Wow! It's Been Too Long!

My last post was.....whew! 9 months ago. What a slacker...

Got a few minor things done on the list. The tragedy is that I got lots of things done that aren't on the list, but few of the "fun" things that are.

Except reading. Been reading alot lately.

Most recent authors: George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Anne Bishop. About 15 books, off the top of my head.

Getting some minor stuff done around the house. Garage sale last summer, lots of purging of old junk. Planning on some painting this spring, probably the living room and kitchen.

I need to update the list...desparately. Too many things that are off the table right now...and lots that should be ON the table. Will need to be careful and keep it balanced between "need to" and "want to" tasks.

That's it for now...

Updates in Progress

I'm finally updating my list to include more realistic goals. Started working on this months ago.....

Posting soon....

Ok, so back to the list....

Since my last update in November I have done the following....

Lost 22 lbs

Watched 7 movies on the AFI list

Read at least 4 books....gotta check my Kindle...there may be a couple more I've forgotten...

Changed my diet in the following ways: cut out soda, "sweet tea" and nearly all junk food. (No McD's, Wendy's, etc.). I drink 4-6 bottles of water per day. I've cut my portion size by more than half on all meals. I drink far less of the sweetened juices, and replaced them with "100 % juice" beverages, smoothies, and veggies juices (in addition to the water). Less gravy, less starchy food, less processed food. More fresh veggies, more fruit.

One thing I have NOT done, was update the content of my list. In a previous post, I'd decided that I needed to freshen it up. I realized that there were a couple of items that just no longer appealed to me, or seamed unfeasible. I'm going to review this over the weekend and see if I can get this done within the next few days, and breathe a little more life back into this endeavor.

OOOH!! I've been called out!

Tickateeboo asked if I'm ever going to update....

But I've been so busy....oh! how cliche' is that?

No really. Busy at work, busy at home. Stressed on all fronts.

So, here is the short list of crap that has had me stressed and busy...

Family drama in November
Tenuous resolution in December
Christmas dinner at my house
More family drama in January and February
Major fallout in Feb-Mar sometime
Work chaos since the beginning of the year...falling way behind
Health issues with aging mom and aunt

On the flip side....

Eldest is bouncing back and moving in a better direction in life.
Middle one is making things happen and progressing toward his goals
Youngest is doing much better in school than last year
Sudden boost of motivation/focus/organization that has allowed me to get (marginally) caught up at work
Awesome hubby
Lost 22 pounds and have improved my diet substantially

Now about that list......

Wow! Been awhile since I've posted and I'm feeling some anxiety about not making much progress. I did get my T-shirt printed, so that makes 15 goals accomplished, but I am so far behind.

Some observations I've made about this list:

1. I put way too many tasks on here that are, by definition, spread over time. Several require doing the same thing for a certain number of times. This is not entirely bad, when my goal is also something that I want to form a habit doing. But those that I'm not interested in turining into a habit, .....well, maybe they're just not that great a goal.

2. There are a few things on here that I've lost interest in, and want to update/change.

3. There are a few things on here that are completely beyond my budget, and as such, I have little possibility of fulfilling them, shy of a lotto win.

4. In reading the lists of others, I've stumbled across a few ideas that, while similar to my own, seem to be more well-thought-out than mine, and I'd like to adopt a few in place of mine.

So, I'm going to update my list and make it more "real" for me.

Goal # 99 Get 7 hours of sleep per night for 2 weeks in a row.

Done!! Can't believe it, but I did it. And I must say that this is me giving up one of my life-long beliefs that I "must" be a night owl at all times.

I feel better, I wake up better and I'm no longer going to cling to the idea that anything worth doing is always done better when its later.

I'm forming a new habit. I'm no longer of the opinion that I have to stay awake so I won't miss anything. If I actually get enough rest most of the time, chances are I'll live longer anyway!

I've been poking around trying to find other 101 listers who are actively working their lists. I did manage to find a few, who I've added to my blog list, that have some great goals and are making progress.

One thing I discoved is that some folks have modified their lists after a period of time, stating that some of the goals they'd originally chosen just no longer held any appeal to them. I get that.

I've got a few on my list that I am pretty certain I will not be able to achieve in the amount of time I have remaining. And maybe a couple that I'm just not all that interested in anymore.

I'm debating.....I've tweeked one or two of mine to reflect the slightly differing status quo, but I haven't actually dropped any completely. Maybe it's time for a refresh......

One thing I have discovered, and I should have known better right from the start, is that my goals should all have been specific and measurable. I've got a few really open-ended, nebulous goals that I have no way of truely measuring. Maybe those will be the ones I axe and replace.

Not sure if anyone is reading this, but if you are, and you also have a 101 list, have you made any changes to yours?