new BBQ Misc. tasks
96 Buy a new freezer Misc. tasks
97 Lily spay Misc. tasks
98 Cleo spay Misc. tasks
99 Isis spay Misc. tasks
100 Learn about publishing and marketing MOTAS
101 Translate MOTAS into German MOTAS
102 Create brochure MOTAS
103 Create a reader guide for MOTAS MOTAS
104 Write Contract MOTAS
105 Meet with the boys to discuss the business plan MOTAS
106 Get a facial Rewards/feel good stuff
107 Get a massage Rewards/feel good stuff
108 Buy a good moisturizer Rewards/feel good stuff
109 Clean out old and buy new, GOOD make-up Rewards/feel good stuff
110 Buy new boots Rewards/feel good stuff

complete

What- More re-evaluation?

Yes, it is time to add another round of goal re-evaluation.

First, a quick note on the New Year's Resolutions. I was able to eliminate a box from the closet. I found tax forms from 2002 that had not been filed away from to two moves ago (I did file my taxes that year, though). I also found a lot of other things to shred and eliminate. Some of it was put into another box or put into my desk drawers, but I definitely began to make a dent in my have-less-stuff goal.

Going out more? No- not really since the snow has put a damper on things- I honestly tried one day this weekend. I have been paying attention to what's around town more though.

Now to the big list.

To recap:

1. afghan for afghans for Afghans.

2. Consolidate retirement plans from previous jobs.

3. TBD

4. Confirm accuracy of addresses.

5. Get in direct contact with everyone who sent me a Christmas card this year.

7. TBD

9. Watch all my Looney Tunes DVDs.

10. Lose at least 20 pounds 

11. TBD

13. Go to the gym at least three times/week for one month.

14. Finish at least 5 books I already had sitting on my shelves.

15. Visit Mom. 

New or re-affirmed goals

16. Visit Tim's family. 

This goal will need to change. I did spend last year writing letters to his mom saying that we should visit, but this goal depends on another person, i.e. Tim. That complicates my ability to do something. I don't think I should have goals for others in my list, so this will be TBD.

18. Visit family graves.

This one stays. It is something I haven't done in a couple of years and it is good to remember everyone.

22. Get amber ring fixed. 

This stays and I'm making this a higher priority. I now have more than one to fix and none of it is very complicated, so I just need to go to the jeweler. About time.

23. Finish a Wii Game.

This one might be done. I set the completion level low for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. I bought this game for a non-Aerosmith song and decided once I beat it on Expert, that I could then buy the song to listen to and sell the game. That is done. Somehow, this doesn't seem a fair story for finishing a wii game, so I'll keep this up a bit longer- but in my heart, I know I am already a winner.

24. Finish Pikmin 2.

This one stays. I'm at least half done (I think). It is just a matter of having a pajama day dedicated to Pikmin instead of reading, crafty things or Lost.

27. Try a new recipe every month.

I did this for the past year. This was meant to be motivational to get me cooking at home again. It has worked at that basic level- I just need to cook more often at home now- both for financial savings and to control the quality and content of what I eat better. So, I may call this one done before the full time is up (the next few months perhaps) and redefine one of the TBDs to be a step further on this goal. I'll need to think that through.

So that is another 6. I have freed up 4 goals (now TBD) which I think should definitely be used for refinement or progress on the other goals. Thinking about what these goals were really supposed to accomplish beyond just something to do is a really good exercise since I didn't really think that deeply when I started. For example, the video game goals had more to do with using what I had instead of buying more stuff. This goes for the craft goals, too- although these may seem kind of trivial, the completion of these actually has a deeper goal at the base- thriftiness. I think if I were to draw up another 100 goals next year when these are done, I would organize them more by theme or broad goal broken down a little. I wouldn't want it to be too linear in nature (goal 4 can only be done when goal 3 is done, for example) because that would potentially frustrate me. In general, I think the goals and resolutions have been trying to make me more mindful of what I have and how I spend my time. I didn't realize that either until the re-evaluation stage happened. I'm glad Martina talked about re-evaluating since I might have missed this otherwise.

More Re-evaluation for 2009

I went to the gym this morning ready to try out my new schedule. This new schedule involves me taking a shower at the gym so as to save some time in the morning by not coming back home. All morning prior to going I had one of those morning where everything kept dropping, knocking stuff over, or was somehow clumsy in my hands. By the time I got to the gym, happy not to have been a clumsy driver at least, and was happily pedaling away on the bike, I realized I forgot to bring a shirt to wear to work. Oh well. I still took the shower there and then drove home to put on a shirt. It wasn't the best, most organized morning, but I did go to the gym. 

And now I just pulled a box out of my closet, which will begin to satisfy the cleaning out the closet goal and may enable me to find the jaw harp I am looking for... you know, the one in the Snoopy box. Even without digging, I can tell this box is not going to be easy, which may be why it has been in the closet.

So on to re-evaluation:

To recap:

1. afghan for afghans for Afghans.

2. Consolidate retirement plans from previous jobs.

3. TBD

4. Confirm accuracy of addresses.

5. Get in direct contact with everyone who sent me a Christmas card this year.

7. TBD

And now:

9. Watch all my Looney Tunes DVDs.

I'm going to keep this one although I feel slightly conflicted. I love to watch these, but to require it may make it less enjoyable. I think I may need to just do an early morning hot chocolate kind of thing. I used to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings every week. Even Tim watched them with me once or twice. I've fallen out of that habit though, but maybe I can pick it up with these DVDs.

10. Lose at least 20 pounds 

This one stays. Now that I am going to the gym and to the nutritionist, I am motivated. Whether my metabolism will follow is another issue. I'm looking forward to the next 6 months to see what progress I make. 

11. Get green stripe belt.

Well, as I've written before, this one will need to change. I want to keep myself from being distracted too much by too many activities, so I just want to stick with the gym and the nutritionist for now. Finding another class like this to go to would be fun, but I'm going to put it off for the time being. This one is TBD.

13. Go to TKD class three times/week for one month.

With 11, this one needs to change. I think this one is an easier one to change to what I am currently doing, so I will change this to 

13. Go to the gym at least three times/week for one month. (I'm keeping track of what I do in a little book, so I'll really know if I do this)

14. Finish at least 5 books I already had sitting on my shelves.

This one definitely stays. I'm 2/5 of the way done and I started two more (one I take to the gym). Unfortunately for this goal, I got a membership to audible.com and I am starting to think that reading is for suckers. I'm sure this is just a passing fad for me.

15. Visit Mom for a week.

This one probably needs an alteration to just be 

15. Visit Mom. 

I talk to her and I've even seen her- she made a visit to see me for the first time in years- but the 6-7 hour drive is just not that enticing. I plan on doing it and doing it for a week would probably make the drive doubly worth it, but in the end, the important part is to visit her on her turf, so I'm simplifying this one to get to the heart of it a little more. 

So, that is the next 6. I'll continue to review and evaluate in the next days.

Welcome to 2009

So here I am in 2009. Rather than do a full re-evaluation of goals, I'm going to do a mini one and comment on the first six of the remaining ones to do. I'll try and work my way down the rest.

Before beginning that, the New Year's Resolutions, no matter how vague they are, are in force. I've been going to the gym or doing Wii Fit everyday this week. I've been using those Dr. Hauschka products I bought (and now trying to figure out how I can continue to afford them). I've spent some time making things to donate to charity (unless a friend asks for one and then I'll just make something else). I've been a bit more thoughtful and reflective lately and I think that is a good thing, as long as I don't just spend all my time by myself in pajamas thinking. Eventually that just turns into crazy (although a very comfortable, pajama-wearing crazy).

So on to re-evaluation:

1. afghan for afghans for Afghans. 

This one stays. I've started to work on it regularly. Schedulewise I figured out in order to complete it in a year, I need to make 2 blocks per month, which is really easy to do. They move pretty quickly. I'm on target right now, but would like to actually finish it in less than a year. This was my number one goal because this was something that I really wanted to do for a while.

2. Consolidate retirement plans from previous jobs. 

This one stays, but was more from a general "get yourself financially organized" motivation than anything else. I've put other financial things before this goal, but it all leads to simplifying and organizing my finances in general. I'm starting to get too old to let decisions about my retirement investments made in my mid-twenties sit much longer. If only I had been a trust fund baby, I wouldn't have this issue. Alas, my parents were far too blue collar to set one up for me. In short, although I haven't fully realized this (I did consolidate one into another, but that isn't all of it), I think each step I am making to clearing up my financial life is a step toward this goal. I'll know the larger project is done once I've finally gotten to the point of doing this.

3. Research before and one year after performance of retirement funds.

I think this one has to go. It is really tied into number 2 and the longer it takes me to organize my life in general, the less likely I am to meet this within the set time for these particular goals. In addition, I have the feeling if I were to research recent performance, I might be crying myself to sleep. So, I am going to free this one up. I don't know what to replace it with yet, but it will be replaced.

4. Confirm accuracy of addresses.

This one stays. I am getting ever closer to achieving this goal.

5. Call everyone who sent me a Christmas card.

This one stays. I got 12 Christmas cards this year, which is a little lighter than previous years. One of them is from overseas and I don't have a phone number, so I'll probably count e-mail or snail mail for that one. OK, so I'm altering- the new one is 

5. Get in direct contact with everyone who sent me a Christmas card this year.

7. Buy a good pair of winter boots.

I think this one will go. Winter is here and we've already had what feels like 100 feet of snow. I was wearing boots not really meant for winter- knee high with a decent heel, although a chunky one. How I forgot about my Doc Marten's I don't know, but I finally remembered I have them and pulled them out for the most recent snow storm. Excellent. Although not specifically meant for snow, they turned out to be fabulous. I may need to get some new boots next year, since I can see the heel is a little worn down, but these are great. I bought these when I was in college (is it 15 years ago already?) on my way home from my very first trip overseas, which was also my very first trip on an airplane period. I had a stopover in London and got them there. They are a little big on me, but with winter socks, they are absolutely perfect. I wore them once on a hike when I was in California and told the guy I was with that I was a bit of a hiking wimp. We got to the top of a not very high, but pretty steep and dusty hill and I made the comment that I was tired (bored might have played a factor, too). He turned to me and said, "Wow, you are a wimp." I associate that moment with these boots and the vision of them, previously fairly pristine now covered in fine reddish-brown dust. While in college, I was told by an old roommate that you need to christen Doc Marten's by vomiting on them, having sex in them, and some other activity I honestly don't remember. By the fact that I don't even remember the third thing, you can guess I never took this recommendation seriously, especially considering they were suede and prior to the hike, the idea of getting them wet, let alone vomiting on them was pretty bad. In short, there are a decent amount of memories tied to these shoes as well, which makes them kind of interesting to wear again. It seems in all the times I moved, I kept forgetting I had them, so they have honestly lasted in decent condition for this long. I think it is finally time to wear them out.

So that wraps up the first re-evaluation. Tim made a comment to me that he's said before about a million times that I spread myself too thin. I do have a lot of interests and want to do a lot of things, so it is hard to narrow stuff down. In addition, I've always been a bit more experience focused than goal focused, so although it is gratifying to cross things off of a list, I really haven't made that many lists in my life except for short term to do lists. So as part of my not yet crazy pajama thinking days, I've really started to think about how to focus myself more and cut down on what I expect myself to do. Like sewing. I have this quilting book that I don't think I'll ever use. It was a good idea when I got it a few years ago, but I have my doubts that I'll actually do it. Honestly, just writing that, there was a voice in my head saying: No, you can do it and it would be cool. I guess it is that voice I have to learn to listen to selectively. I think with each goal that I free up, I will use it to create goals that are more focused and less far-reaching. That doesn't mean I can't try new things or look for new experiences, but I think it means that I will be able prioritize certain things over others. That would be good.