I did better than I thought I would with the goals I set for myself for January. Some of them I wasn't as committed to as others (read: giving up soda), but I only slipped twice on the candy one, and didn't miss it all the rest of the time. (The first time I slipped on it I didn't even think about the fact that what I was eating was candy until I looked at the box. Seeing "See's Candies" was a jolting reminder that it was still candy, even though it hadn't come in the wrapped form I'm so used to. Oops.) I did slightly better on curbing my impulse spending, although still not as well as I'd have liked, and I didn't slip at all on any of my savings goals. I'm thinking about which goals I want to carry over into February and which new ones I want to add to my list.
January 2008 Archives
We had pizza over the weekend, and when the box was ready for the trash, I put it behind the trash can, thinking it would be safe enough there until I took it down to the garage. That would have been the case, I'm sure, if Jordan wasn't such a little scavenger. I was changing over some laundry when Mike asked what the weird noises from the kitchen were. When I got upstairs and poked my head in the kitchen, I saw that Jordan had gotten the pizza box out from behind the trash can and had dragged it into the dogs' bed in the corner of the kitchen. He was lying there with one of his paws on it possessively while he was industriously tearing up the cardboard, and he was quite put out when I took the box away from him. Really, nothing under two feet high is safe from him.
Mike and I just finished watching Saw IV a little bit ago, and from what I saw through my fingers, I think it's gorier than any of the other three.
*** SPOILERS ***
If the past two weeks have been spent grumbling about itchy ears and eyes plus other random itchy spots, it's time to go see your goddamn allergist already.
We watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with the kids over the weekend, and, like PotC: Dead Man's Chest, it was much better than I was anticipating.
***SPOILERS***
When your one of your toenails is long enough to leave a half-inch long gash on one of your toes, it's time to cut them. IMMEDIATELY.
Things I am loving right now:
- sugar cookie lip gloss
- news about the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. In karinne's words, "007 flavors of deelishus."
- listening to the wind blow against the windows
- watching my puppies snuggle together in their kennel. I'm 30 seconds away from scooping one of them up so I can inhale the warm sleepy puppy smell. Then I might sniff their feet. It's a wonder they haven't run away yet.
We watched this after we watched The Prestige, and all I have to say about watching the two movies back to back is, don't. Even though The Prestige sort of ends on a happy note, overall the ending left me feeling very angry and unsettled - a feeling Hollywoodland did nothing to dispel.
***SPOILERS***
My sister called me at 4:44 today to tell me that she'd just heard that Heath Ledger had been found dead in New York. I hoped it was just a rumor until I saw all the news articles saying the same thing, then the reality of it started to sink in. I feel silly for being this upset over the death of someone I'd never met, but this is very sad news for me. I've been a fan of his since I first saw him in Roar back in 1997, which means I've been following his career for over ten years. Even though I loved some of his other movies (particularly 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale), he'll always be Conor first in my mind.
moar funny pictures
I would really, really like to have one night this month where I do not wake up in a cold sweat, terrified by another stupid nightmare. I'm even willing to offer up small furry animals to make sure this happens.
Since we just bought the new bed, Mike and I decided that now was the time to finally get the special covers for the mattress, box spring, and pillows, too. The box with all the covers was waiting for me when I got home Tuesday, so one of my projects this weekend is going to be washing all the covers and outfitting the bed appropriately. I have to confess, I feel a little silly doing all this, like I'm going overboard with all the dust mite stuff, although I guess I'd rather go a little overboard and feel better than not do enough and still feel crappy.
My plan is to do more handmade things (ornaments, afghans, quilts, cooking mixes, etc.) this year for Christmas, but in order for that to happen on top of everything else without completely overwhelming me, I need to work on it a little at a time. My goal is to work on something each month so I can break things down into more manageable chunks, but January is already half over, and I haven't even begun thinking about what Christmas item I'm going to work on this month. Karinne and I are going to be doing craftly things on Saturday - I think that'll be a perfect time to get started.
We watched The Prestige on Monday. All I really knew about it was that it was about two rival magicians, and one kills the others wife. Since it was about magicians, ignorantly I was expecting something very similar to The Illusionist, and in some respects it was almost exactly what I expected, but then in others it was very different.
***SPOILERS***
Mike and I got a new mattress/boxspring set the day after Christmas, and it is fabulous. It's much taller than our old set, so I have to scramble up to get in bed. It makes me feel like a little kid, and I may or may not have described it to my sister as a "princess and the pea" bed.
Picking it out was fairly easy - we went to the store, tested all the beds we were interested in, and decided on the comfiest one - but bringing it home was a bit more complicated. It was pouring rain when we bought it, but since Mike wanted to have the new bed that night, we went ahead and brought it home. Everything went fine until we made a turn and discovered that the mattress hadn't come with us - it was still back in the turn lane with cars swerving around it. Mike made a u-turn and while we were waiting for the light to change so he could go and turn around to pick it up, I hopped out of the truck and ran over to get the mattress out of the way. Before I got there, though, someone had already stopped and was pulling the mattress out of the road. He propped it up on a sign for me, and then I waited, shivering in the rain, until Mike pulled up. The only sign of the mattress's detour was a damp spot here and there, so I think things turned out much, much better than they could have.
Since we were getting a new mattress set, we went ahead and picked out new bed linens too. We looked at coordinating sets but couldn't find anything we (I) really loved, so Mike suggested we put our own together, which we did, and I love the way everything turned out. Behold:
For the first few nights it felt weird sleeping on the mattress, like I was at a hotel. It wasn't the mattress I was used to, and that was hard for me to get used to. Truth be told, I'm still getting used to it, but each night makes it seem more and more like our bed and not some interloper.
This month was '80s vampire flicks. We started off with Fright Night and ended with The Lost Boys, neither of which I'd seen before, and both of which I really enjoyed watching. Next month we're tossing around the idea of watching Bubba Ho-tep and some other movie, TBD sometime in between now and then.
Egypt Central's album is coming out on Tuesday! Now I'll finally get to see if I like the rest of the album as much as I like "Over and Under".
Last month I was introduced to Fables - the best comic book series ever. I was intrigued when I heard the premise, but I had no idea how wonderfully it would be played out. Roughly: all different farie tale characters have been kicked out of their various worlds or "homelands" by the Adversary. A large group of them have formed a community called Fabletown in our world, where they all live and try to avoid catching the attention of the mundane humans ("mundies") surrounding their city. The writing is excellent, the plots are very engaging, and the characters, while not original, are very well-written for this series. Some of my favorites are Bigby Wolf, Snow White, Boy Blue, Rose Red, the Beast, and Flycatcher. With the exception of volumes 2 and 3, I have all the trade paperback volumes currently released. The next volume, 10, is due out in May, and after I get that I think I'm going to have to start getting the comics monthly to tide me over until the next volume is released.
I woke up clenching my teeth again this morning, so it comes as no surprise that I've been having problems with my jaw all day. I left work late, and since I've been home I've done three loads of laundry, gotten things ready for tomorrow, cleaned up the kitchen, made a pot of chili, and loaded the dishwasher. I'm ready to take my pain pill and go to bed.
When the boys and I were at Target last week, Z spotted the Battleship/Connect Four/Sorry/Trouble game for the DS. There were a couple left when we went to Target this weekend, so I picked one up for Mike. He started playing it after we got home and discovered that up to four people can play together on their DSs, so I'm going to get a copy for each of the kids to keep at our house, that way we can play when they're with us.
If you know the forecast for your day is going to hold jaw problems because you woke up with your teeth clenched, for pity's sake, bring some Advil to work with you.
Those are two little things that are making me happy today. I love the way it feels when I take my socks off, especially after I've been on my feet for bit, like at the gym. And I just recently discovered that adding brown sugar to my oatmeal makes it better x1000.
For a while now Z has been telling me about a Mario game he thought I would enjoy, but I never put much thought into until this past weekend when he handed me his DS and said, "Here. Play this." It took all of eight seconds (the same amount of time it took me to die) for me to realize that I needed to have that game. We made a special stop at Best Buy to pick it up, and it took up the majority of my time after that. The New Super Mario Brothers is not a game for me to play in public or around small children. I get caught up in the game, clutching my DS like it's my lifeline, swearing like a sailor when I die, and glaring at any outside distractions. I played it all afternoon Sunday and a good chunk of yesterday before my sore thumbs forced me to set it aside for a day or so. They need to hurry up and get callused already, because I'm itching to pick it back up. I have a princess to rescue!
Today's high was in the mid-sixties - a far cry from the snow flurries we had the other day. My scarf was ready to be picked up from the dry cleaners on Saturday, which was when this warming trend began. Coincidence? I'm not convinced.
When I logged in to check on the status of my classes this semester, I was pleasantly surprised to see that both are already set up, complete with class outlines and everything. After reading the syllabus, I'm even more excited about the web design one than I thought I would be; the professor has everything neatly laid out, with the requirements, expectations, etc. I'm confident that this class will be much smoother and less frustrating than the web design class I took last semester. The e-commerce one looks neat too. The professor is the same one I had for both classes last semester, but his course outline for this class looks much better than the last classes' did. I have hopes that that means the class is going to be better too. Either way, I'm logged in for the classes and I've got my books - I'm ready for the new semester.
Even though my life is still the same, the beginning of the new year always makes me feel like it's a fresh start. Last year I made goals instead of resolutions, but other than going back to school, I didn't really do anything to achieve any of them. I like the idea of working towards something better than I like the idea of a resolution, so I decided to make goals again this year. Normally I love making lists - something about sitting down with a pen and a piece of paper to write things down makes me feel organized (in spite of the clutter surrounding me) - but this time I haven't written anything down. Not a single goal. I do, however, have a cluster of them in my head that I've been meaning to put on paper so I can hold myself more accountable. The overall theme of this year for me is taking little steps to make my life better. This means starting off small and/or slow, and gradually building up to bigger goals. Here are some of my goals:
health
- exercise: My goal is to be back to my former gym rat self by the end of the year. Now, I know myself well enough to know that I'm not going to just jump back in, so I'm taking little steps, month by month.
The goal for January is to get in at least 15 minutes of exercise every day - whether it's going to the gym, climbing the steps at work, or just walking around our neighborhood. (My preference is to go the gym because 15 minutes of climbing the stairs at work is an eternity.) - food: My overall goal is to make healthier choices about what I eat and drink across the board.
My goal for January is to not drink any soda or eat any candy. - medicines: My overall goal is to be more informed about the various pills I take - prescriptions, vitamins, supplements, everything.
My goal for January is to remember to take my stuff every day. Forgetting to take my Singulair for two days in a row guarantees that I will be an itchy, scratchy mess until I can get more in my system. Not fun.
housekeeping
- our bedroom: My overall goal is to completely de-clutter our bedroom and leave it looking neat and tidy every morning when I leave for work.
My goal for January is to make the bed every morning. - the closet: My overall goal is to do the same thing with the closet.
My goal for January is to remember to close the door every time I open it and to get my present drawer better organized. - the kitchen: My overall goal is to keep the kitchen crumb/spill/drip-free, with no tower of dishes stacked in the sink overnight, and to also keep a better handle on the recycling pile.
My goal for January is to empty out the sink every night and to take the recycling once a day. - the laundry: My overall goal is to stay on top of the laundry so it doesn't turn up into a mountain and make sure clothes don't sit in the washer or dryer overnight.
My goal for January is to fold and put away the laundry as soon as I take it out of the dryer. - the puppies' stuff: My overall goal is to keep their stuff neatly organized and put away.
My goal for January is to trim their nails once a week and to empty their litter box every time I come home.
finances
- emergency fund: My overall goal is to have an emergency fund with a minimum of three month's worth of living expenses. (Ideally I'd like to eventually have it at a full year, but that's a much bigger goal - maybe one for next year.)
My goal for January is to set aside a certain amount from each paycheck in a savings account dedicated just for the emergency fund. - college fund: My overall goal is to have a certain amount in a savings account set aside as a buffer for all my college expenses.
My goal for January is to set aside a certain amount from each paycheck so I'll have enough to cover my fall tuition and books. - cds: My overall goal is to have cds worth one month's expenses staggered so one cd matures every month. If I don't have anything else I need to do with the money, I'll just roll it back into another cd, putting the interest in another account.
My goal for January is to start a cd at the end of the month. - savings: My overall goal is to be setting aside a certain amount from each paycheck in my savings account by the end of the year.
My goal for January is to transfer $1 each day to my savings account. - credit card: My overall goal is to pay of the balance on my card every month.
My goal for January is to pay for each new purchase right after I make it.
saving:
food stuff
- cooking: My overall goal is to try a new recipe each week.
My goal for January is to try two new recipes before the end of the month. - meal planning: My overall goal is to have dinner planned out for each day at the beginning of the week.
My goal for January is to plan out two dinners a week when it's just me and Mike and to plan out dinner for each night when we have the kids.
school
- homework: My overall goal is to start the assignment two days after the day it's assigned.
My goal for January is to have my homework finished two days before it's due. - reading assignments: My overall goal is to finish my assigned reading no more than two days after the day after it's assigned.
My goal for January is to finish the reading before I start the homework for that material. - student id: My overall goal is to get my updated student id.
My goal for January is to find out what the process is for doing that. - notes: My overall goal is to take notes from the material as I'm doing the assigned reading.
My goal for January is to take notes on the chapter before I begin working on the homework for that material. - tests: My overall goal is to be ready for the test before the first day to take it and to not have to do anything more than a quick refresher over my notes before taking it.
My goal for January is to review my notes every week.
I'm still working on the list, but I feel like this is a good enough start for now. At the end of every month I'm going to review my overall goals, review my goals for that particular month, and determine how I want to build on those results in the coming month.
My physical therapy appointment on Wednesday was my last. I'm taking a muscle relaxer every night before bed to help me keep the TMJ problems under control, and my physical therapist said she's taught me every stretch and exercise their practice uses to help people with TMJ. Since I now have all the tools to manage the TMJ pain myself, there's really nothing more they can do for me there. I was actually a little sad that it was my last appointment - Rachel, my physical therapist, is extremely nice, and so are the aides there. I had worked with one of them, Mallory, for the majority of my sessions, and I'm a bit sad that I won't be seeing them again. On the other hand, I'm thrilled that I've got a handle on my TMJ stuff and don't need anymore physical therapy.
Mike gave me Confessor, the last book in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, as one of my Christmas presents this year. I just finished it on Tuesday, and I absolutely loved it. It was everything I had hoped it would be. It was a fantastic end to the series, and none of the characters who died were near and dear to my heart, so I didn't even tear up once! Seriously, I can't say enough good things about the book. This series is one of my all-time favorites.
On Sunday I went for a walk around our neighborhood, but Monday morning I decided to go to the gym instead. I scanned my member card, just like always, but instead of hearing the usual "welcome" message, I was startled to hear "check status." I looked at the receptionist and asked her if everything was okay with my account, and she said that everything was fine, that message was just to let them know it had been 97 days since the last time I was there. 97 days? I knew it had been a while, but I wouldn't have guessed it had been THAT long. Now that I know the computer is going to guilt me if I'm absent too long, I'll add that to my motivations to work out more regularly.
The weather has been very weird this winter. In light of the crazy warm days, it seemed to be the ideal time to take my scarf in to get dry-cleaned. After I dropped it off, I joked with Mike about how that would instantly prompt a cold snap. It didn't happen the next day, like I had laughed about, but sure enough, it did happen. Each day has been progressively colder. I didn't realize how cold it was this morning until I saw snow flurries on my drive in to work. I'm hoping the snow just keeps on adding up and turns tomorrow into the snow day I've been hoping for.
