Succeed: check-in for Jan

I got a word of the year necklace from Lisa Leonard. It's so pretty and helps me keep my goals in mind.

I wanted to check in and see how I'm doing on my monthly goals:

• Organize/declutter.--unpack the lingering boxes, make a Goodwill run Ok, not done yet, but I've gathered more stuff for Goodwill so I'm close to making that run at least. Oh and I did unpack 1 or 2 boxes.
  
  
• Set up our wills and a college fund.--obtain life insurance info, research VA 529's Still need to get the insurance info, but we decided to open a CD for Bit for now. I'm gunshy about 529's and I might as well wait till we can open 2 at once.
  
  
• Paint the inside of my house.--discuss the Point N Paint option with N We are going to try the Point N Paint. Why not? But meanwhile we did a traditional paint job (brush/roller) on our front hall! Yay!
  
  
• Do some bathroom fix-ups.--call home warranty to look at downstairs bath, visit Home Depot to discuss bath tub N is supposed to call home warranty about our shower leak and we plan to get bids on the rest, slight adjustment in focus.
  
  
• Work on my stress management.--locate the phone number I need Number found, but I have not resolved to call yet. Kind of waiting to see how things go over the next few months.
  
  
• Continue meal planning/exercise/improved nutrition.--use the gym, more fruits and veggies Moderate success. Need to work on cravings and eating more fruits and veggies.
  
  
• Save money.--curb eating out and impulse buys, continue doing finances on Weds. I think we're doing better at the budget than usual, I expect next month will show more progress however. I kind of got a late start this month due to holidays/birthday stuff.
  
  
• Get pregnant.--inquire about private short term disability, ask about maternity leave at work Still need to research short term dis. but I don't think it will be worth it.
  
  
• Work on my photo archive project.--get some photos scanned to test for image quality I found the setting to change ppi, but I still haven't dove into this (mammoth) project.
  

De-cluttering

This passage from a recent Unclutterer post has inspired me to pare down my book collection even further. If I'm not using the books, why am I letting them take up space in my (small) home? It's fine that I enjoyed the book once, but if I never open it again, it's clutter!

I used to keep a ton of books in my living room ... Now, I let books pass through my mind and my hands. And the books that I do keep, are well, the keepers – absolutely precious texts that I refer to for regular facts or inspiration. ~ Danielle LaPorte

One word for 2009

Succeed

I feel very lucky going into 2009. The past few years have brought me much personal satisfaction and success. I think I am going to tackle my goals and dreams as never before this year. And for the first time in my life, I'm going into a challenge expecting to succeed. It's a wonderful feeling! I am also hoping to begin the life that will succeed my first child (I mean follow, not replace, of course).

As my hubby pointed out, I've always said that I never expect anything to really succeed so that I don't get disappointed, but now I'm turning that around. I'm very happy (and blessed) to have made that personal breakthrough.

Source of the one-word thing:
Original Post
Suggested Words
Related Post

Action items: January

To help me focus I'm going to outline "step one" for each of my 2009 goals. Ideally I'd like to accomplish these steps by the end of the month.

Organize/declutter.--unpack the lingering boxes, make a Goodwill run

Set up our wills and a college fund.--obtain life insurance info, research VA 529's

Paint the inside of my house.--discuss the Point N Paint option with N

Landscape the front.--delay till spring

Do some bathroom fix-ups.--call home warranty to look at downstairs bath, visit Home Depot to discuss bath tub

Work on my stress management.--locate the phone number I need

Continue meal planning/exercise/improved nutrition.--use the gym, more fruits and veggies

Save money.--curb eating out and impulse buys, continue doing finances on Weds.

Get pregnant.--inquire about private short term disability, ask about maternity leave at work

Work on my photo archive project.--get some photos scanned to test for image quality

Hit me with your best shot...

In brief, my goals for 2009:

1. Organize/declutter.
2. Set up our wills and a college fund.
3. Paint the inside of my house.
4. Landscape the front.
5. Do some bathroom fix-ups.
6. Work on my stress management.
7. Continue meal planning/exercise/improved nutrition.
8. Save money.
9. Get pregnant.
10. Work on my photo archive project.

In more detail...

1. Organize/declutter...this is pretty much an ongoing process as stuff keeps finding its way into my house and I have yet to get rid of everything I don't need anymore. Plus we very badly need to fix the spare room so that it is fit to be a nursery some day. Right now it's a junk room and I'm so ashamed of that. Now that the play kitchen box is out of there (Santa needs some elf-storage), I can finally tackle it!

2. Set up our wills and a college fund...I've started filling out a questionnaire for the wills, but it requires a lot of financial and insurance info that I need help with. And I'm still clueless about how and where to set up Bit's 529. I've been putting these tasks off for 2 years now...boo!

3. Paint the inside of my house...we have paint for the hall, nursery, and our bedroom. So those are the first goals. We're thinking of trying this thing called the Point n Paint (https://www.pointnpaint.com/ver11/index.asp)...it claims easy clean-up and speed, both of which we need to accomplish the task in fragmented week night efforts. I wish we could afford to pay someone to do it or take time off to get it all done at once, but we can't. Whine, whine, whine.

4. Landscape the front...we have the quote. I think it's about $500, which seems like alot. So I need to study this again in the spring.

5. Do some bathroom fix-ups...the downstairs toilet isn't draining properly, boo! And Bit's bathtub needs to be refinished or something...the paint/seal is peeling around the drain and in some other areas of the tub. I'm hoping we can fix the latter ourselves.

6. Work on my stress management...I should get a new counselor. I think I have good coverage on my insurance.

7. Continue meal planning...I can't live without a plan! Add to that maintaining my commitment to exercise and eating more fruits and veggies. I would like to learn how to make more side dishes so that I can use fresh produce more effectively.

8. Save money...Meal planning helps and we need to cut back on eating out. The holidays are always bad for that. Luckily the holiday blitz is finally over this weekend, N's birthday. (Sadly my holiday blitz starts in September or October.) Oh as a mini-goal, I want to get Lifetime status at Weight Watchers so I can go to meetings for free. I have a doctor's note setting my goal at 170. I already hit my goal (164) at home, but with clothes on, I haven't been able to do better than 166 at the meetings. Fie! So hopefully once I drop my yuletide pounds, I can reach goal and Lifetime quickly.

9. Get pregnant...It's pretty exciting to be looking at this as a reality in the next six months. Scary, too.

10. Work on my photo archive project...I want to scan my old photos and create photo books with them because I hate messing with traditional photo albums. And I want a digital archive of my family memories. I just need to find out if my new printer-scanner is good enough for the task.

Resolution

Try not to label.
Most important of all, examine the way you describe your toddler. The "wild child" who is "stubborn," "exhausting," and a "crybaby" is also a spirited child who is persistent, energetic, and sensitive — all traits that are admired in adults. Use positive labels when discussing your child with relatives and teachers, and they'll come to see his wonderful attributes too.

And with increased self-esteem, your spirited child will want to learn to behave well. You'll know you're on the right track when your 3-year-old announces to Grandma, "I had lots of energy today!" instead of saying, "I was a bad boy." When you focus on your child's positive features and strengths, it changes your behavior, and that in turn changes your child's behavior.

Source: Baby Center