the push to purge!

Just a few days left in the year and before a new one begins! While I will make a
list of goals for my professional life, I've already made my goals for myself. I got wise and broke them into 3 main goals with 3-5 mini goals to help me achieve the larger task instead of just making a "bucket list" of resolutions. For me, 2015 brings the year of the purge! Purge the debt, purge the excess, purge the flab, and purge the inactivity. Let's do this!

2015
Get FISCALLY fit!
 - Debt free in 2015! (credit card debt)
     - Debt Snowball Goal #1 (+/- $500.00)
       *Balance will be paid by end of February
     - Debt Snowball Goal #2 (+/- $2500.00)
       *Got an unexpected boost; balance will be $0.00 by end of August
 - Open a savings account 
     - $300.00 minimum
     - Mainly from rolled currency
       *Got a little help from Christmas - almost 1/2 way there already!
 - Pay car insurance in full/timely manner at each renewal period
     - January
       *Paid minimum; balance will be paid by end of February
     - July
       *Hope to pay in full when due

Get PHYSICALLY fit!
 - Limit/eliminate soda consumption
     - Begin with quarterly 30-day challenges
       *January, April, July, October
 - Monthly exercise challenges
 - Invest in equipment (birthday wish requests?!)
 - Quit

Get EMOTIONALLY fit!
 - Return book & magazine to L.S.
 - End of season, donate at least 25% of wardrobe
 - Donate at least $100.00 to a/some non-profit(s)
 - Hoard sick & vacation hours; accumulate comp time
 - Gossip less (I've been caught up way too much in other people's business socially and at the office)
      - Gossip less may lead to less stress?!
 - Get adequate sleep
      - Watch the 6:00 news instead of the 11:00 news
      - Start preparing for sleep at 10:00
      - Weekdays: be in bed by 11:00; Weekends: something similar

       

another door closes

it's officially the end of another love journey. the boy and i broke up in july...i actually did it the night before i took him to the airport for his trip home. shame. he cried. he's always been the crier of the pair of us. more emotional. i like to try to keep my emotions closer to the cuff, heart of stone so to speak. we were together for over two years. we had talked about getting engaged and what marriage could be like; whether children would fill our life or just dogs (just dogs!). but somewhere along that path, i started to feel like something was missing, that i wasn't my whole self, that something was missing. so we broke up. it lasted a week. i didn't want anyone else scooping him up while i was trying to figure it all out. two months later, i called it quits. immediately, i felt free. like a million pounds were off my shoulders. don't get me wrong, i still loved him. i still cared but i needed a break. so we were "dating" - free to see other people but free to see each other if we wanted to. i basked in my new-found "freedom". i left the house, i met new people. it has been fun.

he moved to michigan on halloween. gone a little more than a month, he came to visit and it was so awkward. it felt almost like we were strangers. lots of silence. lots of pretending we were having fun. some talking about our past, present and whether a future exists. but, something he told me really struck a chord. yesterday i said - i'm pretty much done. there are a lot of things i will take, i will endure. and i know that we both have been single and able to mingle and i fully expected him to meet someone up there -- but not so fast. and not be doing whatever it is they've been doing. to come down and try to smooch on me while he's been smooching on someone else (before i knew about it) is not cool, no matter how single a person is. to tell me he wants to be with me, that i'm his "one", that he wants to marry me but participate in whatever is going on (could be a relationship developing or maybe it's just a good time). i deserve better than that. i put in over two years with him and our relationship. some of it i suffered through, with a smile.

i'm over it. wolf in sheep's clothing - that's what a man is. and, honey, i don't have time for that!

wonder what the new year will bring.....

umm...goodbye 2014?!

someone please tell me where this year has gone! i can't believe it is already december, almost christmas and almost the end of the year. december will be busy between work, getting ready for christmas and everything else life decides to throw my way, so here are my goals/things which must be done for the final month of 2014!

christmas-related...
~ decorate my apartment for christmas 11/28-12/13
~ tob pictures with santa, friday 12/5
~ tob senior christmas social, thursday 12/11
~ finish and ship paintings/gifts 
~ finish baby gifts/paintings by sunday 12/21
~ finish all shopping by saturday 12/20
~ christmas party saturday 12/20 (tinsel & bow skirt, anyone?!)
~ gift wrapping party of 1 on sunday 12/21
~ office closed, wednesday 12/24-friday 12/26
~ christmas break: wednesday 12/24-sunday 12/28
~ off at 3pm on nye, wednesday 12/31 (& off on friday 1/2!)

other...
~ neal's here to visit, friday 12/5-sunday 12/7
~ hair appointment, saturday 12/20
~ kitchen clean/reorg overhaul (MUST!)
~ take all remaining donations to drm/goodwill/church by saturday 12/27
~ finish "nesting" from the rearrangement: hang art, work nook, coat closet, etc.
~ football. football. more football.


and take some time to RELAX! and remember the reason for the season - the birth of our Savior! 

november 2014

besides the fact that it is in fact october 31st, also known as halloween - can i ask where october went?! tomorrow is november 1st which means we're less than 55 days until christmas and less than 65 days until january 1st. crazy! i've already started thinking about my goals for the new year (mostly financial, of course). but here are my goals for november

* make my bed daily
* finish trimming carpet
* homestead: bathroom reno, bedroom reorg, office reorg/move to bedroom
* start/finish paintings for family & friends (christmas gifts)
* rearrange living room (mostly because i like the tv on the long wall, but also to make space for my christmas tree)* kitchen overhaul/reorg: empty every cabinet/drawer, clean everything, then reorganize cabinets/drawers
* work nook reorg
* clear out my "hoarder" stash of cardboard boxes (only keep what i need to ship/wrap paintings)
* limit my phone time/data usage//read more
* adhere more strictly to my budget (only purchase "extras" that are christmas gifts/supplies)
* have ECU sweep their AAC opponents (Temple, Cincy and Tulane) - at least they beat Tulane?!

It's Friday!!

It's Friday.
It's Pay Day.
I got my first longevity check this week.
I just paid off my small debt in full, on time.
I will continue to get better, get more sleep and heal from my recent ailments.
No matter what the outcome of the news from my doctor is, I will not treat this day like I did the last pay day. I am fortunate to have life and will live it to its fullest, no matter what. But...I still pray for a good report.
I will work on the apartment - continuing with my "to do" list without over-extending myself.
I will root for the Pirates tomorrow as they take on conference foe #2 usf. Did you hear about their homecoming committee making the t-shirts purple for homecoming (this weekend)? The Pirates are purple & gold. FAIL.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and a great weekend!

october 1-31

make my bed daily
finish trimming carpet
for balcony: plant mums/pansies
take donations to drm/goodwill
pay off my small debt
home
- work on bathroom redo
- work on my room
paint (now for christmas gifts)
- jacob (2)
- ian
- joanna & andy
- diy (2)
finish "fall's here, let's clean" semi-annual clean fest

sept 1 - 30

8.28 - 9.4 my grandma's here
9.1 labor day / office closed
9.10 last day to renew my lease
9.23 fall officially begins
9.24 my 2 year work anniversary
college football season begins!

to do...
make my bed daily
finish trimming carpet
shred fest
take any empty bins/misc. home
for balcony: plant flowers, hang lights, add a table
make longer curtains
read a book for pleasure
read a book b/c i NEED to return it(!!)
bag/tag/take donations
paintings
- baby jacob (2)
- baby ian
- jo & andy's marriage
- diy (2)
spend some time at the homestead
- paint and redecorate bathroom
- SORT my room
- reconfigure/add storage so that my room looks like a room & not a glorified storage unit
- PURGE
money matters...
pay off balance (again)
renew renter's insurance
renew my lease (hopefully at the same rate)
lose the pudge...
change sleeping patterns/bedtime
go for a walk 2x/week
30 reps each, per day: squats, sit ups, push ups
5 min. minimum mobility/stretching per day
wall sits/hand stands 3x/week