My Layoff Plan

I haven't been successful in finding a new job. I just had my exit interview at my current job, which means as of Monday (or Saturday, depending on how you look at these things) I join the ranks of the unemployed. Scary, as I've never been there before.

Since I have a great tendency toward inertia, I need to have a plan for what exactly I'll do when I don't have a job to go to every day. Obviously I'll continue looking for jobs, and I plan to do freelance writing as well (so, you know, if you have any opportunities please send them my way). It will also be nice to have the summer to spend with Hailey - she'll still go to daycare a few days a week so that I can do freelance stuff and maintain my sanity (and I think daycare is good for kids), but we'll be home together quite a bit. Considering I was on FMLA last summer, we have a good groove of mommy-baby summers together. :)

But ... there are some things I want to accomplish while there are fewer demands on my time. Here's a partial list ... which will be added to as things come up.

• Take Hailey to visit my grandma in southern Minnesota (they've been together at a wedding, but we haven't actually made the trip yet - yikes)
• See my friend Jen in Fargo (she works in Alexandria once a week, so that may be where we meet up)
• Help my parents move, and probably help my mom with events this summer
• Lose some weight and get in shape enough to take a long bike ride with the baby trailer
• Thoroughly clean the house - and get rid of crap

That's a short list. I'll also be helping my mother-in-law with her business while they're on vacation, doing house stuff/lawn maintenance, helping my sister with her kids when she has no daycare, and helping Nick put up the shed. But I need some concrete goals so it doesn't turn into a summer of me on the couch watching Live with Kelly and Michael (don't judge). Hopefully I am soon employed!

Anything I should add to the list? 

Things I Am Sure No One Else Cares About

Recently I have come to the conclusion that I say "gotta" too much: We gotta go to the store. We just gotta get some Shamrock shakes. Etc. I don't like this. While I am usually pretty careful about what I say, this is a phrase that does not make me sounds smart. And since it is not a necessary part of speech, I should stop saying it.

Also "hopefully" in the sense of "it is to be hoped. "Hopefully" means "in a hopeful manner - an attitude, rather than a general sense of hoping.

So, if you hear me saying these things, please stop me. I intend to be vigilant, but it's hard. And I don't want to do something such as a quarter jar, since I find those to be more trouble than they are worth. But I am accepting ideas for something that will help me stop!

2010 Goals

Since this blog was originally started to track my goals, and since 2009 is over, it's new goal time. So here is what I will work toward in 2010.

• Accrue no new debt in 2010. Doesn't sound that hard, but since Juliet's income is now supporting two people it's harder than it used to be.
• Accumulate savings equal to four paychecks. This may conflict with the no-new-debt goal, and there is some travel dollars that will be spent this year, but what's the point of goals if they aren't ambitious?
• Maintain my current weight.
• Tone my arms before the wedding. They will still have farmer's freckles, but they needn't keep waving after I stop.
• Complete 10 freelance jobs this year. Both to help with the financial goals, and to increase my marketability and learn new skills. Can't grow if you don't stretch.
• Have an awesome wedding. Followed by an awesome marriage!

Goal Check-In

I originally started this goal as part of my accountability group to stay on top of my goals. Group has since dissolved, but as I am an honest Ginger I am following up on how I did in 2009. 2010 goals to follow soon(ish).

• Lose weight: Pass! I thought my ideal weight was 170 ... as of last week I hit my Weight Watchers goal of 160 (as of this week, I am above that - too much holiday fun). So happiness. Sad that none of my clothes fit (I hate shopping for clothes), but I can take the bad with the good.
• Professional Development: Fail. No formal training occurred. Although I have taken on some new responsibilities (due to some changes in the team) and I am generally happier with work than I was at this time last year, so while I can't honestly call it a success I am not feeling bad about the failure.
• Strengthen connections: Pass? Attended class reunion, keeping up on Facebook and elsewhere ... it's lame, but I am keeping tabs on those important to me. I also intended to blog at least weekly, which is a fail, but disregarding a few time periods it went pretty well. And although I live far from my work friends we are still buds. Next step: friends where I actually live.
• Increase practical fun skills: Pass, I think. Much better cook than I was last year, although I haven't quantified recipes. But less processed food goes into my mouth, so success. This goal was also intended to make me a better knitter - fail. Mostly due to lack of effort.
• I thought I also had a goal to compete in a bike race. I did fail at this, due to my lack of competitive spirit. But I did bike much, and I enjoyed it. And I dragged Boyfriend out with me often (often on the homemade tandem), so that is a double pass.

Overall a good year. Perhaps reflection to follow, but 2010 goals to follow for sure. I just need to figure out what they are specifically. And I need some sleep, as I am rather a tired panda.

Fat Tuesday and 41 More Days

So it occurs to me that Lent starts tomorrow. And though I'm not very religious, I like the idea of using the opportunity to give something up/do something good. I would like it to be something that would make me healthier (something that isn't giving up sweets - let's be realistic here) or something that results in an improved social condition (volunteering or otherwise giving something). Any ideas? I'm am thinking of seriously curbing my screentime, doing something like the 100 push-up challenge (challenge being the key word for me), or something like giving up pre-made lunches, but I'm open to suggestions. Help!

Victory 1

Knoephla soup was tasty! Turned out exactly like it was supposed to, so that was awesome. Knoephlas were originally a little big, but it turns out you can just cut them in half even when they are partially cooked. I am pretty excited about this progress. Cut my finger on a can of tomatoes last night, but still happy. Ripped out several recipes for consideration this weekend.

Shoulder continues to heal. The exercise class I usually attend is cancelled all week, so trying a new one Thursday and determined to work out on my own tomorrow (volleyball tonight counted in my world).

Need to narrow down the professional development. Now. At the point in the year where my job is a little dull, so I need to make some progress there. Just need the specifics on that.

Purchased a spiffy new laptop over the weekend, so the blog can now be cooler. For some reason my camera wouldn't start just now, but I assume that's just the battery. But keeping with the blog so far.

One of my yearly goals is to see all th Oscar nominated movies. I never meet this goal, and this year seems to be no exception. At this point it's a geography issue ... most of them never come to a theater near me. But I have made peace with that, and I am doing OK so far this year. Side note, but there you go.

Still Here

No, I'm not one of those bloggers who blogs twice and gives up. Give me at least 10 posts before giving up. And I'm not one of those bloggers who whines about poor progress. But I am one of those bloggers who takes time off over the holidays and was tired. So here's the LD (which I think is a stupid thing to say, by the way).

Christmas was good. New Year's Eve was good. Parents kicked in a generous amount to the laptop fund, so that will blogging even cooler. Scary drive home, but as I was driving from North Dakota to Minnesota in January that's really not surprising.

Goal updates:

• Lose weight/bike race: I am back in the gym. Good volleyball game tonight - sweat and the whole thing. No progress on the actual biking, but the overall objective is coming along.
• Professional development: No progress. 2009 is still young, though.
• Practical fun skills: FAILED attempt at gravy (which I love) last weekend. Attempting knoephla soup (North Dakota girl at heart) this weekend ... updates as events warrant. Dug out some knitting patterns and signing up for a class. Maybe it's because this goal is "fun," but I have made most progress here.
• Connections: Christmas cards not out. That's pretty indicative of the progress there.
  
• Other: All visible vermin killed (there was a mouse problem). Shoulder has been looked at -- probably bursitis, which it turns out is much easier to fix than I could have hoped. So I am declaring success.
  

Since blog is still secret from Boyfriend (who occupies all weekends) and my weeknights are redonkulously busy, hope for an update soon but don't hold your breath.

Setback

Not an official goal but something I wanted to do in 2009 was to pay my car loan off before Christmas -- which would have been about three months early. And when I knew I wanted to do this, I knew it was an ambitious plan.

And my company has announced no raises for next year, and likely no bonus. Which is a decision I totally respect and understand (I have heard something about the economy), but it does make it hard to pay things off early.

So not really a setback. I can still totally meet my official goals, I can still make my car payments on time and pay it off in 2010, and I can afford to keep
myself clothed and fed (clothed on the cheap, fed better paid to my practical fun skills goal). I am lucky in many respects. And I am hoping to take a summer vacation with Boyfriend. All is well.

Juliet's Life

Welcome to my blog! You may or may not know me, but you'll get to know me as you read on.

I started this blog because as I was setting and stepping out my goals for 2009 it became apparent that I needed a way to track my progress. So here we are. The blog may morph into many other things (and it may happen sooner rather than later), but that's the genesis.

So here are the goals.

• Lose weight. Yes, I am that creative. Since one of the objectives of this blog is total honesty, I'll throw out that my ideal weight (for now) is about 170. This is a big weight loss. But honestly, it's about being healthy more than the actual number, so there will probably be a selection of food and fitness goals here rather than actual weight loss goals. I am thinking that one of the first goals will be training for and completing a bike event ("race", but I'm more about completing the event than doing it speedily).
  
• Professional development in 2009. Regardless of my economy or the state of my current job or whatever, I need to grow my skills. This will both make me more marketable and increase my satisfaction with my work. I'm in communications, and I'd really like to become an expert in internal communications.
• Strengthen connections. I feel like I have strong connections with people I see often, but I would like to keep friendships and relationships with people who aren't in my day-to-day life at the moment. Enter the blog, and there will be some more steps there.
• Increase my practical fun skills (which is a term I pretty much made up). At the moment, this looks like increasing my knitting and cooking skills - two new recipes a month, and some (undetermined) knitting project.

So this is where you come in. Help me stay accountable, and stay tuned for progress. Since there are goals for the blog, we're going for 1-2 posts per week.