Forensics 2013 and Basement Progress

Today I judged my first high school Forensics meet of the 2013 season.  It was so great to catch up with the coach for our school, Val, and to get back to watching these very talented kids perform.

I've signed up for every possible meet I can attend this season, for both middle and high school levels, and despite getting up very early on the weekends and losing my Saturdays I'm excited for every one of them.

Fortunately I still get two days with Richard this weekend as he gets Monday off, and we're planning lots of work in the basement.  Hopefully most of it will be accomplished in time for the Super Bowl party we plan to host.  It's always helpful to have such a fun goal in mind when doing these sorts of projects.  As soon as there is a bit less sawdust and work debris I plan to take some "after" photos of the basement... even though I know it will never be truly done.

Looking forward to...

I've been rather lucky to spend both yesterday and today with my mom and sister.  My little sister isn't in town often as she's still at college - but we were able to visit, shop and run errands.  They both came over here today to have lunch and see the progress on the basement.  Later this week I may go on a little day trip with them, and I'm really excited for the opportunity to spend more time with them.

This evening I'm trying to organize my calendar with all the upcoming travel and balancing Forensics judging with nanny work.  There are a handful of days where there are three different work options - but I can only pick one!

On top of everything else I'm trying to make sure my budgets will stretch enough in the next couple months so that my upcoming travel expenses won't completely decimate my savings.  Looks like I have a lot more coupon clipping ahead of me, and a lot fewer little outings, but the trips to Savannah, Minneapolis and Germany will all be worth it.

New Year, New Aspirations

I like to lay out my goals, in truth it's the only way I ever get things done.  This year, as in the past, I have many ongoing tasks and aspirations that I'll lay out here.

1) Accomplish one large creative project each month.

2) Read 15 books in the year 2013.
I love books and I love to read, but I find myself falling out of the habit.  I have my moments when I tear through three books in the course of a week, but those weeks are few and far between now and they need to be closer together.

3) Accomplish one large house project each month.

4) Earn more money/Save more money.
I know it's crass to talk about finances, but it's reality.  Each month I put away a set amount of money, and for all intents and purposes pretend it no longer exists, but truth be told it's no longer enough.  I need to make more AND spend less.

5) Travel.
Get out, get away, and get around.  Part of the reason I want to make/save more money is simply so I can spend it on travel, oops.

6) Keep a clean and organized work space.

7) Finish the darkroom/studio.

8) Learn constantly.

9) Get to the point where the house is always "guest ready."
I'm an adult, really, and it's time for my house to reflect that.

10) Pick up my camera more often.
As with reading I have fallen out of the habit of carrying a camera wherever I go, and it's a habit I'd like to relearn.  I have been in a slight denial of the demise of film and it's affected how I feel about my cameras, and that feeling simply needs to change.

I will stop myself at ten, they are overarching objectives, and hopefully I can keep up the momentum on all of them throughout the year.