Here I go again...

I love that song...anyway...I'm catching up my blogs and Simple Mom said something I want to quote in an article that reminded me of why I bother to read her blog even though it sometimes gets pretentious: it's her unpretentious tone when it comes to the big picture.

Every choice we make in life is both a choice to do something and a choice to not do something.

- Simple Mom "The Great Myth"

Her point in the article is that no one "does it all." Sometimes I feel like people think I think I'm perfect because I'm (relatively) organized, exercise, have kept off a large amount of weight. But I am by no means perfect! And I hope that my perception of that label is just in my head. Seriously, I don't do it all...no one does or can!

2009 Resolutions: Update

It's hard to believe the year is 3/4 over! 2009 hasn't turned out quite how I pictured it in January. Let's look at where I am on my resolutions...

1. Organize/declutter... It will always be an ongoing process, but I'm on a roll currently: collecting donations for a big run at the end of the month. Also we got rid of the chaise we weren't really using, yay!

2. Set up our wills and a college fund... We finished the questionnaire for the wills, we just need someone to actually do them. I set up a CD for Bit's college money. I figure we will wait until we're ready to set up 2 different 529's to do that part.

3. Paint the inside of my house...We have painted our bedroom and the front hall, yay! Now we need to do the stairway, upstairs hall, and spare room before I think about colors for the rest of the house (kitchen/dining room, bathrooms).

4. Landscape the front...We did this! It's been harder to maintain than I would like, but I think it looks better than before, so better than nothing! I'm planning to pick up a couple of mums today and hope they do well for the fall (just keeping them in their pots, not planting).

5. Do some bathroom fix-ups... We still need to fix Bit's bathtub, but I'm loathe to do it. It seems like it can wait. We also need a new toilet in her bathroom eventually. The tile in both showers could stand to be replaced, and the downstairs half bath is laid out badly, but I'm not sure when I can picture us doing any major work on the bathrooms.

6. Work on my stress management... I'm seeing a counselor, and I think it really helps. And Violet just had her first sleepover at GranB's in 22 months. I hope this is the beginning of a 3-6 times a year event.

7. Continue meal planning... I've actually backed off of this in the interest of more down time with N. Now that we use Let's Dish regularly, I don't have to plan more than a day or two ahead.

8. Save money... I got Lifetime status at WW, now I just need to get back to it! I set up some automatic savings this weekend. Our money is tight and we have debt (credit, car, school), but I need to feel like I'm being more forward thinking and responsible. Plus I want to save up for a new kitchen now that I have a ballpark estimate.

9. Get pregnant... Obvious set-backs. I just pray it's in the cards for our future. In the meantime I feel a fresh commitment to enjoy the family I have now. I'm determined to fight my depression tooth and nail.

10. Work on my photo archive project... I finally addressed the pile of photos from Mary and dealt with it all in a day! So that's progress. I need to start the external hard drive back-up and scan my backlog of pictures. Slow progress and that's OK with me.

Budget Fail

I don't know what happened but we've totally blown our budget the last 2 months. September has got to be better! I'm still worried about the impact daycare for two is going to have on our lives. I hope my mom can come through with her promise to help. And maybe our other parents will get in on it.

Never Again!

Many people let themselves have a "junk room" -- be it an office, craft room, work shop, spare bedroom, whatever! It's a place where all the clutter and stuff with no home accumulates in your house. I grew up mostly in 3 bedroom homes, despite only needing 2 bedrooms for our family. The junk room was almost constant and mine is a source of embarrassment! Luckily, now that I'm pregnant, we have to start transforming ours into a nursery/bedroom. I can't wait! I hope this is the last junk room I ever have!