written friday at work

[brightbluegirl]

I've been thinking about all the cleaning we'll have to do before my brother gets here. I mean, we've been neglecting proper house cleaning anyway, but my brother has allergies that are worse than mine, so we'll need to clean extra well.

-take down tree
-sweep
-dust
-vacuum (paying particular attention to corners) (put down baking soda on carpet below kitty litter, wait 15 min, then vacuum it up)
-mop kitchen floor
-clean couch cover
-wash windows in work room and bedroom with vinegar (to get the mold off them, plus clean them)
-wash kitchen window (if we have time)
-clean bathroom (pay particular attention to floor around toilet, and corners)
-laundry (might as well do it when we're both home)


That's all I can think of for now.

---

I've also been thinking of life goals for the year. Renewing life goals at the new year has always felt really cheesy to me, so I used to do it on (or near) my birthday. When Andrew and I got together, he started doing that with me, but it's not HIS birthday. The date is just as arbitrary as the new year date. When we were camping after the whatzit, we sat and made some goals, and they were good... but we haven't really revisited them at ALL since creation, and I'm not even sure where they are.

Usually we make our goals, put them up in an oft-travelled area at home, and keep them in mind that way, but that didn't happen last time.

So I think, sometime over the weekend will be a good time to rewrite our goals, find a place to put them, and revitalize ourselves in that way. Reworking goals is something that should happen dynamically anyway - not once a year (or less).

I'm glad we both have some time off - Andrew works on Sunday, but neither one of us works tomorrow, nor on Monday. It'll be good to have that alone time before my brother gets here.

Life will be different with him here.

Damn, we need to buy a few pillows for him too, and get our blanket and sleeping bags back from zaftigvegan's place. *sigh*

On the up side, if Andrew and I do decide to go away for a week in early Feb, I know my brother (henceforth known as Gonzo), will be around to take care of the cats. Possibilities abound! (I was going to start talking about a REAL TRIP here, but really... I checked our savings last night, we have $260 in there, since we siphon most of our extra money into debt repayment. We can't go far for $260... hmmmm if we want to go to Albuquerque in Sept, maybe we shouldn't go for a trip right now at all, and instead just save more $ for then)


Anyway, so far as my own goals go:

1) Reduce debt by at least 6 thousand dollars (of course, I'd like to reduce it by much more, but... there are other goals which may get in the way).
2) Move to a place that is quieter, bigger, closer to the skytrain (or closer to work for both of us), and has a working shower, that is bug free and does not have any new annoyances. (whether this is by moving to a place we own or not is up in the air)
3) maintain a workout schedule of at least 15 hours monthly
4) stretch 5x weekly (I SORELY let this one go this year)
5) relax more and take more time for myself
6) quilt (this has been on my list for YEARS - but over Christmas Andrew's mom spent a little time with me about quilting, and I think I'm more prepared to take the plunge. I was going to take a course, but I don't think I need to). Make one quilt or an equivalent.
7) take a drawing course
8) visit Ontario for at least a week, (including getting some work done on my back piece)
9) As a family, make more money monthly. Preferably by both partners making more money.

---

So this week Andrew sent off an email asking where he is on the wait list for the carpentry course thingie. They responded, and apparently the average wait time is 1 year, and they have him on the wait list as of October 7 this year. I feel better just having an idea, you know? Now we can plan for it. He's still convinced that his parents will pay for his school, but I don't know. I have an odd feeling about it (but then again, I'm a pessimist about that sort of thing, so...). For all I know, they may say that now that he's a 'man', because he's 'married', it's up to him to take care of himself in that way. But, we don't really need to think about that right now. Once he hears from the school asking when he can start, he'll talk to his parents. If they say no, then we'll take care of it. It's not a big deal.

I also, for the heck of it, figured out some stuff, and Andrew is only working 27 hours a week right now. We discussed it, and really, that's great when he's taking courses as well, but since he decided not to take any courses, but to instead focus on work until the carpentry thing comes through, well... he needs to rethink this whole thing. His boss is good in some ways, but really not in others. He's going to do some job searching with my brother, when my brother gets here. At least he can search while he's still working, instead of having no job at all.

---

I may appear as if I'm not thinking about the tsunami and all those deaths - I do think about it, just as I think about the other horrible-ness that exists in our world. There is so much death that could be avoided, so much hardship that could be avoided.

It's not that I don't care - it's that I can't talk about it because I care so much.

Comments

[pennycuts.livejournal.com]

WOw you've been busy setting great goals but then again both you and ANdrew seem to be active with the goal setting.
I always read you lists of to do things and one day, i wanna grow up and be just like that.;)

Actually this year i've had to carry around a day planner just so i can get things straight and now its exprired and i need a new one, but it really help keep things semi-planned for me.

Mel sent me a great book to organize my bills which is really a big issue for me, i'm all over the place, so that will make my bookeeper happy too.

Best wishes :)