Sunday, May 10, 2009
Wonder what's been going on?
Friday, March 6, 2009
February Round-Up
2. Weight Goal 1 - I am half way there and hope to reach it by my birthday. Thanks to the not feeling well, I lost a bit of weight this month just out of sheer lack of appetite. I am not sure if I have enough time to shed the rest by the 20th, so this should be a cliff hanger of "Who shot JR?" proportions!
12. Buy wii fit - Complete. This was purchased right before I got sick, so I haven't had a lot of chance to use it, but now that I am feeling better, I think it is time for the Wii Olympics this weekend!
14 Find new doctor and go for a check up: After much research, I finally found a candidate. She is both a Naturopath AND an MD AND she is covered under my insurance. Now comes the hard part - actually getting myself to go. I really do hate going to the doctor and would be happy to never go.
34 January blogstravaganza - I actually did not end up finishing and am not really feeling it as a goal. I think perhaps I need to revamp this one. I'll have to think about it.
68 Apply for a credit card Finances - COMPLETE. This has been a tough one for me. For the past 3-4 years, I have lived completely without credit cards, having cancelled them all, so I wouldn't be tempted to used them as I paid off my bills. As it turned out, it really was a good way to live and cut down on frivolous spending. The thing is that my job has changed to where I travel more and it was becoming hardship to pay cash every time then have to wait a few weeks to be reimbursed, so I've rejoined the ranks of the credit card holding public. I guess it's good to have for emergencies, but I really liked the unfettered feeling of not having one.
74 Try a new recipe each month - February: Tacos from that month's edition of Everyday Food, which is an awesome cooking mag. My friend Becky got me a subscription for Christmas, which really was a great idea!
75 Try a new restaurant each month - February: 1. It's not really a restaurant, but more of a fast food place, but I did have lunch at this Cajun stand in Clackamas Town Center and I've only ever eaten at the one at Lloyd Center before; 2. Champ's in Troy, MI; 3. PF Chang's in Troy (I've eaten at a PF Chang's before, but never in Michigan! AND it was 10+ years ago in California AND I did try a menu item I'd never had before, so it's almost like a new restaurant)
79 Join Amnesty International Soul/happiness - COMPLETED back in January.
81 Do something nice for someone once a week Soul/happiness Jan: cplt. Feb: Bought lunch for Mary because she was depressed; Took Antonio for a "fun day" (rides, a toy from the Disney store & lunch in the Food Court); Let a coworker use my cellphone to call Canada numerous times while we were in Michigan, because she was worried about her daughter; and, most importantly, forgave someone who hurt me very, very badly. This actually turned out to be something nice for ME as it has opened the door to us becoming closer again and I've really missed him.
109 Clean out old and buy new, GOOD make-up Bought the new makup, need to clean out the old.
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And, finally, a note on 100-105: I think I'm going to dump these, because they are not really about MY goals. They were largely about helping someone else with his. I will still help him, but if I'm going to be self-indulgent and have a list about acheiving my own goals they really need to be about my own acheivement and betterment.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
And now it is February
Sunday, January 25, 2009
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
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