Another year, another projects list!

This year, I’m all about fighting the good fight, so we have:

1. war on sloth
   – running at least 3x per week / daily exercise – core + glutes (even 5 minutes is better than nothing).

2. war on graffiti
   – never let the graffiti on the front of ThePalace(OfLove) remain unpainted for more than 24 hours. Always photograph, always report.

3. war on duopolies
   – minimise shopping at Coles / Woolies and their associated companies.
   – support small, independent businesses

4. war on clutter
   – get rid of everything we don’t need or want or things we have been holding on to for stupid reasons

5. war on chub
   – continue with amazingly successful 5:2 diet
   – no booze (except for holidays)

6. war on unnecessary spending
   – don’t buy anything that is not absolutely essential – none of this fudging with the definition of essential.
   – take lunch to work at least 4 days per week

7. war on the uncreative (apologies for the lame project title, alternative suggestions welcome!)
   – make one thing per month
   – blog at least every second day (I realise I can never emulate the daily posting of the amazing ganching, but I can give it a crack)
   – take at least one photo every day

8. war on blandness
   – read good books | watch good films and television (at least once a week)
   – eat good new things (two per month?)
   – listen to one improving podcast per week
   – avoid reading the increasingly dreadfulsmh.com.au

9. war on the shoddy / shonky in ThePalace(OfLove)
   – have the leaks fixed
   – finish the last bits of the paintering
   – get quotes for balcony sliding door | shutters | conservatory

10. war on our genX slackerness
    – get our finances in order
    – get our estate planning in order

11. war on the career (see genX slackerness)
    – ramp up the professionalism in dress, grooming and manner.
    – just knuckle down and do this advanced manageressing course. FIVE times a week.
    – take this “I am expecting big things from you in the next six months” seriously and action accordingly.

12. war on poor self-esteem
    – just stop entirely reading the social media accounts of those who make me feel inadequate (of course, this is not you dear reader)

As usual, I’ll be tracking my success or otherwise at the end of each month (or the beginning of the next – I’m flexible!).

Really, I should have 15 projects for 2015, but hey, I know my limitations!

How can I have been on holiday for a week already?!?!

Today we all got on the culling bandwagon and filled bags and bags, which we then immediately ferried to the Salvation Army. I donated a couple of things I’ve been hanging onto for well over 25 years and it was kind of delightful. Much more to go, of course, but it is a good start.

of course, being in the neighbourhood, we stopped off for a harry’s pie

I really don’t know how we end up with all of this stuff – especially as we regularly throw things out. One of our goals for 2015 is to not buy anything we don’t absolutely, desperately need and to make do with what we have. Already in the past few days we have avoided buying a mandolin and a cast-iron grill plate at the brilliant local kitchenware store. It will be interesting to see how this plan pans out.

This afternoon I attempted to adjust the band on Joe/Frank’s allegedly self-adjustable Xmas watch and lost a key, very, very teensy part (it sprang off twice). I’ve admitted defeat and we’ll be taking it to a jeweller.

This evening will be pretty low-key, we’ll be sitting about with our choice of beverage and snacking on cheese and bikkies and such while watching the cricket. We’ve not done this for ages, so it will be pretty fabulous.

Tomorrow is back on the no booze train for me … well for a few days, until we head off to Hong Kong!

Almost 2015, I should possibly start compiling the 2015 projects list!

Day 6 was pretty sedate. Started with a hot and steamy 3km run. It is still weird running without data collection. Fortunately, also this morning, I received an email to confirm that the garmin has been received for repairs.

Then we dragged ourselves out to action some items: visiting NewBank to deposit my large-ish tax cheque, which is not as exciting as it sounds because the whole amount goes only part-way to offsetting Don’s rather larger tax bill; and putting tons of coins into the magical coin machine. Then it was off to brekkie and a quick walk around the ‘hood. Because the walk was unplanned and it was quite hot, I had to bust out my umbrella for shade and still ended up sunburned.

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Inspired by the bonkers tidying book, but not at all following her process, I began some frenzied clothes decluttering and quickly gathered several shopping bags worth of discards. Quite a disturbing volume of discards, as I thought I’d already been quite ruthless this year.

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In the afternoon we drove into the wilds of the Northern Beaches to lunch with Don’s best golf buddy & other occasional golf buddy. Babies … everywhere. Adorable, but honestly it was exhausting just watching them run about and get into things they shouldn’t. You forget how insane living with tiny humans is – and are supremely glad it is not you (and that you made it out alive!).

BGB and lovely wife are expecting their second baby, who will be born just before the existing adorable sprog is 2. OOGB had two already, with a less than 2 year space between. As Joe/Frank and Bessie are similarly spaced I was well-placed to give advice, which was essentially: “that whole period of my life was so intense I seem to have blocked it out completely, but hey – it eventually gets much, much better!”

I think this was really the first time that I’ve appreciated that I had children when I was a wee baby – these people are not very much younger than Don and I are and, wow, there is just no breathing time.

The afternoon was lovely though – particularly just slothing around the backyard. We really do lack a slothing area (such as the amazing deck at our last haus). It makes me more determined to create some sort of outdoor, green, relaxing, conservatory-style space on the upstairs leaky balcony in the next couple of years.