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2014: Let the Goals Begin!

27 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by cosmichomicide in Changes & Progress, Health, Home, Minimalist, TEDTalk

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bucket list, certifications, goals, health, home, money, organize, TED Talks

Last year frankly worked pretty well with smaller monthly goals, so we’re gonna continue with that method though we are going to fiddle with the categories a bit and add one for “Habit of the Month”.  This came out of an earlier post about a TEDTalk that suggested doing one new thing for 30 days.  Some things are going to be prescheduled since the big fitness goal for this year is the Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon in November 2014.

Happy-New-Year-2014-Celebration-Black-WallpaperDaily habits I’d like to develop or improve upon include writing/journaling, exercising, reading for pleasure, taking a picture and so on.  I don’t know if I can come up with 12 right off the bat, but I’m expecting more to grow out of the initial ones.  The big financial goal is 3 months of living expenses in the bank on top of the money the heir will need for college, so we’re going to continue with the cost cutting.  We did pretty well last year, but we had a few major expenses and we can do better I think.  We shall see.  And we will, of course, continue with the decluttering and the home improvement with the long term goal of being “ready to go” should we decide to sell the homestead at some point in the future.  Professional development will continue to be on the list, though I’m shifting focus from technical to process and management.  And, of course, at least one bucket list item marked off.

New for 2014 I’m going to try to think out for a quarter so that if I see an opportunity to complete/trade off a later goal, I can.  I’m also adding “clean up” months or “bye rounds” throughout the year to catch up on goals that were perhaps a bit more than they seemed and to manage the months that just fly by.  Plus, it seems more sane and realistic.

So, let’s take a look at January:

  • Fitness – Hit my Fitbit goals for the month (yep, Christmas present)
  • Professional – Complete the ITIL 2011 Intermediate SOA qualification
  • Habit – Fitness and Food Journaling
  • Home – Guest bedroom
  • Financial – 401K and retirement accounts
  • Decluttering – File for 2013 taxes, set up 2014 files
  • Cost cutting – Insurance review

And February:

  • Fitness – Sign up for the NC Half Marathon Twilight 5K in March
  • Professional – Complete the ITIL 2011 MALC (Expert) qualification
  • Habit – Take or draw a picture every day
  • Home – [month off to catch up if needed]
  • Financial – 2013 Taxes completed and filed
  • Decluttering – Scan/Shred old records
  • Cost cutting/saving – Cut dining out to one dinner and one lunch per week

Finally, March:

  • Fitness – Complete the NC Half Marathon Twilight 5K
  • Professional – [month off to catch up if needed]
  • Habit – [decluttering habit, see below]
  • Home – Front porch and walks (getting ready for spring!)
  • Financial – update wills
  • Decluttering – Declutter one thing per day (sell, trade, donate, recycle, repair)
  • Cost cutting/saving – Utilities review (gas, power, phone, internet, cellular, TV, etc.)

Looks doable.  Here’s to having some fun, simplifying my life, and rocking 2014!

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Vegas Vacation – Photos and Neon

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by cosmichomicide in Bucket List, Travel

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bucket list, travel

We started out at our favorite breakfast spot across the street from the Bellagio fountains, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris.  Amazing fresh fruit with yogurt and brown sugar, “skinny” pancakes, French toast with blueberries and all the early morning people watching you could possibly want while Mon Ami Gabisipping coffee or a mimosa.  With several hours ahead of us, we cruised down to the National Geographic 50 Greatest Photographs exhibit at the Venetian.  The back stories and videos side by side with some truly iconic photojournalism were fascinating and the ones where the photos taken before and after were displayed alongside the “great shot” were a neat look at how difficult it can be to get that one perfect picture.  Completely worth it, but wear good shoes – it’s a standing exhibit and takes some time.

Last time we were in Vegas, we really wanted to make it to the Neon Boneyard and didn’t manage to get our tour booked in time.  Oddly, this worked out well as they have a new building and new evening tour times.  It’s a short ride from Fremont St. and I highly recommend doing the twilight tour (it costs more but worth it in our opinion).  We were blown away by the tour guide’s knowledge of the history of neon, Las Vegas and of the various neon artists who created the signs.  Some of the signs have been Stardustrefurbished, most have not but the mix frankly adds to the tour.  Make sure you buy water before the tour starts as it is outdoors and gets hot even in the evening.  It’s a sign (yeah, pun) of a great museum or art exhibit when you leave and want to read up and find out more about the topic – I wanted to dig into neon, the artists and Vegas, so a home run.  I highly recommend this if you want to walk through the neon bones of Las Vegas Past.  Schedule in advance and be prepared to take pictures.  Lots of them.  (And be patient – the Stardust photo took me quite some time to get right as I was timing the neon and adjusting angles to get the horizontal stars into the shot.)

Vegas Vacation – Day One

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by cosmichomicide in Bucket List, Travel

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bucket list, travel

Seven days in Vegas.  Last year it was ten.  And still a list we didn’t think we’d get through – but we tried.  Last year we missed Hofbrauhaus – so this year we started there.  Wish we had been there a bit later so we could have spent time with the band and festivities, but the food was terrific and the ambiance was very Munich (one of my favorite cities) since the building is an exact replica of the original in Germany.  The beer was excellent as were the strudels and schnitzels – a great start for the week.

Checked into the Bellagio and headed to the Sports Book for a few drinks and a bit of the British Open (and ponies and baseball) – they have several champagne Bellagio 2011 New Yearspecialty cocktails that are simply light and perfect.  Not to be missed are obviously the Fountains of Bellagio which can be viewed from several of the restaurants, the Strip or from a fountain view room with the “Fountain Channel” playing the accompanying music.  The Fiori Di Como is simply breath taking- the hand blown glass flower chandelier that spans nearly the entire lobby area leading into the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  The gardens are changed seasonally and can be viewed on web cam – particularly fascinating when they are setting up the next exhibit.  This year was a stunning spring scene complete with populated aviary, lighthouse, river, bridge, boat and tree house.  The first year I went (2011) the Chinese New Year was the theme, last year was Holland with tulips, windmills and kites.

There is something to see and something new to discover everywhere in Vegas, even without leaving your hotel.  (Even though we definitely did a lot of that over the week.)  Next up – the Neon Boneyard – not to be missed!

Bucket List Item – Complete a 5K

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by cosmichomicide in Bucket List, Health

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bucket list, goals, health

Yeah, it’s only a little over 3 miles.  Still, lots of people think about doing a race (even a short one) and never do.  I decided to do the Speed for Children in Need 5K at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on December 11, 2011 and I dragged the consort along with me.  I decided from the start that I was going to walk the race as finishing was the priority and I had developed some pretty painful shin splints along the way while getting ready for it.  The race started at the drag strip, went up and over the pedestrian bridge, down and through the tunnel and then finished on the track.  It was frankly pretty cool though the up and down and sideways walking (that track is SLOPED) caught us by surprise.  We finished within the race time (and weren’t dead last).  I’ve done several 5Ks since then and finishing is always pretty neat, but I have to admit the first one (slow as it was) was the biggest rush of accomplishment.  And it got me to add a 10K to the list.  I didn’t do this race last year, but I think I’ll do it this year.  And run this time.

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