Lightening Online

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So, today is my 37th birthday and right now I feel like life is simply flying by.

On the other hand, I’ve also done and achieved some pretty wonderful things in my 37 years here on this earth.  In fact, as you read this, I’m on my way Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon to  to see some of the amazing sights that make up our wonderful country.

However, I thought it might be time to mark this milestone by setting myself some goals for the next 12 months.

So, here goes….

37 Things I’d Like to Do Before I Turn 38:

1.  Lose 5kg.

My whole life is one constant weight loss attempt.  Slowly but surely my weight is creeping down at the moment and if I can just get it down by another 5kg, I’d be stoked!   I still wouldn’t be in the healthy weight range for my height but I’d be stoked all the same!

2.  Take Up a New Hobby

I have been contemplating this for a while now and done the research phase.  Now I just need to buy some materials and make a start.

3.  Climb Ayers Rock

This might be a cheat one given I’m on my way there now BUT it’s something I never expected to be able to do and would like to achieve.  I’m not sure if I’ll go all the way to the top but just to have done some of it would be great.

4.  Attempt to make Macarons.

They’re supposed to be hideously hard although I think Donna Hay has brought out a packet mix.  Is that cheating?  We had some from Lindt cafe and they were lovely (some flavours more so than others - think I’d have to make chocolate).

5.  Clean Out The Office

PROPERLY!!!!  It’s a nightmare in there and we just have too much stuff (with nowhere else to put it).  This should be made easier by the games room we’re building but I really want have a decent clean out regardless.

6.  Buy a New Lounge Suite

This has been in the planning stages since we moved house 5 years ago.  We just haven’t found one we’re happy with yet.  I think we’re gradually getting closer though.

7.  Paint The Lounge Room

Can’t paint the lounge room until we decide on a couch so I can match up the colour scheme.

8.  Host Christmas At Our Place

This is possibly a cheat one as we are hosting Christmas here this year for Farmboy’s family.  But it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while so I think it counts!

9.  Finish putting my novel onto my novel blog

Oops.  Made a start and then stopped.  And I haven’t even gotten around to the bits of it I actually like yet.

10.  Try 5 new dishes using beans or lentils

I’d like to increase how much of these we eat and expand our tastes at the same time.

11.  Coach Netball

Okay, so this is probably another “cheat” one since I’m already doing it but it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to actually coach so I’m going to include it anyway.

12.  Play a Full Game in Centre at netball

This one is kind of out of my hands but it’s something I’d dearly LOVE to be able to achieve.

13.  Plant 2 more Fruit Trees

We finally have 2 thriving and 1 barely surviving fruit trees in our mini orchard.  Our soil is just dreadful so we have to dig huge big holes for the trees and add stuff to try and get them to survive.  I’m not sure what else I’d like to try and grow yet.  A Granny Smith apple is one (already have the pink lady and need the Granny Smith to cross-pollinate it).  The other is undecided.

14.  Grow something new in my vegie garden

I grow a few things but I think it’s time to branch out and try something new.  No idea what yet.  We’ll see….

15.  Have another baby

Did that wake you all up?  Bwahaahaa.  I always wanted 4 kids.  No idea if it’ll actually happen but I had to put it in here - you never know!

16.  Get Back to more regular blogging

I think the worst thing I ever did for my blogging was decide not to post every day.  Once I got out of the “habit”, things just slipped from there.  I’d like to at least get back to blogging 3 times a week.

17.  Finish the photobook I started of our big trip.

At the rate I’m going it’ll NEVER get done!

18.  Read a book by an author I’ve never read before.

Time to branch out a little in my reading habits.

19.  Declutter my make up.

I am HOPELESS with accumulating bits and pieces and not getting rid of stuff.  You think it’d be easy given make up has such a short lifespan.

20.  Sort out my jewellery.

It’s a MESS!!!

21.  Buy myself a new piece of jewellery.

It doesn’t have to be expensive but I need to accessorise better so I’m trying to build up a better collection of “bling”.

22. Try a new colour in my hair.

Doing something different with my hair always makes me feel good.

23. Try a fruit I’ve never eaten before.

Time to branch out in my tastes

24.  Try a vegetable I’ve never eaten before.

Ditto.

25.  Try cooking with a herb I’ve never cooked with before.

There are plenty given I’m not a very adventurous cook.

26.  Write a guest post for another blog.

Even if it doesn’t get published.

27.  Add 5 new ideas to my CandyCraft blog

It’s been a bit neglected of late.  It was only ever set up as a “google traffic” type blog but you have to keep it fresh in order to get the benefit from it.

28. Sell something on facebook.

Everyone else seems to be doing it!

29. Tell my husband how much I love him.

It’s easy to take our loved ones for granted isn’t it?

30. Tell my children how much I love them.

See above.

31. Do a 12km run/walk.

I’ve been wanting to do this forever and keep putting it off.  Instead of waiting until I’m fit enough, I think I just need to give it a go, even if I have to walk most of it.

32. Go out for coffee with a friend.

I never make enough time to do this sort of thing.

33. Have a dental check up.

Not a very nice one but it has been too long again (after finally getting everything up to date) and I REALLY need to do this!

34. Buy a new handbag.

Cos you can never have too many right?

35. Try out a new restaurant.

Always a fun thing to do.

36. Win something.

I LOVE freebies and winning stuff.  Rarely happens but it’s fun when it does, even if it’s something small.  :)  Will put this out there and see what happens.

37. Do an update on this list at least 3 times in the next 12 months to keep myself on track.

And now I feel REALLY old because 37 is a LOT of things to come up with!  It’s a lot to achieve in 52 weeks too but having a go will be a lot of fun.

Look out for an update in about 3 months (assuming I don’t forget!)

In the meantime, here’s to getting older!  It’s not all bad! (is it?)

I feel like I’ve reached something of an impasse with my decluttering efforts.

I’ve done the “easy” stuff.

Stuff that is broken, has pieces lost, is outgrown or no longer needed.

Now it’s time to tackle the “hard” stuff.

Stuff that we “might” need or use one day.

But is taking up room we really don’t have and giving the house a more cluttered feel than I would like.

Some days I wish I was one of those minimalist type people who holds on to very little.

It would make maintaining a nice home that little bit easier.

But the fact is, I’m not.

I have to fight against clutter on a regular basis.

Otherwise it ends up overwhelming me.

Obviously one of my problems is that I let too much STUFF come into our home.

I’d love to have a “no spend” year.

Problem is, the word “NO” is like a red rag to a bull and the urge to buy stuff will be more overwhelming than ever.

So, I’m just going to work on having a “slow spend” year.  Try to REALLY think about what I’m buying and whether it’s something I’m then going to struggle with getting rid of down the track.

And in the meantime, work on getting 1 or 2 things at a time out of the house in the hope that more goes out than comes in.

My goal will be to get rid of something (or something/s) every single day this year.

I guess I can only try, eh?

How do you deal with the issue of “STUFF?”

What a pity I know Father Christmas won’t be bringing me one.

I wonder if I sat on his knee whether he would???? 

BUT, all is not lost because I’ve decided to do the unthinkable!!!!

I’m going to steal save up for one.

That’s my new savings challenge.

This could be a bit more challenging than my last one though.

This time I can’t use savings from our regular budget (because it’s for me and not the family).  This time the money has to come from other sources.

Things like:

* survey payments

* pocket money

* gift money

* blogging revenue

* ebay sales (maybe - if I ever get around to actually selling something)

* any other weird and wacky ideas I can come up with to generate a few dollars (within reason of course ROFLOL).

Goal Amount: $2000

That’s pretty high for a laptop I know but I’d like to get something reasonably decent that I can edit video footage and stuff on.

This is only an approximate amount.  I really need to do some more research and work out what I really want before I know the exact cost.

Starting Amount: $50

Amount Still Needed: $1950

I expect it’s going to take me a little while so I won’t update you (and bore you) too often.

Fortunately I have 2 laptops to use in the meantime.  I just don’t have any with working CD-Rom drives - hence the justification for buying a new one. 

What are you dreaming of this Christmas?

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I’m back to boot camp today. Okay, not really “boot camp”. But I am going back to my personal training sessions at the gym today. After I’m not sure how many weeks off. Fortunately I haven’t had all of those weeks off of actual “exercise” but it’ll still be interesting to see how I pull up after the break.

Plus of course the lovely “weigh and measure”. Ack!

Anyway, I’m been working on a few goals etc for this year (as per a plan my trainer gave me at the end of last year). Being the “non procrasinator” that I am (*cough* *cough*), I finally got around to working on them LAST NIGHT. Not that I haven’t been thinking about them. I just needed to formalise my thoughts a little.

I’m figuring the place I’m least likely to lose them is by putting them on here . Plus, you guys can help keep me accountable to my goals for the year.

MY 2009 FITNESS PLAN

What is your fitness program like now?

Today my program consists of….

Exercising most days depending on weather, energy levels and time.

It makes me feel…

OK but not great. I feel like I would like to do more.

Write a vision (in the present tense) of what you want to achieve in 2009. Make it compelling - what you will see, hear, feel when you have it.

I have lots of energy and my body craves and enjoys healthy foods. I look forward to any opportunity to engage in physical activity and exercise on a daily basis. I can feel myself getting fitter and stronger each week as I continue to challenge myself to stretch my limits.

Write down 4 BIG goals which will help you achieve this vision:

1. Be able to run 6km (long-term goal: To be able to do a 12km fun run)

2. Be able to do 20 full push-ups

3. Get back under 70kg’s and stay out of the 70’s forever! (need to lose around 5kg to get there - same 5kg’s I tried to lose last year. *sigh* One can only keep trying - right?)

4. Be able to lift that weights bar thingy (yeah, real technical terms here) with actual WEIGHTS on the end. LOL.

What will your life be like if you achieve these goals?

Fun and Energetic

Healthy

What will your life be like if you don’t achieve them?

Frustrating

What are you going to do TODAY to start moving forward to achieve your goals?

You mean I actually have to DO something????? Bummer!

Well, I think I really need some better accountability for the foods I eat (or the stuff that’s not really “food”) and for getting back into the “habit” of exercising daily.

2009 IN 3 PARTS

In my mind, 2009 is divided into the following 3 parts:

Part 1: Before the “Big Trip”

Part 2: The “Big Trip”

Part 3: After the “Big Trip”

Here are my general thoughts for each part in terms of fitness, health, weight loss etc.

Part 1: Before the “Big Trip”

• Make daily exercise a habit so that it seems strange “not” to exercise (have achieved this before and have been struggling to get back on track)
• Lose 5kg so that I’m “under 70kg”
• Work on a gradual change in my eating patterns so that my body craves nutritious food and isn’t interested in “junk” (again, I have achieved this before and I’m struggling to get it back)
• Be able to run 6km comfortably

Part 2: During the “Big Trip”

• Maintain my weight (ie don’t GAIN weight)
• Maintain my fitness levels
• Focus on being as active and healthy as possible

Part 3: After the “Big Trip”

To be decided when we get back.

And that’s kind of my year in a nutshell. I’ll try and “report in” on my progress from time to time. Keep me accountable and all that.

A little while ago I read a post written on Meanderings which was a description of what she wanted her life to look like in 5 years time. I thought it was a fantastic idea and decided I’d like to write one of these for myself.

Well, almost a month has past and I haven’t done it. Wanna know why? Cos I. Don’t. Know. I have no idea what I would like my life to look like in 5 years time.

As a child I had 1 goal in life. Actually, you could probably say I had 2 goals but they’re very closely related.

1. Get married

2. Have kids

I did sort of think I’d like to be a teacher. That never happened and while I *could* make it happen now, I just don’t have the inclination to.

So to consider what’s next is kind of a foreign concept to me and I’m struggling to come up with any kind of goals as such.

Let’s start with what our family life might look like. I’ll be fast approaching 40 (but with a couple of years still up my sleeve). Leighton will be 15 (EEEEK!!!), Singstar Princess will be 12 and The Bomb (must think up another name for him I think) will be 9.

By then I guess our “big trip” will be not much more than a distant memory but will HOPEFULLY at least be paid for.    The trip has been a large part of our focus for a few years now.

We are keeping an open mind about private schooling for our Leighton (and the others but he comes first). The very thought makes my heart ache but IF it’s something he wants and IF we feel it would benefit him and IF we can afford it, we will consider it as an option (it would mean him living away from home - assuming we’re still farming).

I would like to contribute in some way to our family finances. I’m not sure how exactly. I’ve always thought I’d be a stay at home, non income earning, mother for the duration of my kids youth. Now I’m not really sure what I want.

This morning I came across an interesting you tube clip on My Little Drummer Boys that made me think (and made me tear up a bit).

I’ve tried to embed the you tube video here for you but it’s messing up my site so either visit My Little Drummer Boys to view it or you can find it on you tube here. There are also some other clips by the same guy listed on that you tube page.

It’s certainly given me food for thought. I remember at the lowest point of my nervous breakdown I actually thought I was going insane and would end up in an institution for the rest of my life. The grief of feeling that your life is coming to an end is quite intense.

In some ways this has given me what feels like a second chance in life but I’m still not sure what I want to BE or DO.

I know I like helping people. I know I like making people smile. Beyond that…. I’m really not sure.

How about you? Do you feel your dreams and goals for the future are clear in your mind? Are you a planner? Or are you like me and feel like you’re kind of drifting in the wind, uncertain as to which direction you’d like to go next?

And I can’t wait!!!!   Those who know me well know that I LOVE new beginnings.

New Year’s are just like those fresh new exercise books and folders you used to have at the start of a new school year.  So clean and white and empty - just waiting to be filled whatever I might write in them.

Having worked hard during 2007 on dealing with issues from my past with the help of a counsellor, I feel more ready than ever to make a fresh start.  I’m feeling very positive about the promises that 2008 holds. 

Here are a few of my goals and dreams for this year:

PERSONAL

* Be able to comfortably jog 5km and work toward my dream of one day running in the City to Bay Fun Run (12km)

* Get back to a healthier diet (slipped up a bit of late)

* Continue with counselling and work toward understanding myself better and building up a self esteem

* Consider what I might like to do in terms of bringing in a supplemental income for the family (youngest will be at preschool in 2008 and then school in 2009 - I would like to contribute just a small amount of supplemental income if I can)

FAMILY

* Take the kids to see the snow (they haven’t seen snow yet - the closest is a couple of days drive from us)

* Get back into helping out in the kids classrooms at school

* Family time at the beach

* Continue our Friday night Family Nights

* Continue with once a month date nights (sometimes lunches) with DH (this will be harder with him returning to a full workload)

HOME

* Get paving done outside

* Plant some fruit trees

* Work on decluttering and simplifying

FINANCIAL

* Work out a budget (we need more room for shoes for DS and a few other areas will need to go up)

* Continue to learn new ways to stretch $$ further.  Plan new challenges (and repeat old ones).

* Learn more about self sufficiency and what we can start implementing in that respect.

* Find money to purchase a caravan and save for our 3 month trip in 2009

* Consider our long-term savings and superannuation plans

BLOG

* Continue to learn how to make the best use of all the functions wordpress has to offer

* Build up my readership

* Consider and decide whether I want to monetise as part of my “supplemental income” goals

 Well, that’s a good start at least!!!

What are your plans and goals for 2008?

I love new beginnings! I love Mondays as they signal the start of a fresh week. I love mornings as they signal the start of a new day. I love babies as they signal the start of a new life. I love tiny little green shoots as they poke their heads out of the dark soil in the garden with all the promise that they bring.

September 1st. The start of spring and bringing with it the promise of all things new. Usually we get to this time of year and we’re looking forward to shaking off the winter blues and enjoying a bit more sun. Not sure it’s quite the case this year with all the warm weather in August. But, the sentiment is still there. September 1st is symbolic of “all things new”. In my mind at least.

I didn’t really set myself too many goals at the beginning of the year. I’ve just been reading over my January posts and I had some ideas of what I wanted out of this year. But I didn’t really set goals as such. So I’ve decided I’d like to make some goals and plans for what I want to achieve between now and the end of the year.

HEALTH

My health has had to be a big focus this year. Particularly my mental health. I feel like we’re actually getting somewhere with that. I still continue to see a counsellor on a weekly basis and it’s hard to set any kind of timeline on that (as to when we’ll be finished). As part of that though I am working on a reflective life story and I would like to complete that before the year ends.

Winter has proven to be a difficult month in terms of physical health. I guess there are no surprises there. That has meant that my physical fitness has declined somewhat over that time. This week I have just gotten back into exercising daily so I’m looking forward to rebuilding that fitness again over the coming months.

With the colder weather and feeling a bit blah, my healthy eating has slidden a bit. Today is the day to get back on track with that. Making healthier choices and cutting down (not out but down) on the amount of non nutritious food that I put into my body.

I’m happy about the fact that I’ve lost just over 10kg this year, bringing my total weight loss since my heaviest weight to just over 20kg. I have around 6-7 kg to go to reach my healthy weight range and would really like to achieve that before the end of the year.

FAMILY

Last weekend when we went away in the camper trailer overnight was fantastic. It was a great time for bonding as a family. It would be good if we could get away (even for a night) in the camper trailer at least 2 more times before the end of this year.

DH and I would also like to get away for a night or 2 without the kids and reconnect. It’s never easy to find time to spend together when you have young kids who need a lot of time and attention.

HOUSE

My decluttering attempts have been very stop start so far this year. In some ways they need to take a lower priority than many other things in life. But I’m working on doing 15 minutes of decluttering a day on the days I’m up to it. I’m setting myself the goal of decluttering 15 grocery size bags (or equivalent) of clutter to be gone from this house by the end of the year. I think that’s around 1 a week so not too lofty a goal.

GARDEN

I plan to continue on with my attempts to vegie garden. I’m hoping to be able to grow lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, beans, corn and pumpkin over the summer. Plus strawberries - yum!!!. We’ll see how we go. Last night we had fresh lettuce and some fresh peas from the garden and the kids all thought that was great!

HOBBIES

I’ve made a start on a blanket for J on one of my looms which has been sidelined a bit with my dishcloth knitting attempts. I’m hoping to get that plus several dishcloths knitted. Also a felted bag for DD and a couple of other smaller projects.

I’d also like to make a start on DD’s baby scrapbook. I’ve never scrapbooked before so I keep putting off starting. If I could just get 1 page done I think that would be a good start.

FINANCES

Our budget was already trimmed at the beginning of the year. So far I’ve been happy with the attempts that I’ve made to keep it down even further. I’m not sure how much of a surplus we’re likely to end up with this year but I need to keep reminding myself that it’s already been cut back drastically so simply getting through the year without running out of money is an achievement in itself. This will all get reviewed in January, ready for a new budget to begin on February 1st.

We’ll be working on the electricity challenge for the next few months. That and not overspending on Christmas are probably my 2 financial challenges for the rest of this year.

CHRISTMAS

I’m already well on my way to organising presents for this year, including some I’ve made myself which is something new for me. I like to have the present buying etc wrapped up by 1st December if I can.

In past years I’ve kept a change jar to use for special treats for both Christmas and the January holidays. I’ve been a bit slack on that this year so I’m going to try and focus on that over the next few months and see if I can generate a few $$ toward these.

We haven’t made any decisions about where we’ll be Christmas Day this year. Last year we did something unique and snuck away in the camper trailer for a couple of nights. It was our first Christmas with just our family and wonderfully simple and relaxed. If DH’s sister decides to come home this year I guess we’ll be under a certain amount of pressure to spend Christmas with his family. I guess we’ll just wait and see what pans out. My family has already had *Christmas*. They celebrated while they were all together in July. We couldn’t make it unfortunately.

So there is plenty happening and plenty to do. But not so much that I’m feeling overwhelmed so I think I have the balance about right for now. Makes for a nice change.