Monday, Poised and Ready

[Harriet]

Here we are at the edge of the new.

What are you poised to discover, or to take action on, in the coming year?

How are you planning that? Do tell!

Composed, dignified, and self-assured, that's us.

[Lynlee]

waving from the new year.
Good night.

[Nancy]

Today h is on call the day is new we are watching the sunrise.
I made out a short li st for h to grab at the store.
I love a few inches.
Planning to go to the basement bc of the fireworks with the dog in the night.

[blessedw2]

Happy New years d Lynlee!!!

Happy New years eve d harriet!

Happy new Years eve d nancy! watching the sunrise - wonderful!

hello all.

Composed, dignified, and self-assured, that's us.

definitely d Harriet. thank you.

[LadyMaverick]

I am all alone. DH went to take care of church business. DS10 and DGD7 were just picked up by DD. Sweet!

I need to do some financial reckoning and write a check or two to close out the end of the year.

[blessedw2]

Long post:

Every New Years I go back over the last year and try to see what worked and what didn't work and if I am reaching my goals I set for myself. I like having an over all plan for the year so I reach the goals I want. 2018 was not that year.

My questions I am asking myself. I do this yearly but I let everything go in 2018.

1. Am I flying by the seat of my pants and letting my impulse ADD take over (with no thought process).?
2. Did I accomplish the learning or activity I plan in the beginning of the year - my d dad (organized and smart) did this every year for 1 or 2 things.
3. How did my Clutter affect me.? is it building?
4. my dd youngers: dd younger - is she go towards her future - her brain, ADHD, focus on how to break it down - how's that going - how can i help her with guidance?
5. Did I waste grocerys or eating out? did I actually eat the meals I planned or did I toss a lot of things. (how is that vegetarian going).
6. Money???Was I responsible. Impulse - I want it buying - how was it. did you budget. ?
7. Relationships - do you devote time to family and friends? Community? Fun? did I get caught up with the negative and react(lost that one this year) ?
8. My home cleaning/blessing?
9. Christmas?
10. are you taking time for yourself or is it fluff that you are giving yourself. (were you true to do the things you love)?

I know that it seems like a lot but it is spread over the whole year. I think about these things a lot during the year and if I don't plan ahead I fly by the seat of my pants.

2018 - I truly let the year go. and I don't like it. So my old stand by 3 x 5: how is that working for you? I didn't even pull this card out the second half of the year.

Jordan page (a budget you tuber) says that she looks to the end of the year (2020) and makes a goal for 2019 - then she plans backwards. This includes vacations, life, learning, money, dates with her husband, time with family and friends and then splits goals up over the months. She says by doing that she can see if she is reaching the goals she wants. I found that interesting. (especially for helping dd younger and myself).

I found that I didn't plan as much as raising chickens on paper (and I didn't even do that). I love making a goal but my goals never happened. I was so so far behind. (the house especially). I let my anxiety hit an all time high. Not having a plan during the year lowered my quality of life. (I am still happy - but I missed learning). Getting used to dh and I being alone is taking a little getting used to.

So starting fresh. I pulled the word for the year:
Fitness
- Financial fitness
- physical and eating healthy fitness
- friends and family fitness - taking time to enjoy my family and friends with date day with dh, dates with dd's dates with family and friends.
- home fitness: dejunk, de-clutter, routines, BWP, zones, repairs. decorating in budget. stop CHAOS
-goal fitness: what is my goal for the year? start at 2020 and go back and see how I can fit this and everything above into my calendar.
- menu fitness: eat what you have, stay in a budget, prep meals in am so I am not too tired to cook and find myself tossing out a lot of food, reduce eating out. time with family.
- community: church and do something good for others within a limit.
- happiness fitness: do things that make you happy during the year.

I can't believe i let 2018 get away from me. (weird thing is I am still happy but I know I will be happier to be productive along with having purpose).

[Harmony]

Working on year end here.

Oh, before I forget: I wasn't here yesterday to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KEN AND TWINS DH.

Thought it was time to look at online posting of W2, and W3. Much time spent looking at instructions. The Govt. sure doesn't make it easy. Easy system to put IN the taxes, not an easy system to report them at year end. Ok, so registering should be ok, I understood all that. But making the W2 and then submitting and going back to print out for employees more complicated.

So I figured, oh well, just throw my forms into my typewriter.. (I already got them from the tax system in mail) 2 color so can't just download and print and send...they insist on the red and black... and take to post office. Huh. 1 more year.

Typewriter has been plugged in all year, not used all year, only keep it for the W2 and W3 and 1099 stuff (subcontractor reporting). Turned it on and BANG!! Sparks and smoke from inside. Pulled the plug and got rid of smoke. Praying hard, I put it in front of open window and crossed my fingers, plugged in again and got form printed, having to stop twice to pull plug and wave away smoke. At the middle of W3 it quit working. They don't accept handwritten ones.

I guess it's done for. Makes my life much more complicated. I have no idea of anybody around who still has a typewriter. Other services online to print out require 2-color printer, so assuming DH doesn't quit in 2019 I will have to figure out the more labor intensive online stuff. Sigh.....

Did find that 1099's are accepted handwritten if legible and 100% correct and since I do all the lettering on our plans, my printing is superb.

Don't see a way to get inside the bottom of the typewriter to see if there's just a wire to replace. Years ago I took typewriter to a repair place for something and they only worked on manual ones. Yikes! Who would ever use one of those any more? Maybe a toy one someplace? Really! I wonder is Sunny still has hers...she and I had similar. Mine, one of the first word processors, the screen being a 2 1/2" x 1/2" window! It should be an antique!

Oh well. That's my day so far. Just us here for New Years... I could open the bottle of Rum.....nah...

Reading blessed's post made me think about the other day looking at Christmas budget for this year. I went 25% over and know exactly why but it couldn't be helped this year. Still...my gifts were mostly way beneath everybody else's and I have always thought that I just can't keep up with everybody else.

LadyM, Amazed at the house description. Myself, I'm not motivated to live in such a place...we're talking about downsizing here a bunch.

[BookSaver]

Good morning, villagers ~
I've been down with a bad cold since Friday. Fortunately, we didn't make any plans for the New Year's long weekend so I've been able to take many naps as needed. I already had cold meds in house, which was a blessing, too.

Yesterday I felt well enough to leave the house (plus felt the need to relieve the cabin fever!) and we met old friends J&J for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Love that hot tea!

We stopped at Aldi on the way home. I assumed that there would be extra food with DH along, because he notices different things than I do. This time, though, there was an unexpected purchase due to the fact that he was helping put things in our shopping bags. When I was putting the food away at home, I discovered an extra package of meat.

I hope the person in line in front of us wasn't counting on cooking those pork chops for supper last night.

No need to feel guilty because I found the item on our receipt, so we did pay for them.

I can't remember the last time I cooked pork chops. I found a recipe online last night. Now I need to figure out side dishes. What do you usually serve with pork chops?

[LadyMaverick]

What do you usually serve with pork chops?

Mashed potatoes are a favorite with our "meat & potatoes" loving fellas.

I've decided to relax a bit. It is a rare occurrence that I'm home alone and I just want to breathe and enjoy the moments.

[Ramblinrose]

Morning...

Had a tough night with a migraine. In recovery mode.

Harmony...I never try to keep up with others for Christmas presents. Started long ago when I divorced. Dxhusband made way above an average income and l was a struggling undergrad at 38 working as a waitress to make ends meet. He could afford any thing and I could hardly afford fruit roll ups for my son.

That when I started giving memories. First single Christmas with my son I gave him a kitten, plus a bike I worked hard to save for. My son tells me they were still some of his best Christmas ever. As the years past I had to get creative. And learned I enjoyed doing it.

This year I gave my son a wooden puzzle box...something he now looks for every year. One year I didn’t and he was very disappointed cause he missed it. I hid an Episcopalian medal on a chain for him inside the box. I search for over a month to find the medal. It cost me $22 and another $25 for the chain. I also give him a subscription to his favorite magazine that we both read... this gives us something to talk abt when he calls. My new daughter videoed my son working to open his puzzle box and the joy when he discovered his medal. His reaction was priceless!

The cookbooks I made for my mom to give to her grandkids were loved by all. My mom told me that each of her grandkids told her it was their favorite gift this year. The photo books I used cost me $1.99 each. And I made 6 copies of a picture of mom to put on the front... that was another $4. I bought 3D heart you use by on sheets to decorate memory books that cost me $2.

I usually ship my mom a box of oranges for Christmas which she loves cause she eats oranges every day of her life. I added three pairs of cute Christmas socks cause she loves those. One year not long ago I took a picture of our summer home that we lived in when I was little. She’s always told me those were her happiest years of her life for many reasons. I framed it and handmade a label that said... Summer Memories. She cried when she opened it and told me she carried the picture from room to room so she could look at it.

This year I did go overboard with Sweetie... bought him pjs and basketball tickets to see his favorite basketball team.

I find it asked, most people can’t remember what someone gives them for Christmas in past years. Not my son. It’s the memories I love to make because I know I’m not always gonna be around.

Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away. Made a huge roast with all sorts of veggies so dinner is done for tonight. Gonna snooze for a little while longer.

Happy New Years to y’all!!!