What Would Blueberry Do?

I don’t think it’s surprising—or even all that unique—that after the hospital drama of the last several months, I’ve started rethinking parts of my life. There’s something interesting about being unable to do things that suddenly makes you want to do everything.

I made a list. A ridiculously long list. Things I want to do, places I want to eat, habits I want to change, experiences I want to have. And I made myself a promise—not to the universe this time, but to myself—that I would genuinely try.

I know myself well enough to know some things won’t matter later. But I also didn’t want to let the list become one of those “someday” ideas that never happens. I craved a little change.

I reread the lists regularly and pick one or two things to tackle.

Last Friday, I crossed one off: visit a new restaurant on my bucket list. France, Blueberry, and I went to breakfast at Totem Diner in Everett. But that’s not actually what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about the shortest item on my list.

Let’s talk Blueberry.  This girl amazes me. She’s always moving. Always doing something in her house, around her house, for someone else. She doesn’t let things sit. Dishes? Done immediately. Amazon boxes? Broken down immediately. Notice something needs to be cleaned or organized? She just… does it. Part of that is physical—she needs to keep moving. Part of it is just who she is.

Meanwhile, my personality has always leaned more toward it can wait. Dishes can wait. Laundry can wait. Dusting can definitely wait.

And honestly? Usually it works out. Until it doesn’t.

An emergency trip to the hospital meant my house wasn’t what my mom used to call “company ready.” Now, Blueberry would immediately argue she’s not company and she knows exactly how I live. So, when she came to clean my house while I was in the hospital, she knew what she was walking into.

I was mortified.

That feeling stuck with me.

So, one of the items on my list became this: whenever that it can wait mindset starts creeping in, ask myself—

What would Blueberry do?

If the answer is she’d get up and do the dishes… then I get up and do the dishes.

I’ve been trying this for about a week now. I have absolutely no illusion this suddenly becomes my permanent personality, but I wanted to see what happened And honestly? A few things changed.

First—my kitchen is clean every day. It turns out cooking is way easier when you don’t have to clean before you can even start. Or unload the dishwasher first. My mom was the kind of person who couldn’t leave dishes in the sink overnight. I used to think she was a little dramatic about it. Now I kind of get it.

Coming downstairs to a clean kitchen feels good. Weirdly peaceful. Weirdly… adult. Will I slip? Absolutely. But this feels like a habit worth keeping.

The second thing I tackled was laundry. I hate laundry. I mean, does any one love laundry?

Because I can get away with it, I’ll often go three weeks without doing any—and then suddenly I’m staring down Mount Laundry. So, I made a new rule: one load a week. Doesn’t matter if it’s sheets, towels, or clothes. Just one load.

And you know what happened? I stayed caught up. One load feels manageable.

Now… does that one load sometimes remain in the dryer because apparently the dryer doubles as my second closet? Yes. We’re not solving every problem at once.

But yesterday I had three loads to do—sheets, towels, clothes. I did them all.

The sheets are still in the dryer (again… progress, not perfection), but I folded the clothes and put them away immediately. That is not normal behavior for me.

This probably sounds obvious to some people. Easy, even. For me, these are real shifts. I want to get to the place where doing things isn’t a debate or a thought process—it’s just action. Blueberry would do it immediately.

What I keep front and center was that this isn’t really about cleaning. It’s about momentum, priorities, and changing habits after having my routine interrupted.

So, for now, that’s the question I’m carrying around: What would Blueberry do?

 

EOY Wrap Up

That's right! 2024 is being seen in the rear view mirror. I find it very hard to believe we're in 2025. My Grandma Spaid used to say time flies faster when you're older and she was right. Man what happened?

Last year, while it sped by I kept slowing tracking all my goals for the year. Now, my goals these days, are never about saving or losing weight. I gave up on those goals awhile ago and focused instead on fun goals. I mean, saving and health should always be happening, so why put it as a goal? 

I have three areas that I was "tracking" last year; reading, cooking and scrapping. Let's take a look. 

Reading

For several years I had a goal to read 50 books. I rarely hit that goal. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get in 50 books a year. If I turned the boob tube off more I may get it, but that's not likely to happen. So, I changed my goal to 45 books. 

I hit it this year! 46 books. Some good, some bad. Here were my favorites (these are based on reviewing my books in good reads and these are the ones I didn't have to open to remember the story. That tells me I liked the book. Some of the others I had really no idea until I read the short description).

Favorites - in no particular order

• The Women - Kristin Hannah - What's not to love about this book? It was everyone's favorite this year and Kristin Hannah does such an exceptional job of telling the story of a female nurse in the Vietnam war. 
• The Paper Bracelet - Rachael English - Fascinating of a nurse's life in a Ireland Mother and Baby home. Unwed women who were pregnant were sent here to have babies, and then those babies were sent off for adoption. This woman saved the little bracelets from many and with the help of her granddaughter track down some of those babies. Such an incredible story. 
• The Guest List - Lucy Foley - My new favorite author this year. This book blew me away. It's a mystery and up until the "whodunit" was revealed I had no idea. I immediately read The Paris Apartment right after this book. And while that was a decent book, I was aware of her recipe for writing and I was a bit more a ware of whodunit. Still good, but not as good. 
• The Tattoo Artist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris - wow. This one was heavy. Like most WWII stories it has some serious stuff that as a human you just don't want to read about. It's brilliantly written and such a beautiful story of survival, but the going's ons in this camp was heartbreaking. I cried and cried reading this one. 
• The Lost Letters of Aisling - Cynthia Ellingsen - A grandmother requests to return to her home in Ireland before she dies. Letters are found and the granddaughter helps uncoil some tragic events in her grandmother's past. Gorgeous story of love. And I loved the setting in Ireland.
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows - Another WWII era book, this one post war. A writer looking for her next book topic. She receives a letter from a guy in Guernsey and it starts a correspondence with the writer and people from Guernsey. The literary club was set up as an alibi when members were breaking curfew. As the writer corresponds with residents she starts to understand and learn what they dealt with during the war. 

There you have it. My favorite books. 

Cooking

Now, let's talk food. 

In 2023 I made 166 new recipes. I thought that was pretty close to 170 so why not make 170 my goal for 2024. When I say that out loud I'm a bit shocked. That's a lot of new recipes. I've shared this with a with friends and family and I am surprised how many of them said this inspires them to cook more.

I keep it pretty consistent throughout the year with the number of recipes. May was travel month and so you see only 3 recipes. I suspect there could have been more, but prior to travel I hate cooking for some reason. 

Year over year is an interesting stat. You can tell exactly when I started tracking and having goals of higher yearly new recipes. Covid did that. 

This next year I haven't officially decided to make it a goal, but I'll be reaching for 170 again. 

Scrapbooking

And lastly the scrapbooking goal. This one I tried something new this year and wanted to focus on using some of my stash I hardly used, but had a ton of. 

I wanted to do at least 500 pages. Completely doable when this is your creative outlit and it's how you spend a lot of your after work hours. There's something about scrapping that resets me at night after work. I tried to spend at least an hour in the scrapbook room each night. Sometimes I'd scrap, sometimes I'd just go through my stash. That seems to trigger page ideas and starts the cycle of scrapping again. 

Four elements I have a ton of and wanted to use was enamel dots, washi tape, frames and stamping. I got into stamping and had a bunch of stamps, but rarely used them. I figured having it as a goal would help and it kinda did. 

Enamel dots

These little guys are added to pages as enhancements. They're usually small and are usually tucked in and around embellishments. I had a TON of these. 

My goal was to use them on at least 20% of my pages (I could get into how I track these, but suffice it to say, I'm a data nerd and I just do). I ended up at 16%. I'm going to keep this goal again this year and really focus on using those up and, preferably, not buying any new ones (its so hard).

Washi Tape

Washi tape is just decorative tape that can be added to pages as borders, setting a platform for your photo etc. I have a drawer full and really wanted to use some of it up. My goal was to use this 15% of time. My end result was 8%. Clearly need to focus more on this one. 

Frames

How I ended up with so many frames is beyond me. I mean, I know I bought them, but not until I put them all in the same drawer did I realize what a stash I had. My goal was to use them at least 5% of the time. My end result was 6%. The ONLY goal I made. I'm going to continue with this goal as well.

Stamping

I have a ton of stamps. I took a class in stamping early in the year and that motivated me to start using them more. I learned about inks and techniques and that made it less daunting. My goal was to use stamps 25% of the time. My end result was 18%. Not great, but not horrible either. 

Month over month I really scattered how many pages I did. Again, May was a travel month so it was low. July was when I did the cruise scrapbook so that made sense for it to be so high. 

So that's it! Let's see what 2025 has to offer

March Madness

I am not a basketball fan. Not even close. But, I am doing a March Madness of sorts. 

Friend France mentioned that she was doing this thing she was calling "March Madness". Her goal is to walk/exercise at least 30 minutes a day for 30 days. That sounds like a solid goal. It sounds like a lot, but why not give it a shot. 

So I told France I was all in. 

I'm a believer that the Universe tells us things all the time. If only we just listen. I could give you a dozen examples of how that's played out in my life, but I'm sure you've experienced. That gut feeling. The turn right instead of turn left gut punch you get every now and then. I have that all the time. Sometimes I listen. Sometimes I don't. I've gotten two tickets from not listening. 

I took Friday off to run some errands and to just generally have an extra day for the weekend. I do it every month. I take one Friday off a month. Call it mental health adjustment. This Friday I wanted to do some comparison shopping on chicken. (Someday I'll tell you about my weird chicken quirk I have). 

My dad love Sprouts and so I figured I'd swing over to Sprouts and see what they have and what their prices are. Next door to Sprouts is my old gym Planet Fitness. I've been meaning to go in and cancel my membership there since I have a member ship at 24 hour Fitness now. 

As I was walking over to the gym I thought, you know why not get on a treadmill. You've got tennis shoes on. You've got a bra on. You've got music. What's stopping you from walking for 15-30 minutes. AND you've got a trip looming in which you need to get into some type of shape. 

Decision made. I walked into Planet Fitness and expected bells and whistles to go off indicating I hadn't been there in a thousand years. Nothing like that happened. 

I found a treadmill and walked. I turned up the incline at some point and just people watched and walked. It was all over in no time. 

Got off and left. 

When I got home I was chatting with France and our other friend Anandi and mentioned this whole thing and that's when France told me about her March Madness plan. I was all in. 

Having accountability with someone else makes a big difference with me. It amazes me I can't be accountable for myself. I am at work. I am with other aspects of my life. But when it comes to working out goals, I have a bucket full of excuses. 

France and I have a plan. Anandi wanted in too. She lives out of state so we made a plan to send photos of our walking/exercise for the day. 

I've walked two days in a row now. Which for most people sounds funny - but when you work from home and have no reason to leave, it's easy to not walk too far. 

So here we go. Let's see what March brings us. I have 76 days before our big Mediterranean cruise and if Portugal was any indication of how out of shape I am to travel, then I really need to get going. I can do this. I will do this. I even bought a walking platform to have at home. That should really help. 

2022 Favorite Books and other goals

 Happy New Year! When the clock rang midnight, a new ready goal is begun. This year, like the last several, I'm sticking to my 50 books read in a year. And as with each year, I'm going to try to not wait until the last couple of months and find myself having to read 10+ books to hit my goal. 

So, like any good project manager, I've broken my goal into quarters. To keep on track I have to read 12.5 books a quarter. That's doable. 

My second reading goal is to visit the local library. I mean, I have a library card. It is only a mile away and browsing books often means I find new authors to read. In addition, getting at least the book club books at the library saves me $$, which is also a goal. 

I have no goals around WHAT I read. I am doing Book Bingo again though. It never really drives what I read, it's more a happy coincidence when I read a book that is also on the Bingo board. 

2022 had many good books for me. And some horrible books. I read all the book club books - none of them I disliking so much I couldn't finish it. 

Here are my Top 10 favorites for 2022. Bold are the top 3 favorites.

1. Dear Edward - Ann Napolitano - An interesting story line about survival and how you learn to deal with trauma.
2. Everything We Keep - Kerry Lonsdale - I liked the mystery in this book. I thought I knew what happened, but I was wrong. 
3. I Found You - Lisa Jewell - Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite authors. She did not disappoint with this book. I read this one quickly.
4. In an Instant - Suzanne Redfearn - This one leaves you with a question of "what would you do?"
5. Magic Hour - Kristin Hannah - I loved the characters in this book and how they all struggle to know and feel love. It's a book about survival and how much inner strength we each can have.
6. The Exiles - Christina Baker Kline - This one had a twist in the middle of the book I did not see coming. I thought I knew which character this book was about, and I was way wrong. 
7. The Girl from Ballymor - Kathleen McGurl - This book stuck with me for some reason. I felt like the characters and I became friends.
8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid - Such a good book with a nice little twist I did not see coming.
9. Verity - Colleen Hoover - By the end of this one, I was blown away with more questions than answers. A nice twist that some could see coming, but not the twist you think. 
10. We all Want Impossible Thinks - Catherine Newman - This one made me cry like nobody's business.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to reading.

How to Do Goals in a Pandemic

I was thinking about goals last night and how the pandemic impacted my goals in 2020 and if it's going to impact mine for 2021. 

In 2020 I had this massive list of 50 things I wanted to do. Suffice it to say, 75% of them had to get scratched out because they required being in public or going to a restaurant or something that meant you could get the 'rona.

This year's list is only 30 items. I wouldn't call them goals as much as things I'd like to do this year. Some are my actual goals like reading and cooking and such. There are several on here that I'm almost sure won't happen, but it's worth dreaming a little.

So with very little fanfare, here's the list:

1. Travel to a new country (this is one of the 75% that may not happen)
2. Pay it forward - buy a strangers coffee
3. Donate quarterly
4. Do a good deed without explanation
5. Send flowers to someone
6. Go on 2 road trips
7. Visit Paul and Suzanna in Bellingham (or someplace in the middle)
8. Go for a walk on the beach
9. Watch a sunset for real (not out your front door)
10. Try 10 new restaurants (if we can)
11. Go to Space Needle restaurant (if we can)
12. See a movie in the theater (if we can)
13. Read 50 books or 15,000 pages
14. Follow a cleaning schedule that includes the big stuff we forget (windows, baseboards, etc)
15. Ride a ferry
16. Buy a new mattress
17. Complete your outstanding online classes
18. Complete your TBR Leadership books
19. Complete you movie watch list
20. Finish the marvel movie list
21. Plan and complete 5 scrapbook projects
22. Review / Revise the Will and update the "death" book
23. Book a date or two with a friend you haven't seen
24. Bake a treat quarterly
25. 125 new recipes
26. Visit MOHAI (if we can)
27. Visit NW Trek (if we can)
28. Visit Tillicum Village (if we can)
29. Take the elevator to the top of Columbia Tower (if we can)
30. Do 10 wine tastings

Phew. I'm tired just typing it. Like I said, these aren't "goals" as such, but things that I like to try to remember to do. It helps my life keep in balance a little by doing some different things. 

In other news, we have today off to celebrate MLK. I had forgotten, or didn't realize it, until a colleague reminded me on Thursday. What a gift to realize you have an extra day off. I spent part of the morning reviewing some of his speeches and reading some of his story. What an amazing man. So ahead of his time. This is one of my favorite quotes from him: 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So long 2020...it wasn't fun. 

Hello 2021...please be kind to us and our frayed nerves. 

I didn't stay up last night. I rarely do anymore. I mean, it's just another day. The universe had another plan for me though.

The new neighborhood, apparently, are allowed fireworks. They started around 8pm and were periodic. 

I went to bed around 10:30. Fell asleep and then was bolted awake at midnight. The amount of fireworks going of was amazing. And not the small ones. M80s are apparently the firework of choice up here in the hood. 

In addition, the neighborhood exploded in HAPPY NEW YEAR cheers. I had to smile at how loud it was from all the different condos. 

So here we are...2021. I'm still working on the full list of goals. I feel like there are a couple different ones I want to work on, but they haven't quite bubbled to the brain and haven't been formed into words. 

The regular ones are:

• 50 new books, or 15,000 pages
• 125 New recipes (up'd this from 100)
• Up the 401K by 2%
• Squash the random spending (practice the "need" versus "want")
• 300 scrapbook pages (I hit 340 this year, but without a major trip last year, this goal will be a touch one)
• Pick a charity for the year and donate monthly

The other thing that the world does is the "one little word" concept. I've tried this a couple of years in a row and usually make it about 90 days before I forget, or just don't care. I have one friend who's doing "12 words" this year. One for each month. Her theory is your life shifts and changes, so why be so rigid on "one little word". I kinda like that. I'm not going to do it, but I like it. 

Instead, I want to focus on a concept. The election this year showed me that I get worked up over the smallest of comments, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to sway or change the minds of people. So my "one little concept" is going to be LET IT BE. We'll see how that goes. 

Happy New Years everyone. Here's to making 2021 just a little brighter.

Birthday Eve

Here I sit all comfy and cozy thinking about the week ahead at work when suddenly I remembered tomorrow's my birthday.

I never forget my birthday. I plan for it. I plan some more. And for a little extra ... I plan a bit more. I always know what I'm going to make and what my cake or cupcakes will be.

Nothing. It's 6:48PM on the 28th and I have nothing.

So instead of thinking about that, let's talk about 2020.

A new year to me always feels like a clean slate. I have goals, I always do and they're almost always the same.

50+ books
Try new things.
Try to be healthier
Try to save...blah blah blah...

Sometimes I actually break those goals down a bit and really focus on them. They always sit in the back of my mind. Waiting. Hoping I'll fail. They never really seem like I put much thought into them. Maybe for the month of January, then all they do is mock me.

Not this year. No siree...I've got a plan. I've got a little word that will help me focus (ok two little words)

FINISH IT!

That's right. Finish it. I'm the mistress of starting things and suck at finishing things (some things anyhow). I have a laundry list of things I want to accomplish in 2020 and in order to even consider getting half of them done I need a plan. Which I'll figure out eventually. For now...here's the list of things I WANT to do in 2020.

• Travel to a new country
• Travel to a new place around Seattle
• Hike for a day
• Buy a souvenir
• Try a new cocktail
• Pay for a strangers drink or food
• Give things I don't use to charity
• Donate money to a charity
• Do a good deed with no expectations
• Pick up garbage that isn't mine
• Send flowers to someone
• Go on a road trip
• Get a massage
• Go for a walk on a beach
• Watch a sunrise
• Watch a sunset
• Do a self-guided tour in a city
• Quit drinking for a month… hahahah
• Try 10 new restaurants
• Go to Space Needle for dinner/lunch
• Go to the movies
• Read 50 books
• Smash my "honey do list" (that alone is worth 30 items)
• Ride the ferry
• Buy a new piece of furniture
• Complete all the online courses I've bought
• Set an exercise goal each month
• Learn to meditate
• Make a new friend
• Watch a TV series you've been waiting to see
• Complete you movie watching list
• Hand write letters to Aunt Jean & Godma
• Finish your scrapbooking projects that you've started
• Clean out and organize your photos
• Review/revise the Will
• Save 20% more than this year
• Change ONE of your bad habits
• Book a date with friends you never see enough of or haven't seen in forever
• Bake a low carb treat every month
• Visit MOHAI
• Go to Eagle Landing (Burien)
• Go to Seattle Aquarium
• Visit NW Trek
• Visit Tillicum Village
• Go to the top of the Columbia Tower
• Go Wine Tasting at least 10 times
• Give your digital live a good cleaning (music collection, org documents, unsubscribe fro emails, etc)
• Find, review and stick to your 2020 Word - "FINISH IT!"
• Read the "management" and "leadership" books you've purchased
• Push yourself to do all these things 

Phew...I'm tired just looking at that list!

Dear Jenn...

So a friend told me last year after BigBro died that she writes herself a letter each year on New Year's Day and then reads it the following year on New Year's day. She's been doing this for years. She said it's interesting to see the themes that come out in these letters: relationships, healthy and finances always seem to be the things she talks to her future self about.

So in Dec 2013 I wrote myself a letter.

12/29/13
Dear Jenn of 2015,
As I sit down to write this letter I think of all the promises this year (2014) has for you. A new year, a new slate. For some reason this year feels different. Let's hope.

My first wish for you is that as you end 2014 that there was no significant losses in your life. Losing BigBro in November was hard. I wish that you heal from that wound. Have you learned to live without him yet? Do you still miss his presence every single day and every Sunday dinner, and every time the family gathers?

If you were unfortunate to lose someone, I hope the healing process will be easier and less painful.

My second wish for you is that you were kinder to yourself. You're feeling a little less than useful these days and am hoping it has everything to do with the current job. Are you going to find a new job next year? Still contracting?

Looking at your goals for 2014 I predict:

1. Losing weight will still elude you. You'll try hard, you'll even likely join some club to help lose weight, and yet, something will stop you from success. Will you looking into why that is?
2. Reading will be no problem.
3. Photography will also likely not be as frequent as you like. Life seems to get in the way. Did you take any training?
4. You may have reached out to a few friends but not much beyond that. Maybe next year (2015) you'll be better about strengthening your relationships. 
5. Saving and finances seem to be in the forefront of your mind today. I hope the year shows a plus in the savings column. 
6. Scrapbooking I suspect you were a little caught up and a little behind. I also suspect you purchased randomly and spent more than you probably should have. Face it, you'll never change that habit. 

Your relationships are mostly healthy. You've grown closer to Seattle SIL and for that you're very grateful. How'd you do with Blueberry this year? Did she frustrate you over the smallest of things? Did you learn to not be such a pooper with her?

Patience is another thing you need to work on. How'd that go? Did you offer patience to people who  needed it?

So as you sit and write this know that you're mostly happy. And that 2014 you really want to heal and be more you than ever before. Be kind to yourself. Don't be too judge-ee toward yourself.

See you in 2015
Love,
You

2015 Goals

My 2014 goals were a bit hit and miss with the ones I succeed with and the one's I didn't. For the ones I didn't succeed at, I'm pretty ok with that. I never really punish myself for not completing a goal. Maybe if I were things would be different, but meh. Life's too short.

So drum roll please....


Here are the 2015 Goals...some will look familiar.
  

Goals

Scrapbooking Discontinue random purchasing. Purchasing only allowed when the item has a purpose. Quarterly, review all supplies and purge. Donate to local charity. Have photos scrapbooked within the same quarter they were taken Begin putting together planned pages for heritage photos. Have 6 pages done by march. 10 by June, 15 done by Sept and all done by Dec

Read 52 books Read all 12 book club books Read 1 photography book Read 1 PM book Read 1 finance book Create a list of books sitting around the house and read those books - Done

Photography 6 photo trips with themes Do 80% of the monthly challenge lists on CaptureYour365 Read the Orange books on your TV stand Begin using LR more

Finances 52 week challenge PAY off credit cards By year end, up 401K percentage

Healthy Koko Fit Gym 4-6 times a week Focus on healthy eating habits by planning weekly food Lose 50 lbs (3-4 lbs/mon or 1 lb per week) C25K - should you try to run a 5K this year?

Blog Write 3X a week Work through the blog topics on file

Give Back 1 random act of kindness a week Donate to food bank quarterly Consider volunteering

Relationships: Send a note to 2-3 people once a month just because and telling them how important they are to you.

Travel 2 road trips during the summer to somewhere new Philly in October Europe in April

Cooking 50 new recipes tried Learn to cook dad's biscuits flawlessly Maybe try gma's cinnamon rolls

Do one scary thing.

Education PM classes for certification Photography classes Scrapbooking classes Cooking classes Privacy training

 So there you go! Many are the same as last year and yet there are some new ones. The "Do something scary" will be a tough one for me. I've got a few ideas, but can I do them? We shall see.

What about you? Got any goals?

Goals and Such

Y’all probably know I’m a goal oriented person. I tend to make goals in the beginning of the year, and I tend to check in on them quarterly.  99% of the time my goals aren't what I’d call “lofty” or “awe inspiring”. They are, simply, goals.  My goals in particular. 

I've shared my goals here on a regular basis, and I've shared my updates on said goals on a regular basis. I've not done that in quite a while, and I’m not going to do it now. Hah. 

As I start this new job, goals and expectations are critical to determine so that I can be successful at this job and ultimately become a full time employee.  The first day the boss told me he’d be sending his initial thoughts on expectations and goals, but he’d like me to come up with some as well. 

Easy. 

And done. 

But here’s the hard part. How do you quantify goals? 

When I’m setting my professional goals I always remember to use the SMART method – Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound.  My own personal goals I’m more carefree with how much of the SMART method I use. But when it comes to my job, it’s vitally important that I include all those elements in my goals.

In addition to that, I have a template. I know. You’re shocked and stunned that I have a template.  Now I don’t generally share this template with the boss. This is MY template. This is for me to track my goals and objectives.

I think what’s critical here is to really think about what you want to accomplish. Don’t just jot things down. Take the time to really think about these.

The first section is all about overall goals/objectives. I've broken them down into sub-categories of Top Priorities, Value, Goals, Overcoming Challenges, Habit Improvements. Then I've put trigger questions to help me think through these.

The second section is all about career development. How do I, as a professional, want to improve? These are broken down into Personal Growth, Immediate areas of improvement, and open issues to resolve. Admittedly the open issues section I hardly use. I kinda feel it’s covered in the immediate areas of improvement.

And the last section, to me, is really important. Innovation. What new ideas can I bring to the table? Over the years I've contemplated moving the “Value” line down to this, but haven’t done that yet. The very subtle difference to me is the Value is where I can add value to the team and to my boss. How do I make his life easier?

Whereas the Innovation is really about improving on the team or company.

You’ll notice there’s no time information on this template. That’s by design. When I’m filling this out, I rarely get to the deep level that would be appropriate for a time. Instead, I generally take these goals and build a PM’s favorite tool – a work break down structure. That’s right, roll your eyes.

At the end of the day, you can’t possibly expect to achieve goals without a plan. You've gotta figure out what are the steps you need to take to achieve these goals. Enter the work break down structure. (even I think I’m a nerd at this point).

Goal setting, to me, plays a pivotal role in guaranteeing I’m living the best life I can. I full recognize not everyone likes setting goals. And that’s ok. Whatever helps you be a better person will work for you. How I set goals won’t fit everyone. Still, I wanted to get this out there to the universe because if it helps one person, my work here is done.

So how about it? Do you set goals, personal and professional?

La Dolce Vita

Ah yes, the sweet life. We all dream of it. We all have differing definitions of what "it" is. Right now for me, it's all about researching for my trip. I'm researching everything from, best types of photos to take that aren't tourist trap photos to how best to document it all.

It's the latter that I'm thinking about today with regards to the sweet life.

I love to write. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, GREAT at it. And that's ok with me. I still feel inclined to put my thoughts down for all the world to read. I've had plenty that I've needed to say and feel that 99% of the time, most folks really don't care. But if I can entertain my readers for just a moment with a tale of a day in the life of a tourist in Rome, and allow that person for one moment to be transported to the small café I'm sitting in (or will be sitting in sometime in April) then I have done what I've set out to do.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

I'm knee deep into a book I randomly bought off Amazon called "Globejotting - How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals".  This book called to me on so many levels. Not only can it help me to have "extraordinary" travel journals, but perhaps it can help me have "extraordinary" life journals.  This blog is, after all, my journal.

Our trip is a trip of a lifetime. I've not been back to Rome since I was a junior in high school The experience I had then was one I will never soon forget. Back then in 1986 the Internet didn't exist. Facebook didn't exist. I couldn't, back then, tell my friends at every second what I was doing. No, it all had to be written over and over again in letters back home.

But now, as an adult I want to experience Rome as an open-minded adult who wants to share it with you.  Not everyone likes to travel. For some the thought of getting on an airplane feels them with such anxiety they just don't do it. For me, travel is in my blood. I haven't been to Europe in a long time - unless you count the work trip to the UK in 2007. And I want to remember it all. Thus the book.

I'm on page 49 and just started reading it today (life of an unemployed PM, right?). This book is well written with a hint of humor and enough knowledge without being condescending. It's really a guide book for writing. Dave Fox, the author, has little exercises throughout. I'm not doing them all today, choosing to take my time with them and go back and work through them once I'm done with the book.

So here's the thing, this book has awaken another layer of what I want with regards to my writing. My current writing is shallow, at best. Boring at worst. I tell the story of my daily life without any real depth. And at times, that's ok. But what about telling deep stories? What about some of the memories I have that have stayed with me? Can I tell those stories to you in a way that will make you want to come back and read more? I think I can. And with Dave's book, I plan to try.

My trip is a mere 33 days away. So much needs to happen before then - primarily I need a job.  Aside from that, I'm taking this time off to practice writing/journaling, and learning Italian. In the next 33 days I hope to bring you some tales of the past trips to Europe, and have you ride along side my anxieties, excitement, expectations, etc of this coming trip.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the book.

A Few More Goals

I think you all are aware that I'm a big fan of organization. I figure I spend more time organizing and then reorganizing than I do actually doing anything. Case in point, my scrapbook room. Just when  I think I have it organized enough to actually work, I find something else to organize.  Rinse, lather, repeat.

Along with this organization quirk (I call it a quirk but I'm so glad I can and do organize) I tend to get rid of stuff in the house on a regular basis. 

And on top of that, as organized as I am, there are still things that don't have a place to live.

You won't be too overly surprised that I read a blog called Everyday Organizing. She just posted a blog post that I have to talk about and comment on because I'm going to revise a couple of goals and update a couple of items on my task list. I'm going to be opening hood on some habits that I'm not proud of here, but hopefully it'll help someone, anyone, with organizing and being an organized person.

First her blog post is about her 2014 goals. And I am going to adopt them to some extent.

Her first goal is to get rid of everything that doesn't belong in the house.  She calls herself an "over-purger" and I think I'm going to adopt that new nickname. I too tend to get rid of stuff really quickly and then at times need whatever it is I got rid of.  The majority of time though, the things I'm tossing on a regular basis I don't really ever miss.

I've slowly become somewhat of a minimalist - in every room by the scrapbook room apparently.  I work through rooms and start plucking stuff to "get rid of." The problem is, some of this stuff never makes it to the garage, then to the garage sale pile or the good will.  Upstairs in the "den" I have a pile of items that have been up there for over a year that needs to go down into the garage.  A YEAR.... It has everything to do with pure laziness and nothing to do with the organization bug.

So I'm adding this to my goals. Not only am I going to make sure nothing is in the house that should be, but I'm going the extra step and getting that stuff to the garage.  Some will go to the annual garage sale, some will just go to the goodwill. That extra step is critical to me.  I need to get it out of the garage too in order to consider it "out of the house."

Kristin's second goal is a place for everything and everything in its place. My problem with this is the kitchen counter.  That counter collects piles like nothing I've ever seen. And many times I just keep piling stuff and not putting it away. Then one day it bugs me enough to clean off the counter (usually the night before the cleaning lady comes).

I'm adding a task/goal to put things away within a day. And if there isn't a place for it, find one.

On top of all of this, I got a new notebook to start my 2014 notes, tasks, grocery lists etc. This book goes just about everywhere with me. I've not yet been able to get rid of the hard type of notebook and put all this stuff in my iPhone. I like having that book handy for whatever reason.

Anyhow, I started transferring the "Jenny Do List" and noticed that there are 4 items on this list that were put on the list in February 2013.  Are you kidding me? Tasks that are almost a year old and haven't been done? Ugh. They are easy tasks, but again, the lazy wins. This year I've added a column if you will to my task list that I do every month, I am adding a note as to when it was put on the list. I'm curious just how lazy I can be. I think I know, but now that I'm aware of this, I wonder if by putting the date when it was added will help trigger the "get it done".

So there you go, a peak under the hood of Chez Jenn's and how it is to live here.  What about you, do you have things on your task list that just don't get done? What stops you?

And have you done your goals yet?

So long 2013....hello 2014

Who's ready to say goodbye to 2013? This girl, that's who.
 
I've been working on my goals for 2014 and am ready to reveal them. The  new year always seems like a clean slate to me.  Starting fresh. All the old goals are out the door whether I completed them or not (I do know, but am not going to bother sharing at this point).  
 
Here's what I'll be working on in 2014!

Courtesy of eCoast

Personal
These are all things that help develop me as a person, enhance my already quirky personality, and/or are my every day activities that make up who I am.
 
Read:
1. Read a total of 50 books by Dec 31st
2. Read all 12 books in book club.
3. Include in the 50 books all those books taking up space on your night stand.
 
Blog:
1. Write a minimum of 3 times a week. 
2. Focus your writing beyond just daily activates. Start writing thoughtful blogs that trigger emotions. Use the blog topics already collected.
 
Cultivate Relationships:
There any number of friends who live here in the Pacific NW - almost in my own backyard - that I want to work on seeing more than once a year.  I have a list.  You've been warned.
1. Reach out to friends you haven't seen in years
2. Work on how you deal and react to some folks.  Don't break any spirits this year.
 
Scrapbooking:
This one is an every year goal.
1. Cease purchasing randomly.  Purchase only items that are specific and have a project.
2. Stay caught up. Scrap photos within the same quarter they are taken.
3. Work on getting heritage photos scrapped.
 
Photography:
1. Up to 6 photo strolls with themes
2. Try to spell Wraspir in photos
3. Continue with Project365; scrap them as project life
 
Finances:
The never ending finance goal. 
1. Do the 52 weeks of saving challenge (you basically put away in savings the amount of $$ that equals the number of the week. So for example, the first week I'll put away $1, the second week $2, the third week $3 and so on. And no this isn't the ONLY form of saving, but I thought it would be fun to do - and physically do it by putting it in my money jar.
2. Through March, track every single receipt. Keep all receipts and track what is purchased. Note anything that wasn't on the "list" when going shopping. This should help me understand where some of the money goes.  Sad that one can go into Walgreen's for a toothbrush and $60 later not know what you purchased.
3. Get 3 months of salary saved (this is in progress already - and will need true up once I find a job)
 
Health:
1. Work out 3X a week minimum.
2. Focus on good healthy food choices.
3. Lost 3-4 lbs a month
 
Professional:
This is a new category this year. My PMP certification is up in August and I'm 15 credits away. 
1. Get 15 PDUs by August
2. Read 3 PM or career focused books

I have some other more personal goals that I'm electing to not share with you all...they are a bit too personal for this medium. What about you? Got any goals?

Friday the 13th

Are you a superstitious person? I try not to be, but sometimes I can't help it. I blame Grandma Spaid.  She had all sorts of "Old wives tales" and I remember feeling like she really believed in them. Now granted I was younger and could have totally read her wrong.

Speaking of reading, I just finished my 49th book this year.  I'm not sure I'll be able to get 52 by the end of the year. The book I started last night after finishing the December book club book, is only 120 pages.  If I could find just two more like that then I should be good.  OR... I could go to Barnes and Noble and read a couple Dr. Suess books. Does that count?

Speaking of goals, do you have any for this coming year?  I have been putting mine together over the last couple of weeks. I'll share them when I'm done.

I'm big on goals.  And I'm big on adjusting them.  I see nothing wrong if you start with one goal and readjust it mid year. 

Speaking of mid-year, when last we reviewed my goals it was July.  Let's check in again to see where I am now.

2013 Goals - Review
1. Read more!
 As I mentioned above, I'm so very close to my 52 books this year. I find it interesting that my goal was "Read More" and didn't include a number of how many to read.  Somewhere along the way I decided to read a book a week.  Next year, this goal will need to be more specific.

 2. Scrapbooking
My goal was to control my purchasing of scrapbook supplies.  HAHAHAH. Its a good goal, but again, I need to be a bit more specific.  Its hard to not spend with regards to scrapbook supplies.  Still I did pretty well and wrangling it in, but not nearly as good as I wanted.  This next year I'll need to really focus on it. I have some ideas on how and will share them with you later. I can tell you it does not include shock therapy.

3. Photography
 My goal here was to get out at least 6 times this year to shoot photos. It didn't seem like that difficult of a thing to do, and yet, I think I only got out a handful.  I shot Georgetown, Pike Place, Ballard/Seattle Library, and ... and... well that's it. Darn it.

 4. Finances
The savings plan is going ok. Not nearly as well as I had planned. I'm thrilled that I've done as well as I have and know that I need to take it up a notch. 

 5. Health
This one stunk.  I really didn't do well on the exercise and eat right plan. I need to really focus on this again. I gained some of the weight back and I can tell.  The lack of working out has really made me feel sluggish and unhealthy.  Time to make that change.

 6. Blog more.
 November helped with this. I tried to do the 30 days of blogging, had a rough patch toward the end for obvious reasons, but still got myself back into the rhythm.  I miss writing and I miss telling you all about my life. You know you wanna know!!!

So there we are.  Didn't do nearly as well this year as I had planned, but did well enough.  Many of these will end up on the goals for next year - they always do.  I just need to be more specific in my goals.

Do you do goals? What are some of your goals?

Project Management by any other name is herding cats

Its true. Managing projects can be directly correlated to herding cats. I thought I had all my cats together in a nice pin only to find out one escaped.

I consider myself a good PM. I am best at planning and not so great at the execution phase. I tend to lose interest in this phase because the PM doesn't do much but watch the schedule...at least its been my experience. So sometimes during the execution phase I get lazy. And lazy almost always means a cat escapes.

A cat escaped today. And I had to scramble to get the cat back with the rest of the herd.  It was not a fun day in that regards.

In other non PM related work, I put the living room mostly back together. I still need to hang three curtain rods: two will be easy by myself, the third one will take me and a small army.  I'll get that done this weekend - hopefully. Then my new  living room will be ready for all. I can 100 % guarantee there will be photos posted here.

One of my goals this year was an outlandish goal to read 53 books. That's one a week. Last year I read somewhere in the mid-40's so I figured I could do this. I'm a couple books behind and I really don't think I'm going to make it. But dang it I'm gonna give it the old college try (where on earth did that phrase come from?)

In my attempt to read 53 books I included that at least 5 of them had to be what I call "worthy" books as in not a romance novel, vampire novel, or any other teeny bopper book series I find myself reading.  Two of those needed to be PM books so I can add them to my PMP on going education profile. I'm 6 weeks out from the end of the year and have YET to read the two PM books.  I just ordered two from the library so I can get myself started. My luck they'll both be 1000 pages long.

Speaking of long books, this month's book club selection is from Blueberry (side note: Blueberry broke her toe this weekend while helping me paint. Its a long story and only Blueberry could break a toe while painting.). She picked The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I've read this book. I read it a couple of years ago. And it's a long book.  I got the book from the library and started reading...and it's as if I never read it. I swear it feels like a new story to me.  I wonder if I should be worried about my memory. But then I figured maybe the book didn't warrant me remembering. yah, that's it.

Ok. I've done my daily blogging and now I've got to go read. TTFN.

Mid Year Check-In

Here we are with half the year over already. The older I get, the faster time flies. It feels like months are flying by as days.  My attempts to slow time have not been successful as of yet, though I'm gonna keep trying.

Around work everyone is readying for the new fiscal year. This includes updating goals and finishing reviews.  I figured since I don't have a work review to write, that perhaps I should check in on my annual goals. 

Let's have a look - shall we?

2013 Goals
1. Read more!
This I've done. We are in week 28 and I've read 25 books.  I'm on target to ready 45 to 50 books this year.  Some, I'll admit, at what I call "squishy" books - fast reads. Others have taken some time to digest.  For the second half of the year I'd like to add some personal growth or project management books.

2. Scrapbooking
My goal was to control my purchasing of scrapbook supplies.  In an attempt to "use what I have" I decided I was going to "stage" all my photos and then scrapbook them when I had time.  This meant taking a photo theme - say my birthday - finding the paper and embellishments that go with it and putting them all together for a future day of actually putting the page together. 

I've hit a bit of a wall with getting new kitties.  They are a bit too curious for the scrapbook room so in order for me to be in there I have to lock them in another room - which seems unfair. So I've not spent as much time in the scrapbook room as I would like.  That being said, they are older now and I've allowed them time in the scrapbook room. Once the initial curiosity wore off they were fine.  Though they found stuff to chew on that I wasn't happy about.

As for purchasing scrapbooking supplies. I think my real hobby is that I like to buy scrapbooking stuff.  I've done just okay with this goal and really need to focus on NOT buying.

3. Photography
This year so far I've gone out shooting just two times. Once with the PhotoGods to Georgetown and once with Meg-A-Roonie to Pike's Place Market.  I have, however, done a lot of shooting with the new kitties.  They're just so darn cute and wiggly.  I have a list of a couple of places I'd like to shoot still this year and really need to just get them scheduled so I do it.

4. Finances
Oh boy. I don't even want to discuss this one.  I've been saving through my 401K and what not. And have started a mutual fund. So that's good.  Still need to get the credit cards down and still need to save my 3 months worth of salary.  I'm about to be without a job again and really REALLY wish I had done this. I need to remember what this feels like to be without a job and worried about finances.  It's not a great feeling and I think if I tap into that I can push myself to save.  I've even been playing these little mind games with myself like, "If I get job XYZ I promise, PROMISE to save the 3 months."  Unfortunately I didn't get job XYZ, but I still think I can fill in "XYZ" with "ANY" and be in the same place.

5. Health
This is a good one. I'm back on WW and am really starting to think about what I'm eating.  I've found some interesting things out about my food nature and plan on writing about them later.  My specific goal was about jogging - or wogging as I like to call it - but that has been sorta derailed. My wogging partner broke her ankle and since she stopped, apparently I stopped. I need to just start all over and dig deep for that motivation.

6. Blog more.
Um...not sure if this is going well or not. I have a list of things I want to spend some time to write about and subsequently blog about, I just haven't sat down and worked on them.  So...watch this space.

There. My annual review is done. I'd give myself a 3 out of 5 cuz there is certainly room for improvement. But I've done something, and I think that always counts.

Horror-Scopes and other scary things

My horror-scope for today is shockingly close to what's been on my mind for the past few days.

"How strong is your connection to your inner truth? It's time to ask yourself what really matters in your life, and push everything else to the side. Live intensely and beautifully. Don't waste any time."
As some of you may know, and new readers now will know, I don't really do New Year's Resolutions. I do New Year Themes. In the past, I think, I did pretty well doing things that helped better me in some way, shape or form. For example, I did "Out with the old. In the with New" one year. Then I did, "Celebrate Singleness." etc. My plan has always been to carry that theme with me through my journey during the year. Doing things that, seeing things, experiencing things that turn toward that theme.

This year, I'm struggling. Its almost the end of February and I don't have a theme. I was going to do, "Cha cha... changes" since I was moving and starting a new job. But I couldn't think of anything past that to change...at least anything I want to admit I want to change. Because that roller coaster ride I'm not quite ready to take. So I'll keep pretending that I'm ...cough cough...choke choke...perfect.

So now here I am. Stuck with what to do. I've been doing a lot of thinking about taking Risks and how to maximize my risk taking and minimizing the potential pain that might be the fall out from the risk. For example, how much pain will happen if I ask some guy out for drinks? Is the risk of him saying no worth the pain that no might cause? In my heart its a resounding YES. But oddly my mind stops me and forces me to think about just how painful rejection can be. And do I want to face that music again?

But I digress (which seems to be a habit of mine of late). Last year our family, and the world, lost an amazing person to cancer. My cousin Cindy, at the young age of 36 (I think), was someone who, even though she was dealt a rotten hand in life by having to deal with cancer for nearly all her adult life, truly personified the notion of "Live intensely and beautifully." and didn't waste any time. When I think about Cindy and what she fought I get a bit choked up. But mostly with happiness and pride when I think about how strong she was and how much she really fought to live. So my horror scope got me thinking why do near death experiences force us to really live? Why can't we find enough worth "really living" in our day to day lives?

So my thought was, maybe my theme could be "Live intensely and beautifully. Don't waste any time." Thoughts? Suggestions? Can you help a sista out?