2011 Life Plan

I've been working on this list since Christmas which means a lot of thought has gone into it. This is not just a list of resolutions for 2011, but things that I will continue to do indefinitely.

I know many people make resolutions and by February or March have totally forgotten about them. I've been guilty of that numerous times. All of these things are realistic and doable. These are things that I have been doing but not consistently, which has been a major problem for me. Sometimes I allow work and the act of trying to relieve stress keep me from doing what I need to do for myself and my son. Balance is the key, and I am determined to get balance in my life.

1. Actively seek higher position at work.
2. Spend at least one hour a day on house work.
3. Start and stick to an exercise routine.
4. Eat and drink healthier.
5. Create and stick to a budget.
6. Finish at least one of my novels in progress.
7. Write at least one blog post a week.
8. Keep car maintenance current.
9. Prepare for Donovan's education.
10. Use leisure time more wisely.

I complain a lot about my job but I'm not really doing everything I can to make a change. This year I will start taking advange of the free online training that my job offers. I will also check the job postings every week and apply for every position that I'm interested in, not worrying about how many people that I feel may be more qualified. I might get lucky.

I've always hated house work, ever since I was a teenager. I mean I love the smell of a clean house and I love being able to get a plate of food without having to wash the plate first. The thing is, I just wish I had someone else to do it, or at least help a sister out. But since it's only me and the kid I have to make time every day to get things done.

"An elephant is stout," my dad used to say. And sometimes I feel like I'm on my way to being a baby elephant. I've gained more than a hundred pounds in the last 13 and it's driving me nuts. On occasion, I go through exercise phases but once I've lost 20 to 30 pounds, I end up dropping the ball. Of course I end up finding the lost pounds and few of their friends. SMH

Exercise won't help much if I keep making McDonald's and Burger King richer, so I'm going to have to start eating better. I'll never be able to totally leave fast food alone, but I can always make better food choices. I can treat myself to some utterly useless food as a treat for a job well done every once in awhile but should get right back on track. Sodas are also a big issue that I need to cut back on. I don't drink nearly as much water as I should and I'm sure those empty soda calories have contributed to my weight gain.

I've had budgets before and pretty much stuck to them over the years but the last three or so years, I've been slinging money all willie nillie and my bank account is suffering. "A fool and his money are soon parted." is another saying that my dad uses a lot concerning my siblings and other relatives. I'm afraid to tell him that I fall in that category as well.

My home office and dresser drawers are filled with three novels in progress and several short story ideas and first drafts of poems. I am determined to finish at least one of the novels by October before I begin to prepare for another NaNoWriMo, which will add yet another unfinished piece of work to the list.

With this blog and the one at http://poetryforyoursenses.wordpress.com/, I should have a much larger cyberspace presence. But since I haven't even uploaded one blog post a month, no one but my high school chums, co-workers, and a few Twitter and Facebook friends even know that I write. I plan to do something about that in the very near future.

My break light has been on for a month and since I can still stop without scaring myself to death, I haven't done anything about it. Not a good thing I'm sure. You would think a person with a white car would have sense enough to keep it clean, but unfortunately I don't. If it wasn't for the kid rubbing his little hands on the car, it would probably be gray. Plus I have a habit of eating in the car on the way to work or on the way home and don't always throw my trash away once I've gotten to my destination. So not good when it's my turn to drive everyone to lunch.

The little dude of the house will be turning 4 in May so it is definitely time for him to go to somebody's school and learn how to get along with kids his age. He's been around grandparents, pre-teens and teens since he's been in the world so he only knows how to rough house. I'm sure I'll have to stay by the phone for the first few weeks until he realizes that he can't put his hands on every kid he comes in contact with. D is a smart kid though. He can count and read a little (mostly fast food signs), he knows his colors and most of his shapes. Once I teach him how to spell his name he'll be all set, if he can sit his hyper butt down long enough.

I must admit--My name is Susie and I am addicted to Facebook games. From the time I walk into the door from picking up D, until I can barely hold my eyes open before I drag myself to bed, I am gaming. Cityville, Farmville, Frontierville.... The list goes on and on but I'm gonna have to get myself together and limit my game playing.

When I incorporate all of the other points, the last one will be a no brainer. I won't have the time or energy to spend hours playing games and getting frustrated when I run out of coins.

So here's my list. What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year and beyond?

The Day After

This Christmas wasn't all that eventful. D got a bunch of toys that are already on their last leg and daddy and I stuffed our faces until he fell asleep and I sat comatose on the couch. My baby sister and neice were at their moms' houses so I left their presents with my dad. Dad's laptop came two weeks ago so he wasn't expecting anything else--and I didn't have anything else to give him. And since I had already opened the presents I got from my co-workers, there was nothing for me under the tree.

I'm thinking next year--if I don't have a boyfriend--I may leave D with my dad and go out of town for Christmas. I'm not sure how my dad would feel about that but I'll run it by him and see what he says. I haven't left the tri-state area (Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas) in more than a year and I'm getting antsy. My friends Janel (@soulwindow), Shannon (@youngshay112 ) and I may catch a flight to Vegas next year. Although I'm not sure if that's a good idea with the airports being so crowded around this time of year. But of course that will be just part of the experience. (shrug)

Tomorrow will be my first day back to work in almost a week and I am not looking forward to it. I feel like a kid that hates to go back to school after Christmas because they have no cool clothes or toys to show their friends. Maybe next year will be better.

Christmas Cheer

Tomorrow is the last work day for many of my co-workers until the new year. This time of year brings parties galore. Some work groups choose to have their goodies in the conference rooms at work, others plan to meet up at local bars, clubs and eateries. I love the holidays!

We drew names a few weeks ago so tomorrow we will be exchanging gifts. As funny as money has been for my family, this will probably be the only present that I get (that I didn't buy for myself).

My manager isn't going to be at work, so I'm celebrating with one and possibly two of the teams in my department. It's all good to me. I had started making handmade cards but they look too plain to me. Some of my peers have displayed the cards I made for them last year so I would hate to disappoint them with something less than my very best. (I'll save my craftiness for Valentine's.)

Since I am a people watcher, much of the goings on will probably end up in one of my stories some where down the line. Especially if I go to the party where alcohol will be served--LOL. I look forward to seeing how the margaritas will loosen the tongues of some of my co-workers.

Do you celebrate with your co-workers? If so, what are your plans and do things usually turn

out great or not so much?

What Should I Blog About

I have two blogs but I don't post on a regular basis on either one of them. There's plenty of material in my various notebooks that I can post to http://poetryforyoursenses.wordpress.com, ain't nothing to it but to do it. On the other hand, coming up with things to blog about here is where my dilemma lies. During National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org), I talked about my novel writing progression (or lack thereof). From December to October, my posts are few and and far between.

To get my creative writing juices flowing, I've decided that I want to participate in National Blog Posting Month (www.nablopomo.com). Since there isn't any specific month that this challenge takes place, I figured February was as good a month as any. Not only because it is the shortest month (which means only 28 posts) but because I should be able to come up with something interesting to talk about with Valentine's Day, my birthday and the anniversary of my mother's death all taking place during that month. I may even write about my baby sister, who was born a couple of weeks before my 25th birthday (Yeah, I'm old enough to be her mom). On those dates where nothing significant happened, I'm sure I will be at a loss for words. To avoid that fiasco, I've been Googling blog topics and trying to decide what else I could talk about to inform yet entertain my readers.

Here's the list of blogs that I found that provided a wealth of topics to choose from.

1. http://www.chrisbrogan.com/100-blog-topics-i-hope-you-write/
2. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/13-ideas-to-inspire-your-blog-content/
3. http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/tp/BlogPostIdeas.htm
4. http://lifesnips.com/blogging/345/100-ways-to-find-ideas-for-your-blog-posts/
5. http://blogs.sitepoint.com/2010/02/23/where-to-find-blog-topic-ideas/

Even though these sites are written from the prospective of people in several different fields, they all pretty much give you the same advice-in so many words-write about what interests you. A lot of things interest me (writing, crafting, technology, and education), but I'll just have to come up with a way to write about my ideas in a way that won't make my readers fall asleep or wonder--"What the heck is Susie talking about?"

Help a sister out...
What do you blog about? Does your blog have a particular theme or do you just write about whatever tickles your fancy?