I apologize for the year+ gap between posts. I started this blog when I was working at a job with not enough to do, and it continued into a period of unemployment, followed by a much busier job. Then I had a baby (and kept the much busier job) and I’ve been really struggling to get back on top of EVERYTHING, not just this blog.
It has been a weird year. In August I had a beautiful, healthy baby girl! However, 8 weeks after she was born (just as I was preparing to go back to work) I started having gallbladder attacks. It was hideously awful. I was still all emotional from the hormones and the massive shift in my universe from having a baby. I was so excited/nervous/stressed about going back to work, and I (so I thought) had this stomach flu that just wouldn’t go away. Eventually I had surgery, and now I am gallbladder, and gallbladder-attack free!
So, surgery was in December, and after the holidays I went back to work finally feeling more like myself than I had in months. However, 2 weeks into the new year, my husband had to go to connecticut for training for 5 months, leaving me and baby girl (BG) alone. I feel like every time I started to get back to some sort of normal, life threw me a big old curveball.
Well, my husband is back from CT, BG is 1 now (still TOTALLY adorable) and walking, talking, and showing off her new little personality. I am a military spouse, so my husband is still gone quite a bit due to his job, but I’m starting to feel more in-the-swing-of things. I finally got caught up (to some degree) at work, and it helps that BG is much more independant than she used to be.
With that, I still feel like I need to be better-organized so I can maximize my time at work, and make more time at home. Our finances have slid a little, nothing major, but I just feel like we are “catching up” more than we are moving towards our goals lately. It used to be that I’d spend my time dreaming about what to do with our surplus (where to make that extra debt payment or which savings account to build) and now I’m scrambling to make sure we have enough cash to cover the credit cards and avoid carrying a balance. (Diapers and formula sure seem to add up!) I am also in the worst physical shape I have been in probably ever. The gallbladder problems helped me to lose the baby weight (throwing up/experiencing intense pain every time you eat anything fatty sure changes your diet in a hurry). However, I can practically count on one hand the number of times I’ve made it to the gym this year. I’m hoping if I can get more organized, I will be able to plan my meals, schedule time to work out, retake control of my finances, and spend less time stressing about work and more time enjoying my little girl. For some reason I keep living life like my situation is temporary — once C returns from CT it will be better, once X project is done at work, I’ll do better, once . . . and the excuses keep flowing.
Changejar’s new goals:
1. Systematically clean out and organize my home from top to bottom (I am using the book One Year to an Organized Life as a guide).
2. Organize my office and files at work.
3. Plan out meals, outfits, and events in advance each week.
4. Improve my time management skills, particularly with regards to procrastination.
5. Work out at least twice a week, and do a minimum of crunches and squats on the days I can’t get to the gym.
6. Overhaul my budget to ensure it accurately captures the expenses of my new lifestyle.
7. Plan a special activity to do with my daughter at least once a week. (Even if it’s just a trip to the park).
8. Plan time for just me and my husband at least once a week (when he is not traveling).
9. Update my resume and determine some realistic career goals.
Whew, that seems like a lot. I probably have more, but I think I’ll stop there for now.
