postcard

Long Entry ….sorry.

• always ask myself “What would the best-me-ever do?”
  The best-me-ever would spend more time working on my goals.

• be a good mother and write often about my daughter
  In a cloud of tags, my daughter’s name should be the biggest. that’s one thing. what have i done lately to be a good mom… well the whole birthday thing went pretty well I think. and I’m doing well at making sure she eats lots of fresh fruit and some veggies and protein each day. what can i work on… I read to her a lot, but I could read to her more. Also, just spending more time with her on the floor playing would be good I think. I need to be more aware of how I’m modeling for her as well. Too often I don’t really think about what I’m doing and what habits/mannerisms she’s picking up from me. little things like table manners, and how I take care of myself and the things I own and value can make an impression.

• get my surgery over with
  With any luck this one will be off the list by the end of the year.

• move to a different city
  Maybe not the end of the year for this one, but surely (maybe?) by the end of next year?

• practice mindful consumption
  with the emphasis first and foremost on fewer things in general (hooray discardia!), and then also on fewer plastic toys, more local and/or fair trade items, and recycling / getting it used where possible and appropriate. I follow these guidelines pretty well as a rule, but there’s always room for improvement and I like having a reminder.

• maintain and improve my employability
  sort of on the back burner until #3 is resolved, though I certainly have been thinking a lot about education and future career possibilities (see below).

• Think about getting a PhD
  doing this and will probably keep on doing this for awhile. though lately i’m leaning towards a second masters instead.

• keep in better touch with friends & family
  I suck at this. I was never very close with my family and I’m kind of a pyromaniac when it comes to bridges for some reason. Now that I have a kid though, I’d like for her to have some kind of decent relationship with her cousins and other relatives. That said, proximity is a real hindrance to this goal. I’ll be seeing many of my relatives this fall, so that’s a start I suppose. I don’t know if more frequent phones calls or emails or what would help. facebook seems to work for some, but not most, of them.

• be more charitable, loving, and patient
  part of why I’m not so close with my family is because of huge differences in outlooks on life and values. Politically especially, it seems I’m somewhat outside the box when it comes to my family. Also I have impatience issues. especially regarding my parents. I really have to remember that they’re coming from a completely different era than I am, so of course their perspective will be different as well. I’m going to be staying with them for awhile, so I should have plenty of opportunities to work on this goal.

• be more frugal and save more money
  frugality kind of goes with mindful consumption, and in general I’m pretty good about it. but sometimes when I see a good deal, I can get carried away, and it kind of defeats the purpose. I’d like to start saving more money than I spend, though this will probably be easier on two incomes.

• reduce my environmental footprint
  I keep most of the lights off even while at home and have replaced all the bulbs with florescents. and I bought a non-gas-guzzling car. I don’t (and probably won’t) unplug my electronics and appliances when not in use though. I use disposable diapers and don’t recycle cans/plastic/paper as there aren’t any recycling centers in my area. I do keep and reuse plastic bags though, and I have netted bags that I take shopping, though I should be more vigilant about taking them. I might be able to reduce my water use. that’s something.

• list life’s happy moments
  I’m not a happy, chipper person in general, so this takes some effort (see below goal). I’d like to include some happy stuff in each of my weekly journal entries, along with always writing at least one thing about my daughter from that week (see goal 2 above).

• choose to be happy
  because oftentimes, though not always, happiness is a choice. I’m not talking about walking around with a perpetual grin on my face, so much as I’d like to just be content with the moment rather than dwelling on the past so much.

• Improve my health and fitness
  I need to get on a regular schedule for this and the next goal. My current regime is sporadic at best. and though I’m great about my daughters food choices, I often forget to look after my own these days (see next two goals).

• practice yoga and meditate more
  maybe not daily, but perhaps every other day?

• drink more water, eat more whole foods, and eat less refined sugar
  more mindful consumption. I do hydrate whenever I remember to, and I still choose water over soda 90% of the time. most whole food go to DD though and I’m loathe to steal any for myself. Thinking about resubscribing to my CSA when I get back from my trip. sugar and chocolate are my cryptonite. I practically die if I don’t have at least one sweet thing each day, which is problematic to me. the chocolate cravings are less frequent, though when they do occur they are more intense.

• Make more “real” friends
  I’m being an idiot and waiting until I relocate before tackling this monster.

• learn and experience new things and take notes
  I learn things everyday, especially in reading and looking things up online. I’d like to keep better track of what I learn, articles I read, etc. though so far it’s been pretty time/labor intensive. I need a toolbar button or something that will aggregate everything into a list that i can then publish at a time of my choosing.

• give my dog more attention
  my poor dog has been getting so neglected since my daughter was born. and I since discovering I may be allergic to her also, I’ve been even more distant, which is unfair of me. I will be leaving her alone while I travel pretty soon, but I’d like make an effort to go on more walks with her and spend more time with her.

• simplify my household routines
  my motivation on this one ties into my second goal, as far as shaping the environment I want my daughter to grow up in. I do what I can, but I’d like to nail down a monthly/weekly schedule, especially if we buy a house.

• sketch portraits of each of my family members
  I want to do this. I do. but I don’t want to set aside time for it, it seems. DH gave me some awesome drawing software for my computer recently, so perhaps I’ll be able to use that.

• make a family tree
  another one that I think is important, but apparently not important enough to commit to. I might be able to gather some good information for it while I’m staying with my parents though.

• learn more about homeschooling
  keeping this here to keep an open mind. Still not sure what we’re going to do.

• read all of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels
  I was determined to finish this goal within the first summer of starting it. two years later and it’s still here.

• finish more books
  I don’t spend as much time reading these days. and what I do start, I don’t often finish, which I think is a shame. I’d like to be more of a stick-to-it kinda gal. (says the girl who hasn’t updated her 43t since February)

• use my morning coffee and read the news
  morning coffee is a firefox extension that bookmarks whatever sites for whichever days you choose and then opens them when you click on a toolbar button. I don’t feel like I’m following the news as well as I did when I was working and I’d like to correct that. I think world events are important to keep an eye on. apparently not something everyone agrees with.

I need to remember to do these things this month:

1. file last year’s papers and clean out old papers in filing cabinet
2. return some correspondence to my siblings
3. jury duty
4. compile a list of names for work

1. get in shape – amazing how there is always room for improvement on this goal. already met and improved upon my pre-pregnancy stats, so I should probably remove this goal before I get too neurotic about it.
2. think about buying a house – to buy or not to buy. in an economy like this. with savings like that. also see my goal about moving to a different city this year. and getting a PhD.
3. practice mindful consumption – a string of christmas lights costs $1. old string has a burnt out bulb. replace the bulb by painstakingly checking every bulb on the string or replace the string? bulb, silly!.
4. maintain and improve my employability – as of december I am employed again, part time, until March. course went well. see also goal about PhD.
5. read 30 books in 2009 – halfway through book 1 – Revolutionary Road.
6. read all of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels – hopefully I’ll make more progress this year than last year.
7. learn more about homeschooling – still learning. this may hinge on whether I move or seek another degree or not.
8. make a family tree and sketch portraits of each of my family members – perhaps I need to set a concrete date for doing these two goals.
9. catalog all the books I own – still cataloging. I also have an ebook organizer that needs attention.
10. get my surgery over with. maybe after I move and there’s a surgeon nearby.
11. Think about getting a PhD. leaning towards fisheries oceanography. timing is everything though, especially with a child in tow. also depends on where I move to.
12. move to a different city in 2009. must relocate. for a variety of reasons, among them my sanity and the impending Russian invasion (!).

1. start consistently drinking more water again…sort of fell off the wagon on that goal… again.
2. save money. also going to revive this old goal. though gosh of all the evil things to want to save…
3. keep a closer eye on my diet for medical reasons…eliminating excess salt, sugar, caffeine, processed foods and whatnot. really did poorly on this over the holidays and now I’m paying for it.
4. get my daughter on a better sleep schedule and nighttime routine. I’ve got a couple of books on order that will hopefully help me address this. I’m hoping to have progress to report by mid-February.
5. develop a healthy meal plan with variety for my daughter. I received some books for christmas to read on this.
6. do the dishes every day. I am so tired of fighting this never ending battle, but putting it off never helps.