Managing...

My healthy choices calendar, that is provided to me the the wellness folks at work, asks a provoking question this month..."Are you in control of your to-do list, or is your to-do list in control of you?"

It's kind of a funny question, or at least it was until I gave it some thought. In looking at my typical to-do list, it has become quite clear that my current method of to-do listing is ineffective and downright futile. My to-do list defeats me before I even get started.

The lists are LONG. Somehow I manage to list everything that I want to get done, and convince myself that it will all get done in the course of a single Sunday. In reality, even the most efficient person could not finish what is on my to do list in month, let alone a single day.

Moving forward, I am going to attempt a new method of to-do listing. I am going to make a Routine List for those things that must get done each and every week, and I'm going to make a Wish List consisting of those things that I would like to accomplish.

Ultimately, the goal is to make a to-do list that consists of goals that are both attainable and effective. The weekly list will now consist of items from both the Routine and Wish Lists. The trick will be to keep the Wish List items in check. No more than 3 per week, and less than that if necessary, depending on the task.

Now it is time for me to stop typing and start doing.

Back in the Groove

After a very disappointing second week of 2010, I am doing a relatively good job with the third [insert self-pat on the back here]. I am proud to say that my plans for organizing my life are going quite well. In working in new little habits here and there, I am seeing great strides towards success. While it is understood that the weekend will always need to be reserved for bigger projects, I have found that putting in an extra half hour per weekday makes for a much more leisurely weekend. Slowly but surely, I am seeing myself stick to little routines. Baby steps.

In other news, I am the Toastmaster this week. For those not in the know, there is an organization called Toastmasters International. This is a club that anyone can join to hone or develop their public speaking and mingling skills. My employer decided that we should have our own Toastmasters chapter; due to our location on E 9th Street, we are the Rock and Roll Toastmasters. The overall goal for the members is confidence. To be honest, it is quite daunting and intimidating at first - everyone has to do a short, impromptu speech every week, and everyone must organize large speeches to give to the group through the year. The other catch is the "Ah" Meter. A bell is rung each time someone uses a filler word to hopefully achieve a Pavlov effect to eliminate the filler noises. The Toastmaster has to choose the theme of the meeting and basically oversee it, transitioning from segment to segment. There are also other roles throughout the meeting. I was assigned Toastmaster this week, and it's a bit scary. I might run away screaming, except for the fact that I am already seeing improvement in my own personal and professional presentation. I think that the theme of the week will be Conspiracy Theories; that should be fun.

The portion of the New Years resolution dealing with the nightly sustenance at Chez Spence is also going quite well this week. The meals are planned and shopped for; they are diverse and healthy. For this week's cuisine, I turned to my February issue of Real Simple magazine. The recipes this month are awesome. I have made three so far, and plan on making three more through the rest of the week. Last night's Balsamic Glazed Lamb Meatloaf was fine restaurant worthy, and the slow cooked Sweet and Spicy Pork from Sunday received rave reviews. Both were - real simple. If I plan and shop for the week, I have no problem cooking when I get home from work, and to be honest, I enjoy cooking when I get home from work. The minute I have to think about what's for dinner upon my arrival home, we end up at a restaurant. My goal is to keep these instances few, far, and in between.

My Recipe Manager software is a boon for my goal. It houses my recipes and makes my shopping lists for me by store section. I load the shopping list on my I Pod. I can also plan out the meals on the software's calendar for the week. I do not load every recipe that I own on this software; I primarily use it for my regular use recipes, and also my magazine recipes. It does require a little bit of a time investment for loading, categorizing, etc., but the results are so worth it. I am trying to use time on the weekends to go through my magazines and get as many recipes loaded as possible.

And now for the disappointing report on my exercise for the week. If I lie, I only set myself back, so here goes total honesty: It's not going so well so far. Pilates has become a staple, but I have not put in the Spin Class like I promised myself, and I haven't been getting in my other time in either. Hopefully I will have a better report next week. This is one area that I really need to work on the Work/Life balance.

And now, I don my insurance agent hat and work to make it a great day for myself, my clients, and for those around me. Whatever hat you put on today, I hope you strive to have the same effect on the world around you. Cheers!

Not even 2 weeks in, and I blew it!

Apparently I am not such a good juggler. Last weekend proved to be extremely successful, yet the rest of the week was nothing but failed new years resolutions.

There is a room upstairs that is all mine. For the past 8 years, it has been all my mess, honestly. The room is unique because of the access to the walk up attic. The room's closet actually has a door in the back that leads to the attic. Unfortunately, things don't always make their way back into the attic after holidays, dinner parties, etc. When we remodeled last year, we painted the room a beautiful rosy terra-cotta an laid new carpeting. I was excited and resolved to clean out and furnish the room. To get started, I cleaned out the attic a bit, but my mess still remained for a while longer. I could not seem to figure out what I wanted to do with my little space.

My cousin Amy, who is a professional framer, gave me the precious gift of framing my college diploma. She gave me the finished product last Friday and asked where I was going to hang it. I told her it would be hung in my room if I could ever get the motivation to finish it. Well, the beauty of the diploma inspired me, and I was able to finally clean out, furnish, and arrange the room. It is amazing and I love it. I still have to hang the diploma, and another beautiful picture that my friend Lindy painted for me, but it is almost done.

Perhaps that was such a big undertaking that I did not have anything left for the week. Also, in my defense, it was an incredibly crappy work week. I only cooked two days this week, and ate out three. That is in direct violation to my resolution stating that I would eat out of the house only once during a week. I did make it to my Pilates class, but failed to take any spin classes or make it to the gym any other days.

To pat myself on the back, I have not been on Facebook in 2 weeks. That is a tremendous success for an addict such as myself.

Hopefully, calling myself out on my failures will inspire success next week. Giving up is not an option.

What a Disappointment!

I'm sure people will think I'm crazy, but I am extremely disappointed. For the past 2 days, the Cleveland area was bombarded with weather propaganda about this terrible storm that was coming our way. We were supposed to have woken up to a million inches, and then pummeled by another few hundred thousand inches, only to have woken up to about a billion more inches tomorrow morning.

In honor of this winter apocalypse, almost every single school in the northeastern Ohio area was closed. Salt trucks were out in full force. Grocery store shelves were getting bare.

Well, here's the latest scoop. It is around 6:30pm, and we should have been buried alive by now. It barely snowed all day. It is barely snowing now. From the looks of the radar, even the snow belt was not hit with anything.

I think that the school kids banded together and bribed some meteorologists. That is the only logical explanation. They didn't want to be back at school for a full week, so they made an arrangement to get the schools closed. My hat is off to the few schools that didn't fall for it.

Off to a Good Start for 2010 - Only 358 days to go AHHH!

Well, I didn't think of any resolutions to change; I am quite happy with my selections, and I did add a book club with a good friend. So far, I am off to a good start. I have packed my lunch every day this week (applicable to weight and dollar management, two birds with one stone HA!). I have also exercised, though Spin Class was full when I went on Monday night; I guess others have New Year's resolutions too. At the moment I am off to Pilates. I have also cooked every night this week, except last night, when we didn't eat at all except for fruit and crackers. We didn't go out to eat, as we strongly resisted the compelling cluck of Chick Fil A, so I guess that still counts in some strange way.

Rach and I are off to a good start with our book club. We have started with the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, and I am loving it. It is allegedly one of the first published Mystery novels. Anyway, Rachel received a Kindle for Christmas, I have had my BeBook - most classic novels past their copyright dates are free in formats for both e-books. The little rat already finished the story. I need to get snowed in so that I can score some extra time to catch up. This gives me an idea - we might need another blog for this project!

Organization - ouch. This is a tough one, and I have to really make a concerted effort. I SO need to de-clutter and learn to part with things I don't love (see www.flylady.net).

French and sewing so far are both no-go's. Oh well, 358 days left, right?

New Years resolutions, 2010.

Goals: Simplicity. Attainability. Specific when possible.

Disclaimer: Subject to Change through December 31, 2009

1. Continue the following never ending quests:

a.) Better organization both at home and at the office

b.) More consistent physical fitness

c.) Improvement of time management

d.) Budget dollars more effectively

2. Become a better listener, suppress urge to constantly express opinion.

3. Keep up to date with journal and blog.

(Writing makes me feel better and keeps me accountable)

4. Learn to sew. (Challenge to be more well rounded)

5. Get serious about learning the French language. (Challenge to be more well rounded)

6. Cook 6 out of 7 nights a week, carefully planning shopping each week. (Exception: kitchen construction timeframe)

7. Work towards losing and keeping off the final 10 pounds prior to health day at work in May, subsequently improving BMI.

8. Started book club with Rachel D. in an effort to keep my brain occupied.

About Relocating...

Well, moving was a really fun thought for a while, until we started looking at the costs involved with selling our beloved Chez Spence. We met with a realtor last night.

The good news is that we have a nice house, and though we would never recoup what we put into it, the official outlook is that we should be able to sell it in a reasonable amount of time, and we would definitely get more than we bought it for. This is, from what I hear, a rare prediction in this market. The problem is that the fees and commissions are quite hefty, which for us really adds to the blow of the market. We expected this, but when we saw it in black and white it sunk in a bit deeper.

Since we are not in a position of unhappiness, nor have we made any commitments to other properties, it's looking like we are going to hang around here for a while. This is definitely not a bad thing. I truly love my home and my neighborhood. I just wish it was a little quieter and more private.

We are still digesting and deciding, but as of today, 1/6/10, that is the way the decision pendulum is swinging.