Tag Archives: health

Totally Summer Delicious

20 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Health, Stuff that Works

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

So everyone was going on and on about greek yogurt as the next superfood.  I’m wandering through the grocery store a few weeks ago and see Oikos Greek Yogurt (also Stonyfield Organic) on sale and pick up a random selection.  OMG!  Amazing stuff!  Thick, rich, creamy and filling – I might start living on this stuff if I could find a grocery store that keeps enough in stock. (Coupon available on the site as well.)

2012 – Marching into Spring (Cleaning)

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Changes & Progress, Health, Paperless

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

This year is going waaaay faster than expected.  Still, so far so good.  I did do a couple more substitutions in February, but a couple were huge and had been hanging around for a very long time.  Electronics clutter got moved to March in favor of a massive garage cleaning which actually restored enough space to do things in the garage.  So, here we go with the February summary:

  • Finances – 2011 taxes complete and filed.  This will be the earliest ever, but I have kept up with my filing and have all the information on hand, so we’re going for the record (and the early refund).  This will, however, finish up the “location for important information” and review 2011 part of January’s original goal. – Completed
  • Paperless – Set up auto-pays, paperless billing, equal payment plans and get finances into an electronic format to make life easier next tax season.  – Completed
  • House – Electronics clutter.  In January I moved the “family computer” to the upstairs spare room.  Time to redo the wiring, get rid of out of date hardware and electronics, sift through those chargers, cables and whatsits. – Substitution: Garage Cleaning
  • Health & Sanity – Certification updates since I’ve been a bit of a slacker.  And the traditional professional credentials and resume refresh – while I don’t plan to change jobs, this is something that is easier to keep updated “as you go” than to try and remember after a few years.

March Goals:

  • Finances – Passports & wills.  Time for the boy to get a “full passport” and our wills are horribly out of date.
  • Paperless – Shredding month.  Get rid of anything older than the “required record keeping” limit.  This should actually eliminate an entire file cabinet, but we’ll see.
  • House – Electronics clutter.  In January I moved the “family computer” to the upstairs spare room.  Time to redo the wiring, get rid of out of date hardware and electronics, sift through those chargers, cables and whatsits. – Carried over since there was a February substitution.
  • Health & Sanity – Continuing with certifications.  1 per month until they are all current.  This is also the month for my second 5K and I’ve signed up with a training group to push myself a bit more.

2012 – It’s February Already??!!!

05 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Changes & Progress, Cheapskate, Health, Minimalist, Paperless

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Wow.  January went fast.  And it was productive – I’ve posted on completion of two of the goals (one was modified – I put off full paperless bill pay for a bit, even though I got quite a lot of that done, my attention was directed at refinancing) and will get the other two up this week (I’ve not taken the “after” pictures yet).  To summarize January:

  • Finances – Set autopays, text/e-mail notifications, review 2011 and pick a location to start putting the “important information” as I come across it.  (Especially that which is needed for taxes.) – Substitution Goal
  • Paperless – eliminate one entire bookcase by sales, donations, trades or recycling.  Remove the bookcase from the house. – Complete
  • House – clean out the “Christmas clutter”, organize and pack up only what will be a pleasure to unpack next year. – Complete
  • Health & Sanity – time for the 2012 reading challenge and registering for my next 5K. – Complete

On to February:

  • Finances – 2011 taxes complete and filed.  This will be the earliest ever, but I have kept up with my filing and have all the information on hand, so we’re going for the record (and the early refund).  This will, however, finish up the “location for important information” and review 2011 part of January’s original goal.
  • Paperless – Set up auto-pays, paperless billing, equal payment plans and get finances into an electronic format to make life easier next tax season.  (Part II of January’s Finances goal)
  • House – Electronics clutter.  In January I moved the “family computer” to the upstairs spare room.  Time to redo the wiring, get rid of out of date hardware and electronics, sift through those chargers, cables and whatsits.
  • Health & Sanity – Certification updates since I’ve been a bit of a slacker.  And the traditional professional credentials and resume refresh – while I don’t plan to change jobs, this is something that is easier to keep updated “as you go” than to try and remember after a few years.

I should mention, that for all the flurry of activity this is spawning, I have to admit that the moments of panic and stress are decreasing and the feeling of positive forward movement is increasing.  Now if I could just get into the habit of posting regularly instead of in spurts. 😉

2012 – Off and Running!

01 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Books, Changes & Progress, Health

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Officially entered the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2012.  Going for 80 books this year and a secondary challenge of 50 of those being books already in the house that promptly leave the house to support the decluttering and reduction theme.  I’m also planning to try and do reviews for the 5 star books this year, including publishing them here as well as Goodreads.  I suppose I could have gone for more total books since I actually closed out 2011 with 95 books, but I don’t really want my head exploding in several years if I jump too high too fast.  Now to pick the perfect inaugural book for 2012!

Also finalized the 5K choice when I ran across the NC Half Marathon (and 5K) at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on March 25th.  Not only is it nearby, but the timing is pretty well perfect and hey, the shirts are cool looking, LOL!  I figure I’ll try for two 5Ks in the spring/summer and then make a decision about a 10K in the fall.  I’ve decided to use the Couch to 5K program in conjunction with my RunKeeper and hit the YMCA on my “off days”, hoping that keeps me from damaging myself again.

Sooooo… the first mini-resolution is complete and I’ve already started sifting through the Christmas stuff towards the second.  Tree will be coming down on Twelfth Night (that would be Thursday), so look for the decoration purge in next weekend’s post (I even took before and after pictures).

Build on Good Habits!

28 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Books, Changes & Progress, Health

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

  • The problem:  None really.  Yay me!
  • The resolution:  Schedule that 5K and join that reading challenge.
  • The long term solution:  Healthy and brilliant, of course.
  • Before:  Wobbled through my first 5K in December and read 75 books in 2011.
  • Step by step:
  1. Identified 2 local 5Ks in April.  Will register for one of them in February based on my schedule.
  2. Laid out a training plan for a 5K and one for a 10K.  If all goes well, 10K in the fall.
  3. Decided on 80 books for 2012 on Goodreads (just waiting for the 2012 Challenge to start so I can sign up).  My end of the year total for 2011 was 90, goal was 75, so that seemed like a reasonable increase.
  4. Pulled out all the books that are in my TBR pile and are wishlisted on PaperbackSwap and put them in the bedroom bookcase – that way I should get to ship them out as soon as I finish reading them.  Double duty on minimizing/decluttering!
  5. Got a library card (you’d think I would have done this already, but back when I traveled it just wasn’t practical to take loaned books with me).
  6. Set up a route in RunKeeper to the post office (to mail off those books) and to the library.