I was reviewing the post from the beginning of the year in which I listed my goals for 2006. I wanted to see how many of them I actually accomplished during the year. Here's an update:

1. Be in bed and asleep by 10 p.m. on work nights. Hah!

Even as I wrote that goal, I knew there was no way I'd ever be able to do it consistently. Over the summer I was doing really well, because I was getting up at 5:30 a.m. and going to the gym before work. But in the last couple months, I have been suffering from a serious lack of sleep. So this goal was not fully attained. Bummer.

2. Take a daily multi-vitamin. Even if it's Flintstones.

As if! I took a vitamin faithfully... for about two weeks! Then I forgot. I'm so bad at remembering to take pills, it's a miracle I remembered to take my birth control pills for ten years without any "accidents."

3. Get some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes, at least four days a week. Racquetball, weight-lifting, walking are some ideas.

Unless the weather is really bad, I walk close to three miles every day. Lately I've been slacking off due to holiday crazyness, but otherwise I've stuck to the walking pretty religiously. I do need to start lifting again, though.

4. Plan my meals better so that when I'm hungry, I can eat something nutritious and homemade, thereby reducing the frequency of eating out.

Hmmm...I've tried to do this. Lately I've lost interest in cooking, so I need to get my mojo back in this area.

5. Study for and pass the ASPPA DC-2 exam, so I can get the QKA designation for my job.

Done! In fact I just received my ASPPA QKA certificate and membership card two weeks ago. Yay, me! Now I'm thinking about getting the next designation, which is the Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA). That would entail two more torturous exams, one of which is dedicated solely to Defined Benefit plans...ugh.

6. Start thinking about having a baby. Perhaps.

Still thinking about it. I've been having a lot of baby lust, particularly when I interact with our friends' kids. When we visited Rochester for Thanksgiving, we saw Brian's friends' babies (a one-year old and a six-month old) and when I held them, I really thought my ovaries were going to explode! I just love babies. Frankly, we just need to start having more sex. A LOT more.

7. Travel somewhere fun. No more Caribbean islands, please...I'm talking Europe, Africa, or somewhere I've never visited within the borders of these great United States. I've always wanted to go to a dude ranch. Brian thinks I'm nuts but I'm totally serious. Hee-haw!

Unfortunately, the most exciting trip we took in 2006 was two days outside of Syracuse, NY for a wedding. Not exactly what I had in mind when I wrote "somewhere fun." This year, we MUST go somewhere awesome. Hint, hint...

8. Pay off all the new appliances that we bought when we moved into the new house.

Done! I think we had them all paid off by May.

9. Volunteer.

I was way too busy studying for those ASPPA exams to even think about volunteering. Oh well.

10. Continue on the home improvement spree. I slowed down due to studying for DC-1 and then the holiday onslaught began. Now I have all the time in the world to paint and strip wallpaper!

We definitely did a lot to the house this year. Let's see...we:

-painted the basement, the guest bathroom, the master bedroom, the two guest rooms, the upstairs hallway and stairwell
-removed, repainted, and rehung the vinyl shutters on all the windows, and repainted the front door and the trim around the garage and sidelight to match
-installed a new screen slider to the deck
-removed the old mailbox and installed a new wrought-iron Victorian style mailbox
-removed the handrail next to the front step that had rotted out
-had extensive landscaping done--still a work in progress--including pulling up two dead trees, planting a bunch of shrubs, and laying down 6 yards of mulch around the perimeter of the deck (thank you for doing that, honey!)
-installed a small water feature in the backyard all by ourselves
-installed new light fixtures in the hallway and the guest bathroom
-installed new ceiling fans in two bedrooms, the living room, the family room, and the kitchen
-had new carpeting installed throughout the second floor and the stairwell
-bought new furniture (sofa, chair, and tables) for the basement family room, along with a new TV and a home theatre system
-built a custom upholstered window cornice for the guest bathroom window all by ourselves!
-installed a remote control garage door keypad for outside access
-installed a doorbell chime extender so that we can hear the doorbell in the basement
-installed two self-timers for the outside lights (and almost blew up the house putting in the second one...oops!)
-had a new hot water heater installed
-had a new sump pump system installed
-hung various artwork, candle sconces, and curtain rods throughout the house

Jesus! We did more than I thought this year. Looking at this list, I'm amazed that we ever had any downtime on the weekends to just relax and hang out!

In 2007, I would like to get a shed for the backyard so we can move all the lawn and garden crap out of our garage. I would also like to get a new oven in the kitchen. And maybe a new bed.

Did you meet your goals in 2006? What are your goals for 2007?

Labels: accomplishments, food, health, home improvement, memories, travel, work

Well, the holiday mayhem is winding down.

NOT.

For us, Christmas was fairly low-key this year. We were home, not in Binghamton, which always makes me very happy. There's just something nice about waking up in your own house on Christmas morning.

We went to the movies on Christmas Eve and saw The Good Shepherd. Word of advice? Skip it. It was unbearably long and drawn-out. I thought we'd never make it out of the theatre. Ugh.

When we got home from the movies, we opened our gifts. Remember how much I loved Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor last year? I've decided that my favorite CD of this year is John Mayer's Continuum, which was one of the things that The Huz bought for me. Love it. LOVE it. It's sublime, bluesy goodness. I especially like the first three tracks and the last track. Fantastic album!

I also got Alicia Keys' Unplugged...another great album. I've seen Alicia in concert twice and she never disappoints. In fact, I think that she is one of the few artists whose voice sounds better live than on recordings. This album captures her at her best.

So now I'm getting ready for the party we're having on Saturday afternoon. Hence, the title of this post. We're expecting almost fifty people--more than I've ever tried to entertain at one time! I'm trying hard not to start hyperventilating when I think about it. The guest list consists almost entirely of my family, most of whom have never seen our new house, but we're also having a few neighbors as well. I think I'm in good shape so far...the catered portion of the food has been ordered, I've test-run a few recipes for food that I'm making myself, and we've been slowly straightening up the house for the past week. Still, I've had a couple nightmares in which people show up at our house and I've overslept and there is no food for them and I am still in my nightgown. I wake up gasping for breath.

Entertaining shouldn't be this stressful, should it?

Hoping that you all had a wonderful holiday!

Labels: holidays, movies, music

I took this picture on my regular walk a few nights ago.

OK, so my new camera phone takes lousy photos.

Or maybe it's just operator error.

Or maybe...just maybe...the quality of this particular photo is so crappy because my poor camera phone was too busy recoiling in horror at the display of Christmas monstrosities on this property to capture a decent picture.

All I can say is Thank Dog this house is three streets over from mine. It has been literally lit up like Las Vegas since Thanksgiving.

This is the same house, by the way, where passersby can admire a lovely array of Confederate flags snapping proudly in the breeze every other day of the year. Oh yeah...and a bunch of Nascar banners, too.

Every neighborhood has one of these houses, right?

Yikes.

Labels: funny stuff, holidays

I found this incredible photo of the city skyline from Upper Darby, where I grew up. I wish I knew who I could credit for this picture.

Labels: memories, Philadelphia, Upper Darby

I always, ALWAYS look into the toilet bowl before my ass hits that seat. No matter what.

7-Foot Python Found In Toilet

Labels: scary

I'm amazed by the sheer volume of hits this blog has been getting from my post last week on the Pflaumers' Christmas display in Drexel Hill. It's hard to believe that so many people are searching Google Blogsearch and Technorati for it.

<small voice> I would really love it if some of you lurkers would out yourselves and leave me a comment...

Labels: holidays, technology, Upper Darby

Well, I didn't throw up last night. Truthfully, I don't even know why I was so nervous; I'd been working on that speech for weeks, and it wasn't the first time the class had heard it. But I came dangerously close to having a nearly full-blown attack of hyperventilation just before I was introduced. Somehow I survived it.

The assignment was to give a five to seven minute speech on any topic of my choice. I talked about retirement planning and the three biggest mistakes that people make when investing for retirement, and my presentation came in at a very tidy 6:21.

I think my speech was well-received, and the evaluations from my classmates and the facilitators were very positive. The main facilitator, Robin, couldn't have been more effusive in her praise. She told me that I have a natural warmth in my voice that is very pleasant to listen to, and that I am able to project my voice without sounding shrill. Who knew?! She told me that my strengths include good speech organization and flow; appropriate use of gestures and facial expressions to accompany my message; and excellent vocabulary. Her comments also mentioned that I "radiated confidence and competence" while speaking, and that she learned anew about planning her investment portfolio. Later in the class, she pointed out that I have a very rare ability for a beginner speaker to avoid the use of filler words such as "uh" and "um" and "like," even when I'm not quite sure in which direction my speeches are going.

I just about floated out of the classroom at the end of the night! Taking this class was an overwhelmingly positive experience for me. I really went outside of my comfort zone when I signed up for the class, and I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it or do well at all. The group was so supportive and provided such excellent constructive criticism, though. I'm eternally glad that I went for it.

The facilitators also encouraged me to check out a few of their Toastmasters meetings, so I'll be going to one later this month. As I thanked each facilitator for their help and support during the course of the class, one of them shook my hand and said, "You're going to go places, I can tell."

WOW.

Labels: accomplishments, Toastmasters

Tonight is my final Public Speaking class. I'm giving a seven-minute speech on investing for retirement, and I'm so nervous that I think I might throw up.

Wish me luck...

Labels: scary, Toastmasters