Plans are just possibilities

Well, some people say what is the sense in having a plan if you don’t use it.  Or there is the age old plan to work and work your plan.  What people don’t know is that plans are just possibilities. 

I make plans - meal plans, cleaning plans, weekend plans.  Why do I make them?  So I have an idea of what I would like to do, where I would like to go.  Last week I made a two week meal plan.  Well, my meal plan has been rearranged but it is still there.  And looking at the meal plan, if I failed to get some of the items necessary for a meal, I at least had some ideas as to what else to make.  This way there was a meal at the end of the day.

My grand cleaning plan has gone to hell in a hand basket.  I did no deep cleaning last week.  It was kitchen week.  I should have been out in my kitchen.  There are so many possibilities out there.  I think the table can be made smaller because there are only four of us here on a regular basis.  This would mean a few more chairs in the living room.  The leaf can go back in when the other kids are all home.  This is not a big change but would be a wonderful one in keeping stuff picked up - there wouldn’t be as many chairs for people to set things on or hang things over.

Another area in the kitchen that needs big work is the floor, more so after this weekend as I noticed it was very sticky near the fridge.  I need to get things out of there and do a good stripping of the floor.

Also, the cupboards.  I have wanted to paint the white but I can live with that.  It is the inside that I need to get through.  There are way too many plastic containers and other things that I don’t know why I am keeping them.

Oh well, the best laid plans…..

Menu Planning - Jan 25 to Feb 11

25 Jan - Saucy BBQ Chicken Sammies
26 Jan - Turkey Noodle Casserole
27 Jan - Ginger-Soy Chicken
28 Jan - White Pita Pizzas
29 Jan - Easy Potato Soup
30 Jan - Spaghetti and Meatballs
31 Jan - Five Spice Burgers
1 Feb - Leftovers
2 Feb - Chicken in Vadalia Onion Sauce
3 Feb - Walnut-Parsley-Rosemary Pesto and Linguine
4 Feb - Shredded Beef with Onions and Peppers Sandwiches
5 Feb - Bread Bowl, Sweet and Sour Cocktail Franks, Dips (Super Bowl)
6 Feb - Chicken, Corn and Black Bean Stoup
7 Feb - Chicken Nuggets and Fries
8 Feb - Indian Tofu and Spinach over Almond Rice
9 Feb - Sweet Chicken Sausage Patties
10 Feb - Macaroni and Cheese
11 Feb - Leftovers

Grand Plan or Grand Unplan

I have always been working on a “grand plan” but this time I am talking about a deep cleaning plan for my home.  My mother says I am very much like her.  I don’t like to clean but I do it.  I just don’t necessarily do it regularly.  I do the daily things - laundry, dishes - regularly.  I don’t do the sweeping, vaccing regularly.  I need to start.
 
I always thought a little support would help me.  Having to be accountable to someone other than myself - question is why do I think being accountable to someone else is more important than being accountable to myself - would make me do what I say.  It doesn’t.  I like to work on my own time table.  I find it hard to not be deep cleaning the same room as everyone else.  I don’t find the support in it.  On top of that, my week usually starts on Wed, with a big push over the weekend, and then putting the room back together again at the beginning of the week.
 
You would think I could do it, knowing all that.  Doesn’t seem to be working this time.
 
Oh well….off to clean!

Aspirations for 2006

Well, I have sat and looked at last year’s aspirations and goals. I have noted where they have gone, been accomplished or otherwise. Now I need to work these into my life in 2006.

• Submit art and get published. To this end, I am going to try to create something at least three days a week. My creating has gone to the wayside as work has increased. I am also, as a way to get published, going to look ahead to the themes major art magazines will have in 2006 so that I may have a creation on hand to submit. I will also join at least three swaps a month to keep me creating whether I want to or not. So basically, there are several steps within this one goal.
• Help Susan make a successful transition to all facets of college life - social, athletic (more on her own that coach run) and academic.
• Work on reorganizing the garage. The goal of being able to fit a car in it is rather unrealistic but it is possible to get it reorganized so that I am not afraid to open the door.
• Lead Simple Abundance faithfully this year. Be sure to post a starter to each monthly thread.
• Be more active as a mod at OrganizedHome.com.
• Read 2 books a month - including re-reads.
• Fitness - I will walk 500 miles this year. In past years, I have done a month by month goal and then get disappointed when I don’t reach it. I will say this - Jan and Feb will have 20 miles each. I will list the rest of the months by mid-Feb. I will walk more during the summer months here due to our lovely weather.
• Fitness 2 - Once the kids are back at school and the tree is put away, mid-month, I will do Pilates 4 times a week.
• Budget - I will attempt to not overdraw my debit account at all in any given month this year. Sometimes this is hard for me. It should be easier this year as I renegotiated my pay structure mid-year last year and it is a set amount per week.
• Budget 2 - I will pay my utility - electric and gas come together - on time.
• Budget 3 - I will pay off debt as I can.
• I will become adept at utilizing menu planning so as to maximize the money spent on food and the variety in our diets.

Review of Last Year’s Aspirations

Here are my aspirations from last year.  I have a section below that sort of lists where I went with them.

• Have my art published somewhere. I am aiming for print publication but in an online zine will work also.
• Help the twins make the transition from high school to college smoothly.
• Finish decluttering garage so that at least one car will fit in it. Since, at this precise moment, that is all the cars we have, it would be nice. The unfortunate, or unrealistic, part about this is the garage is the only storage space I have so it may not really work as a garage for a car.
• Finish Simple Abundance totally this year.
• Read one new book each month.
• Keep a monthly goal of miles walked. Try to meet or exceed the monthly goal each month.
• Work to establish a new budget starting in June with the new college expenses that will come with two more teens going off to college in August.
• Utilize menu planning to maximize the money spent on food.

While I submitted many places and in many formats, I did not reach my goal of being published in 2005. I am going to carry this aspiration over to 2006 with more detailed steps to getting published.

Aspiration 2 is definite! Both twins have had successful first semesters.   Elise had a low grade of an A- so even though homesick on occasion, she made the academic transition.  The homesickness went away as she got more involved on campus.

Aspiration 3 is well, unrealistic.   This has not happened. I did some decluttering over the summer months but not enough for a car to fit in. I am going to keep working on it throughout the 2006 year but most likely will not do much until at least March due to weather.

Simple Abundance was read in totality.  This did happen. I have started a 2006 group in aspire: book group at OrganizedHome.com.

Overall, the books I read in 2006 would average out to one new book per month. Actually, I read 25 new books, not including re-reads, in 2005. Unfortunately, I seem to clump these and do not read consistently throughout the year. I will work on this more in 2006.

Any fitness goal I had sort of fell by the wayside as work picked up. I am going to try this again this year.   I am going to set a miles goal for the year and break it into monthly chunks that reflect the walking weather here in upstate NY.

I am working slightly out of my budget at the moment so need work in this area.

I do utilize menu planning occasionally but do not do it regularly so need more work here also.   By utilizing this on a regular basis, I hope to keep within my food budget and introduce my family to a more varied, healthy diet.