Newly Resolved

2012

2012-01-02T19:31:00.001-06:00

I took a different approach to goals for this year. I think that having an analytical way to measure success is still important, it gives me solid finish lines to strive for, but before I broke things down into bits, pieces and numbers, I wanted to take some time to figure out what was really important to me - measurable or not.

So, I sat down with pen and paper and wrote out a list of all the important things in my life that I could think of, and here they are (in no particular order):
Rachel
Baylor
Family
Friends
Happiness/Contentedness
Fun/Excitement
Love
Simplicity
Knowledge
Travel
Art
Creative and Enjoyable Work
Giving
Health
Life List
A Good Home

Obviously some of these things can't (or shouldn't) be measured. They should just be incorporated into your everyday life. And a few, I just can't figure out how to measure. But even without measurements, they're in the back of my mind to actively try to work on.

Here are the ones I can figure out how to measure; this year's resolutions (some with extra explanations):

Family
1 visit with Sis/Nona

Friends
Visit 1 out-of-town friend

Simplicity
1 event, 1 important task and 1 task each day
My Google calendar is broken up into these three categories. I want to limit a day's activity to one of each. A rough guess at my current averages: 1 event, 1.5 important tasks, 5 tasks. And it tends to leave me frazzled and exhausted at the end of the day.

Truth be told, I did some preemptive work on this one. I've started to categorize things better, which has helped, and break my to-do lists down in to a few different categories. It seems to be working, but I'll report back in a month or two.

As a minor addition to this goal, I'm also still working on the "Would you move it to London" goal from last year.

Knowledge
Learn to screen print

A good home
Finish 6 projects on my to-do list
I think I'm going to focus on the outside of the house this year.

Travel
1 trip
Travel is big in our lives, but it's harder with a young one. I'd like one true, relaxing vacation this year.

Art
1 book or 1 toy
There are two sides to this important thing: creating art and enjoying art. Both are really important to me. This year I'm going to focus on the creating side of things and try to complete one of the books or toy designs that's trapped in my head.

Work
1 step closer to Content Strategist
Work is on the list because it's such a big part of most people's life that it should be important (at least to yourself).

The most important qualifications for work (for me) are that it's creative, enjoyable, not exhausting and not too stressful. With that, my natural skills and my younger self's ambitions in mind, I think the best job for me might be a Content Strategist. But there are only a few agencies in town who even know what that means, let alone have it as a job title. So I'd like to take one step towards becoming a Content Strategist, and maybe push this city one step closer to understanding what that means. I'm not sure exactly what that means or how to do that just yet.

Giving
X%
I have a percentage of my income that I try to give/donate every year. I'm going to try and match or beat that standard this year.

Health
150 pounds
Last year I didn't want to put my goal weight online. Vanity is out the window this year in hopes of better motivation through public shaming.

Life list
1 item
I was an over achiever and did three life list items last year, but in some ways those were the low hanging fruit. I'm shooting for one again this year.

I just realized, I don't have any kind of money/financial goal for this year. It's because money didn't make it into my "what's important" list. A lot of that probably has to do with the fact that most of my money stuff is on autopilot. But I like to have a money goal every year. This year I'd like to focus on my student loans. I always thought my student loans would be paid off by the time I'm 35, but, because I'm terrible at math, I'd be 37 by the time my loans got paid off if I continue on my current path. That being said, it's hard to throw money at a loan that is locked in at a rate that's lower than the typical inflation rate. So I'm going to have to find extra money to solve this one so I don't feel too bad for not paying off/investing in something with a higher interest rate.

Money
Get on the path of have my student loans paid off by 35

December 2011

2011-12-22T23:38:00.001-06:00

December: The month where you stop thinking about this year and start thinking about next.

Time to tally up the wins vs. losses. I try to be ambitious, so if I get over 50%, I'll be happy.

Fully fund my emergency fund
It took some last minute miracles and some extra funds that I wasn't counting on, but I have an emergency fund that a financial planner would be proud of.
Tracking: Done

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
Overall I'm going to call this a win. I got rid of a lot (although I still have to get rid of more) and I shifted my mindset from that of collector to that of user and give-away-er.
Tracking: Done

Start dressing like an adult
When I started this goal, I thought it would mean all my shirts had collars. But that's not me and that's not the case. However, a much smaller percentage of my shirts have words, band names or cartoon characters on them. I might never look like an adult (clothes-wise) but I think I found a good middle ground.
Tracking: Decent

Lose 15 pounds
Tracking: Failed

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Done

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Tracking: Done

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
Tracking: Failed

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

Overall, that looks like more pluses than minuses, so I'll call this year a success. And that's on top of all the wonderful and amazing things that happened outside my resolution list.

November 2011

2011-11-24T11:29:00.000-06:00

November: The month where I start moving failed items to next year's list.

Lose 15 pounds
I'm going to go ahead and call this one. It's not going to happen this year.
Tracking: Failed

Fully fund my emergency fund
This one is going to come down to the wire.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
I have a few more things packed up to get rid of. There's still some extra stuff in the house, but it's getting there.
Tracking: Good

Start dressing like an adult
I bought a few long sleeve shirts, they're all adult like
Tracking: Good

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Done

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Tracking: Done

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
Tracking: Failed

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

October 2011

2011-10-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

October: The month where I remembered all my goals, but ignored them to do other things.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
Didn't cook again this month, so I'm calling it failed. But I did learn about/how to make curry egg salad, which is part of my standard meals now.
Tracking: Failed

Lose 15 pounds
Still just being lazy.
Tracking: -6.5/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
Even now it's hard to say if I'll make this one or not.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
Cleaned out my record collection, but they're still in the house. Still working on this one, but progress has slowed, as it naturally would since I got rid of all the easy stuff early on.
Tracking: OK

Start dressing like an adult
No changes to the wardrobe this month.
Tracking: OK

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done, thrice

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Done

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Tracking: Done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

Life List: Touch a real dinosaur bone

2011-10-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I read every dinosaur book in the library. For a while I thought I was going to be a paleontologist. That's where this whole "touch a dinosaur bone" thing comes from, when I was making the list I wanted to make sure some childhood dreams got taken care of too. Luckily, one of the museums in Austin has a dino bone for kids (and adults) to touch. That being said, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. Happy I did it and it's pretty cool to be able to say you touched a dinosaur bone, but it didn't bring back any childhood nostalgia.

September 2011

2011-09-30T21:55:00.007-05:00

September: The month where I almost forgot to post again (probably doesn't bode well for the actual goals).

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
It didn't happen this month; didn't even think about it. One more missed month and I'm calling it failed.
Tracking: 5/12

Lose 15 pounds
Feeling motivated again. Hope to turn that into actual weight loss soon.
Tracking: -6/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
Had to rework the budget and redo some math. Still looks like there's going to be a gap at year's end; still need to figure that out.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
This slowed down a bit this month, but it's still top of mind.
Tracking: OK

Start dressing like an adult
Nothing in, nothing out. No steps forward, but none backwards.
Tracking: OK

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done, twice

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Done

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Tracking: Done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

August 2011

2011-08-31T16:22:00.020-05:00

August: The month where you almost forget to post.

Check off 1 Life List item
I bring this up again because I was able to check off another item.
Tracking: Done, twice

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
It's starting to seem like this one is going to go uncompleted. It didn't happen this month.
Tracking: 5/12

Lose 15 pounds
Still fat. Starting to get lazy too. Numbers are going in the wrong direction again.
Tracking: -4/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
Sometimes you have to use your emergency fund, and that can knock you off track of your goal. Last month it looked like I'd have a surplus at the end of the year, this month I'm trying to figure out how to fill a gap by year's end.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
This is still top of mind and I'm still working on getting rid of things.
Tracking: OK

Start dressing like an adult
I did not buy any new clothes, but I did realize that some of my shorts probably need to go and be replaced with something more mature.
Tracking: Still a work in progress

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Done

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

Life List: Take Rachel to Madison when it's not snowing

2011-08-11T23:07:00.000-05:00

I was able to get Rachel up to Madison during a time of the year when there wasn't six or so standing inches of snow on the ground. And she didn't step in an ice puddle. I think it helped her see why I like Madison. That being said, the city has changed a lot since I've moved, which is nice because it's hard to be nostalgic for a city that you don't know so well.

July 2011

2011-07-30T23:09:00.037-05:00

July: The month where it's not forgetting if I remember but still don't do it.

Complete the $10 challenge
The $10 challenge was to make $10 off of another blog through advertising, or to shut down that blog. I'm bringing this goal up again because I've reached the limited where google will release my funds to me. And I reached the goal before the original due date (the end of August). I still don't have a check in hand, but I'm assuming google is good for it. It's been a hard $10 to earn.
Tracking: Actually done

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
Didn't happen. Cooking new things is moving down the list of priorities. But I hope to make up ground later.
Tracking: 5/12

Lose 15 pounds
A workout habit has sporadically started to form. Eating habits are slightly better, but not great.
Tracking: -1/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
I am bad at math. The small gap I thought I would have at the end of the year no longer looks like it's going to be there. If I continue on the current path, I'll be set.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
No steps forward, no steps back. But I have continued to limit the amount of new things added to storage, so I'm feeling pretty good about this month.
Tracking: OK

Start dressing like an adult
I bought a few new t-shirts. None of them have cartoon characters, comic book references, movie titles or band names on them.
Tracking: Less like a teenager

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Done

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

June 2011

2011-06-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

June: The month where you take one step forward and two steps back.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
I didn't cook a new meal this month, but I realized I should be learning to cook meals that I'll make more than once (like curry egg salad). So I'll be looking to make two of those in July.
Tracking: 5/12

Lose 15 pounds
So I started working out and then I got sick. And then the wheels feel off. Will try to get them back on.
Tracking: -3.6/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
Still almost on track to meet this goal, still need to figure out how I'm going to make up a small gap.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
Cleaned out the attic a little bit, got the last few boxes out of my parent's garage and will be going through them soon. Still have some stuff to get rid of, but I'm getting there.
Tracking: OK

Start dressing like an adult
I need new socks. They should make ankle-length argyle socks, but they don't.
Tracking: Nothing new here

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Done

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Still calling it done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

May 2011

2011-05-30T11:24:00.000-05:00

May: The month you'd better be halfway there (because you know it's all going to fall apart in December).

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
I made curry egg salad this month. Now, sure, I've made egg salad before, but I did follow a new recipe and the addition of curry to egg salad is totally new to me. And totally delicious.
Tracking: 5/12

Lose 15 pounds
Rach and I have figured out how to get a workout schedule for both of us - not an easy thing to do with a little one. And I plan to stick to it. Baby steps at this point, but things are starting to get on the right track again.
Tracking: .1/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
Craigslist was my friend this month. I sold a bunch of stuff and put all the cash in the emergency fund. I also sold some scrap gold that I had (rings) to get some extra cash. It was kind of weird because that seems like the thing to do these days, but I found a local place that didn't seem to scam-y and they gave me a quote and it was pretty easy. With the price of gold being so crazy, I got more than I was expecting.

I'm almost on track to fully fund my emergency fund by end of year with my standard monthly deposit. But I'm starting to run out of stuff to sell, so I need to figure out how I'm going to make up that small gap.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
Craigslist has been my friend. I got rid of around 10 giant boxes of stuff. All of boxes of childhood toys (and toys I bought in adulthood) have either left the house or been moved to their proper location in the attic. It's a much smaller collection now - going from something that was probably verging on 1,000 figures down to two dozen or so. I kept the key figures that reminded me of the whole line and the specific figures that had memories tied to them, everything else went. Except for the few that I plan to give to the kid.
Tracking: Good

Start dressing like an adult
I dress like the other guys in my office with my position or the position above me. I'm OK with that; it's a more relaxed office. And I can step it up when I need to (important meetings, etc).
Tracking: Matching people who dress better than me

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
Got a plumber out and got a few things fixed, which puts up over the top on our to-do list.
Tracking: 7/6

Check off 1 Life List item
Tracking: Done

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Still calling it done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

April 2011

2011-04-24T22:28:00.000-05:00

April: The month where you realize you're still fat.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
I made some morning glory muffins and they were good. I've always been better at baking than cooking.
Tracking: 4/12

Lose 15 pounds
I knew this day was coming, I've actually gained weight since the beginning of the year. I need to get a workout routine going.
Tracking: -2.5/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
My math from last month wasn't correct, I'll be a little short come the end of the year based on my new/current budget. So I've got to figure out a way to make up the shortage.
Tracking: 4/6

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
I did more than a few jobs around the house this month, but most of it was maintenance or things that hadn't been on the official to-do list. But I did also repaint the master bedroom closet, which was.
Tracking: 5/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
A few movies out and nothing new in.
Tracking: OK

Start dressing like an adult
Things are starting to slide backwards, I need to make some corrections on this one.
Tracking: Changes needed

Check off 1 Life List item
Done. I shot a gun this month, so that's one item checked off. Plus, the kid did pretty well on a plane ride to visit the NC grandparents, so we're planning on a trip to the Midwest and Madison later this year. So it looks like I'll get two items checked off this year.
Tracking: 1/1

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Still calling it done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Tracking: Failed

Life List: Shoot a Gun

2011-04-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

I shot a gun this weekend. It was nerve-racking at first, but then just another thing. When I was loading the gun for the first time I was thinking silly things like, "I hope this bullet doesn't randomly explode in my hand." But after some initial flutters, things became normalized. However, normalized with me was probably crazy cautious for other people (always removing the empty magazine before putting the gun down, just in case).

I shot a 22 and a 9mm and I'm not a terrible shot. At 7 yards I can pretty much put the bullet where I want, or a least inches from where I want. At 15 yards things start getting scattered (see photo) but I still hit the target.

I'm still not a huge fan of guns, but shooting on a range in a totally controlled environment is fun. I may or may not do it again, but at least I can say I've done it once.

March 2011

2011-03-22T23:22:00.000-05:00

March: The month where you cut your losses.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
I made up for missing last month. I cooked a butternut squash soup (a bit bland) and coffee braised brisket (good but fatty).
Tracking: 3/12

Lose 15 pounds
Friends, family and festivals: that's what March was, and it's not good for the waistline.
Tracking: 0.1/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
If my math is correct, and often times it isn't, I'm on track to fully fund my emergency fund by year's end.
Tracking: 4/6

Check off 1 Life List item
We ruled out going to a wedding in England, with a side trip to France, because an international trip with a baby doesn't sound so great. And leaving the little one at home was equally unappealing. So all the France-related Life List items I was planning for this year will have to wait. Luckily I have a few backups ready to go. Did you know you can buy dinosaur bones?
Tracking: 0/1

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
I checked off two items in March, but one item on the list (a broken light) didn't need to be on the list (the inspector just didn't turn on the light). However, I'm still counting it since I no longer have to worry about it. I also put in a new bathroom mirror, so I'm ahead of schedule now.
Tracking: 4/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
My main focus of this goal right now is DVDs, most of which I wouldn't move to England - and a few of which are still in their shrink wrap. But it's hard to sit down and watch a bunch of movies when you've got a kid.
Tracking: OK, but need to focus on

Start dressing like an adult
I have almost all the supplies to dress like an adult now, but my behavior still leans towards grabbing a t-shirt every day. Part of that is because it's getting warmer, part of it is that I've always picked comfort over fashion.
Tracking: Behavioral changes are needed now

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Still calling it done

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
This hasn't been happening, isn't currently happening and probably won't happen in the future. Even if I went the rest of the year eating fruit every day, after 3 months of not, I think I'd still have to call it a failure. So I'm cutting this to focus on my other goals.
Tracking: Failed

February 2011

2011-02-28T14:26:00.000-06:00

February, the month when you forget what your resolutions were.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
I bought the ingredients for February's meal yesterday and will probably make it sometime this week. But technically, I'm still 1/12.
Tracking: 1/12

Lose 15 pounds
Exercise and all those things that help you lose weight got pushed aside for other things.
Tracking: 3.5/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
There are two ways to have more money in your pocket (or savings account): cut your spending or increase your earnings. I took a step forward on the second option by accepting a new job/promotion, which should almost put me on track to fully fund my fund by year's end.

I also figured out a better way to show my progress without putting a dollar amount out on the internet. My goal is to have 6 months of expenses covered by my emergency fund, so I'll now be tracking this resolution by how many months I have covered (instead of the irrational good/bad model).
Tracking: 4/6

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
Still not purposefully grabbing a piece of fruit everyday.
Tracking: Need to do better

Check off 1 Life List item
Multiple plans with multiple options, some more feasible than others. But it looks like I'm on track to get a least one item ticked off this year.
Tracking: 0/1

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
I've been house dreaming a lot these days. Paint colors, landscaping, new kitchen, etc. But I don't think any big projects are going to happen this year. But I did get another small project done and so far the repair is holding.
Tracking: 2/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
A few trips to Goodwill and most of what I was planning to get rid of is gone. My parents still have a bunch of stuff for me in their garage, but that mountain is shrinking. Eventually there won't be boxes of childhood stuff waiting for me in the guest bedroom. Tracking: Still going well, but need to pick up the pace

Start dressing like an adult
I've got an adult/non-mop-top/trendy-dad haircut to go with the new look. I still need to pick up a few final touches, but this one's close to done.
Tracking: On the right track

Complete the $10 challenge
Tracking: Still calling it done

January 2011

2011-01-29T22:22:00.001-06:00

One month down.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
I learned to make a curry. It was pretty easy. It wasn't the best curry I've ever had, but it was a solid first attempt at cooking. Tracking: 1/12

Lose 15 pounds
To get to my goal weigh I need to lose 12 pounds now, but that's all due to work I did last year. I need to put some effort into this one. Tracking: 3/15

Fully fund my emergency fund
Big steps taken. Still going to be a lot of work. Tracking: Doing good

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
I forgot this was a goal for a while. Still, with better eating habits in general, I think I'm pretty close to keeping this one. Tracking: Doing OK

Check off 1 Life List item
There are a few options to think about. Plans are forming. Tracking: 0/1

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
I finished one fairly simple project and I'm trying to figure out what the next project will be. Tracking: 1/6

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
I'm working my way through the DVDs - it's going to take a while. CDs and a bunch of stuff in the attic are gone or set to go. And even though my parents keep giving me stuff out of their attic and basement, not to much of it has made it past the trash or Goodwill pile. Tracking: Doing really well

Start dressing like an adult
I have made some big updates to my wardrobe and I'm definitely looking more like an adult. And a few people have taken notice. I still need some accessories to complete the look, but it's getting there. Tracking: Doing really well

Complete the $10 challenge
The cryptic goal is done/will never be done. The $10 challenge was to make $10 on another blog I write for fun. I did that through Google ads, but Google doesn't cut you a check till you reach the $100 mark, which is a ways off. I might try to get the cash in my pocket before the year's end or look for other revenue outlets, but the intent of this challenge is complete. Tracking: Calling it done (for now)

2011

2010-12-22T23:27:00.002-06:00

While I did a pretty good job with this year's resolutions, I realized that that fact is based more on my feelings than any real tracking. I'm going with much more quantifiable resolutions for 2011.

Learn to cook 1 meal a month
We eat at home more, but I still can't cook. I figure if I can master 12 dishes there will be enough variety to keep things interesting.

Lose 15 pounds
It's a classic for a reason.

Fully fund my emergency fund
I have a number for this one but I'm not willing to share it with the internet. I crunched the numbers last night and it will take a lot of hard work and penny pinching to even come close to this goal. But that's what goals are for.

Eat 1 fruit or veg a day
I have a terrible diet and this is one step in the right direction.

Check off 1 Life List item
If I hope to complete my life list before I die, I need to average one or two items a year (assuming I live to a normal age).

Finish 6 house projects on our to-do list
There aren't many small projects left on the list, but I'm still hoping to make things around the house nicer.

Live by the One In/One Out & Would You Take it to England rules
The one in/one out rule is simple: if I buy a new shirt, I get rid of an old one. Repeat for everything in my life. I'm going to be a little bendable on this (see below for reason) but overall I'm going to try to live by it to limit the clutter.

The would you take it to England rule is pretty much this: ask myself, "when we move to England, would this be worth transporting overseas?" If the answer is no, don't buy it or get rid of it.

Start dressing like an adult
I've already gotten rid of many, many t-shirts with comic book characters, bands and other silliness on them. That happened because I realized that there are a lot more photos being taken of me - well, not me, my kid, but I'm holding him and look like a man child myself. The first step of this was getting rid of all t-shirt that I couldn't wear to work and/or wouldn't want a photo taken in. That got rid of 30 or so t-shirts, leaving about 25 in the closet (yes, I had a lot of shirts). The next step is to start upgrading my clothing.

Complete the $10 challenge
This is my cryptic resolution of the year. I started a year-long secret challenge back in August. So it will be complete August 2011 - either as a success or a failure.

December 2010

2010-12-15T10:52:00.005-06:00

The year is coming to an end and I'm already thinking about next year's goals. But before I move on and forget a whole 12 months of effort, let's look back an check the scoreboard.

Uncompleted goals
Be less fat
I'm ending the year around the same weight as I started it.

Kind of completed goals
Eat better
I care more about what I put in my body and I read labels more, but it's hard not to grab some fast food or a candy bar every now and again.

Become dinner party people
I socialized more this year, but I'm not sure anyone but me noticed.

Completed goals
Eat out less
We're down to eating out for date nights or emergency "long day at work/have no time/have no energy" dinners.

Become handy
Except for major jobs, I feel confident that I can do most things around the house.

Pay off my car loan
I have the title in hand. I did the math: I paid off a 42 month loan in 22 months, and it cost me $400 to $450 in interest. I'll be paying cash next time.

Be good
I can say that I've been a good, attentive father. I love the kid, I try to help the wife as much as possible and family life is going well.

November 2010

2010-11-24T00:12:00.002-06:00

November post is coming a little early this month so I can focus on time with friends/family towards the end of the month.

Eat better
Not a great month. Not a terrible one. I had two really good weeks and one really bad week. I'm back on the wagon now.

Eat out less
We're down to eating out for date nights or emergency "long day at work/have no time" dinners. This one's looking like a win for the year.

Be less fat
The numbers on the scale went up for a bit(because of the terrible week mentioned above), but they're on their way back down again.

Become dinner party people
The holidays are bringing many dinner parties/social activities.

Be good
Things with the kid are going well and I'm loving the time I spend with him.

Completed Goals
Become handy
Except for major jobs, I feel confident that I can do most things around the house.

Pay off my car loan
I have title in hand. I did the math: I paid off a 42 month loan in 22 months, and it cost me between $400 and $450. I'll be paying cash next time.

October 2010

2010-10-31T14:41:00.004-05:00

October included lots of house guests and some interesting situations.

Eat better
Still shopping in the hippie food section of the store, still looking for graham crackers without HFCS. I now know what the Dirty Dozen are, and I'm looking into our local co-ops to see which carries the most/best organic fruit and veg. All that being said, Halloween candy and grandparent visits didn't help this month. But overall, a good month.

Eat out less
This flip has been made. It's standard practice for us to eat in, not out. That's not to say we never eat out - but it's mainly on days when we're too busy with the kid or when we want to have a special night. (There are few things better in life than a frozen margarita and a bowl of queso on a restaurant patio on an October evening in Austin.)

Be less fat
The numbers on the scale are going in the right direction again, which probably has a lot to do with the first two items on this list. I'm counting calories and, without getting into the exact numbers on the scale, it's working.

Become dinner party people
This month has been us going to other people's parties. But the point of this goal was to be social, not hosts. Even with a kid, we're doing pretty well on this one.

Pay off my car loan
The payment for Nov. 3rd is half the normal payment, because it is the last payment on my car loan. Next month this will be off the list.

Be good
Everyone told us, make it past the first 2 or 3 weeks and raising a kid gets a lot easier. Those people were not lying. The hardest transition is realizing you don't get to set the schedule anymore. Till you accept that, there's a lot of crying, by both the baby and you. Luckily I realized that early on, it's just adjusting things so I still get everything done that I want, just on a different timeline. I've getting better at that now too.

It's getting close to the end of the year, so I'm going to start a new section:
Completed Goals
Become handy
Except for major jobs, I feel confident that I can do most things around the house.

September 2010

2010-09-27T14:56:00.002-05:00

Sept. was an adjustment month: Adjusting to a new kid, new sleep patterns, new schedules, new responsibilities, etc. A lot of which caused me to not think about any of the things below. So lets see how I did.

Eat better
The food in our house is generally of better quality now. Most of the items contain ingredients that I understand, meaning that we're shopping in the hippie section of grocery store. Still there are times we just grab some fast food, which brings me to...

Eat out less
With a baby, sometimes you just need to grab a quick dinner. Our eating out has increased from what it was the past few months, but it's still less than what it was last year. Right now this specific goal isn't a major concern - sanity and sleep are more important.

Be less fat
I found out I have a public speaking engagement next March. The new goal for this is to be back at my college weight by that point. I have enough time that this might actually happen.

Become dinner party people
Dinner parties? No. Lunches and other such things with friends? Yes. I'm counting this as a win this month.

Become handy
I'm going to say that this one is complete. Except for major jobs, I feel confident that I can do most things around the house.

Pay off my car loan
I had to debate if I wanted to use a bit of my emergency fund to pay this off. I decided against that (safety was more important than return in this case). The loan should be paid in a month or two (depending how much extra cash I can put towards it).

Be good
Being a dad is easy/really really hard. I'm not going to try and explain the complexity of it, but in the end, I like to think that I'm pretty good at it. To paraphrase our pediatrician, "Parents kill themselves trying to be perfect parents, when all you really need to be is OK parents." I'm not perfect and I'm not terrible, and I think I'm doing better than OK.

August 2010

2010-08-31T23:38:00.003-05:00

August was a big month. The baby's here and things are still moving along. So a lot of what you read is going to be baby-centric.

Eat better
With a kid in the house we're eating even better than we were. Rach is watching what she's eating because the kid is getting it and it means even healthier items in the fridge. That being said, the grandparents have been/will be in and they're the ones the poor eating habits came from. There's been a lot of soda, snacks, ice cream, etc in the house too. And I've been eating them. Not a great month, but it'll get better once the supply runs dry.

Eat out less
Kind of a mixed bag this month. We ate out some because, as new parents, we didn't have time/energy to make stuff at home. But we didn't eat out as much as I thought we would because for the month before the baby was here we made and froze meals. Overall, we did pretty good this month considering.

Be less fat
I got weighed the other day as part of getting a life insurance policy. This one is not going well.

Become dinner party people
Even with the baby, and in some cases because of it, we are seeing more people and setting more dinner dates/social gatherings.

Become handy
Wasn't all that relevant in Aug. But I am starting to think of projects to do, hopefully more to come on this one.

Pay off my car loan
Getting close. If I keep my current payment schedule, I'm three months away. I have the money in my emergency fund/other accounts to pay this off, without draining them in any significant way and I've been debating just paying it off and putting the money I would spend on the loan in the next few month to refund those accounts. It's the age old debate of security (money in the bank) vs. return (about a 3% better return).

Be good
Things are going well on the baby front and I'd say I'm a pretty good dad. My brother-in-law said, "The only thing you have to do is keep them alive for a year, after that, it's pretty easy." Almost three weeks in and I've got that covered. I'm also learning that a couple of deep breaths, relaxing your shoulders and unclenching your jaw can help in a lot of situations. Plus, I can change a diaper and fold a swaddle in the dark - not exactly the super powers I would ask for given the choice, but they're pretty handy right now.

July 2010

2010-07-28T22:29:00.002-05:00

Eat better
Our fridge finally looks like a normal fridge on a regular basis. And last time I went grocery shopping it took three times as long because we're mixing things up, buying new ingredients and trying new recipes. Some of the food we've been making hasn't been the healthiest, but we're more focused on "easy to freeze and easy to reheat once the baby gets here" food right now. That being said, it's still better than most of what we eat when we eat out.

I have started the no HFCS rule again and it's going pretty well. Not perfect, but pretty well.

Eat out less
We deliberately took a month off from this rule. Before the baby we wanted to get in as many fancy dinners out as possible. Totally worth it.

Be less fat
The workout program is spotty, but I'm still moving ahead and it's on my mind a lot more. Now just to turn thought into action.

Become dinner party people
We had a dinner party, we went to a dinner party and we had planned on another one that fell through. This one will probably slow down a bit in the near future.

Become handy
I haven't had to be handy lately; the only thing that's broken on/in the house recently is the AC. And you don't toy around with the AC in Austin in July when you've got a pregnant woman inside, you call a repair man.

Pay off my car loan
A slower month on this one, but some extra money was still put towards the loan (selling things I don't use on ebay) and I've been watching plenty of DVDs with plans of selling them to Half Price Books once I'm done, so the plans continue.

Be good
This will be put to the test soon enough.

June 2010

2010-06-30T15:56:00.000-05:00

Eat better
Rachel and I are eating better these days. A while back some food fell on the floor (a bit of fast food or something, I can’t remember exactly what) and we picked it up quick because we didn’t want the dog eating it. Rachel looked at it and said, “Do you think he can have this?” and I said, “No, that’s terrible. I wouldn’t feed it to him.” And it clicked that we were literally eating food that we wouldn’t feed to a dog. Granted, our dog is rather spoiled, but still. So we’re buying better stuff and cooking a little more. After our last visit to the grocery store Rachel said, “This looks like a fridge normal people would have.”

Also, I cooked a few things from Deceptively Delicious. They tasted pretty good, but we quickly realized that just adding vegetables to other food doesn’t make that food good for you. I came to this conclusion when I was cooking chocolate chip cookies and it called for 2 sticks of butter. But if you’re going to make cookies anyways, it’s the way to go. And I think we’ll take the sentiment of the book (hiding veges in non-vege food) and try to work it into healthy meals.

Eat out less
Still going well. With baby coming we've set a new budget (after a month of tracking expenses) and it looks like our eating out habits are half of what they were last year. Which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Be less fat
You know how your voice sounds different if you're listening to a recording of it? I saw a picture of myself the other day and I saw something different than what I do in the mirror. I exercised for the first time in months yesterday and I've got plans to keep it going.

Become dinner party people
We had a dinner party over the holiday and are scheduling a few more before the baby comes. This is still going strong.

Become handy
I'm thinking of asking for a saw miter saw during gift giving season. It's getting to that point. It's almost like I'm a real homeowner.

Pay off my car loan
I put a pretty big dent in this last month. Still doesn't look like it'll happen before the kid comes, but hopefully soon there after.

Be good
I've got six weeks till the little one is here. But the nursery is done, I still listen to my "so you're going to be a mom" podcasts (they don't make "so you're going to be a dad" podcasts) and we're taking classes this/next week. So I'm feeling as prepared as I can be.

May 2010

2010-05-27T23:04:00.000-05:00

Eat better
That slippery slope is getting slipperier. Candy, ice cream and other such things have worked their way back into my life. And I've got a new lunchtime fav at work - cookies. The wheels are starting to fall off, hoping to put them back on.

Eat out less
We have been eating out less and when the question of eating out or eating in is raised we usually default to eating in now - which is a huge life change.

Be less fat
Working on other parts of life right now, but hope to get back to this. Right now this is a total fail.

Become dinner party people
Still no actual dinner parties, but we remain fairly social people and our keeping our contacts and friends close.

Become handy
We had to call our handy man in for a few things this month, but it was big stuff dealing with both water and electric. Two areas I'm still not totally comfortable with. However, I was looking at the list of things I hope to get done around the house and most of the small jobs have be done, by me!

Pay off my car loan
Still in progress. Probably won't happen by August like I was hoping, but I am throwing as much extra cash at it as I can.

Be good
Things are coming along. The nursery has been set up and we're pretty much set for the little one to make an appearance. Not that that's any true indication of how I'll be as a dad, but I'm starting to feel more like a dad.

April 2010

2010-04-29T22:14:00.000-05:00

To be honest, I’ve all but forgotten most of my resolutions. So if I’m still doing them, it’s a good sign that they’re part of my life now.

Eat better
Overall, this is probably a 50/50 win. I’m eating better, but largely because I don’t eat much fast food anymore. I have eaten some HFCS and I drink pop (soda for those of you who didn’t grow up in the Great Lake states) every now and again, but for the most part I try to order tea when we go out to eat. And I do read boxes on what we buy a lot more these days – and if it has too many chemicals we put it back. All that being said, my face is more round and I need to do a better job on this.

Eat out less
This is going well. We eat out 1-2 times a week, which is about half of what it used to be. And generally it’s only when we’re busy and get home at 8 or too hungry too wait for food at home. Or when it’s Sunday and it’s breakfast taco time.

Be less fat
Failing on this one. Hope to work on it.

Become dinner party people
We haven’t had a dinner party, but we do go to other people’s events much more often. If we have a party for the neighbors before the summer heat, I’ll call this one a success.

Become handy
Success. I’ve learned that I can do most things around the house without making it fall down. We still call a professional when needed, but I’m doing a lot more of the small jobs.

Pay off my car loan
This is in progress and on track. I’m still hoping to pay this off before the kid comes, but I’m still unsure of where that money will come from. That being said – 5 months into an 8 month plan I’m still ahead of schedule.

Be good
The kid isn’t here yet so this hasn’t been put to the test. But I’m realizing I’m not the most patient person in the world and that’s probably something to work on.

Update
After looking into some facts and figures, it looks like the car loan isn’t going as well as planned. Who would have guessed the writer isn’t good at math? It probably won’t be paid off by Aug. but my original goal of year end is still in sight.

February 2010

2010-02-02T22:22:00.000-06:00

2 more weeks down. Let’s see what’s going on.

Eat better
Still going good, minus the drive-thru cheeseburger I had tonight.

Eat out less
See above.

Become dinner party people
Had lunch with an old co-worker, had a dinner party at a neighbor’s place, went to a work happy hour and went to a copywriter happy hour – all in the last month.

Become handy
I jinxed us last time. I said nothing had broken and then the plumbing broke. It’s not something I can fix – it’s a major job. Pretty much replacing our WW2-eras pipes. Fixing that will put other projects on hold, so this resolution is on hold for a bit.

Pay off my car loan
Put $40 more towards the loan by not spending all of my monthly spending cash. My new goal is to pay this loan off by August – since we’ll have a kid come August. I worked it out and it’s an extra $324 a month. It’s an aggressive goal to say the least.

Be good
I can finally tell you what this resolution means – Be a good dad. It’s going to be my main goal once the little one is here. Rachel bought me Bill Cosby Fatherhood, so I’m well on my way.

Mid-January 2010

2010-01-15T22:24:00.000-06:00

I’ve already made some progress on my resolutions.

Eat better
We went grocery shopping and I did a good job. I am going to have to find graham crackers without high fructose corn syrup though. Sure, I can go a week or two without them, but not the whole year. Also, avoiding crazy chemicals is going to be hard, maybe even impossible – there are a lot of preservatives in regular food. I haven’t cut down on eating things that are bad for me, but that’s largely a holiday hangover (my parents send you home with candy and such).

Be less fat
Biked 19 miles at the gym last night. Plan to do 3 days a week to start.

Pay off my car loan
I put my holiday/b-day cash (my mom is always late with the b-day present) towards the loan. This puts me slightly ahead of schedule (about $70 ahead), but I’m not counting my chickens. Things are going to get hard when people aren’t slipping me cash in cards.

January 2010

2010-01-02T22:20:00.000-06:00

I don’t do resolutions per say, and I’m already trying/doing most of these, but this is how I’m going to try and be less of a jerk next year.

Eat better
The classic. But I’ve got a bit of a twist on it, rules. 1) No high fructose corn syrup 2) Only eat ingredients that I know (no crazy chemicals) 3) Eat local and organic when it makes sense 4) Eat more of the things that I know are good for me 5) Eat less of the things that I know are bad for me

Eat out less
Rach and I haven’t eaten out since we got back from our honeymoon – well, we did tonight but it was a conscious decision because she wanted Italian, not because we didn’t make time to cook. It’s probably the longest we’ve gone (2 weeks) since we’ve been together. We’re trying to eat in more as part of a solid budget and so we can control what we eat.

Be less fat
Get back to a weight where I don’t look puffy in photos.

Become dinner party people
This goes against every single one of my introvert inclinations. And I’m (currently) a terrible host. But I love the idea of a dinner party – food, dress, conversation. It all seems like a wonderful way to keep up with friends and make new connections. I’m hoping to invite neighbors, ex-coworkers and old friends over for wonderful evenings that go late into the night.

Become handy
I want to be able to do more around the house. And I think with the right tools I’ll be able to. I have a lot of plans for things next year and a lot of them revolve around wood – new planters, a new gate and a few other things. I used to be really handy with wood (back in high school) so I think with the right saw/drill/nail gun I can be again. This goal mainly revolves around me not wanting to have to call a contractor every time we want something done/improved.

Pay off my car loan
This would be a big deal. I’m not sure how I’ll do it or where I’ll find the money because I’m unwilling to lessen my savings/retirement/etc to do this. Still, it’s my main money goal for the coming year.

Be good
Simple directions from a smart extraterrestrial. This will be my cryptic resolution for the year.

2008 in review

2009-12-22T22:17:00.000-06:00

I have totally forgotten about my New Year’s resolutions from this year. My guess would be most people have. However, I wrote mine down. So let’s see how I did.

Invest so I’m not playing catch up in December.
I’ve done this for the most part. I’ve got my priorities and budgets set. It was a bit of a bumpy year so I’m not where I planned/wanted to be, but I’m getting back on track. Most importantly, when I could be, I was consistent with my investing and I’ll continue to be.

Rebuild my emergency fund.
With a short unemployment stint this year I had to tap into my emergency fund. But now that I’m gainfully employed, I’m building it as fast as I can. I did learn that buying a car is not a good reason to use your emergency fund – when a true emergency hits, like a job loss, you’ll be kicking yourself. I was lucky enough to be able to cover both with my fund, but only because my unemployment was shorter than most. In the future I plan to have a separate car fund so I can pay for my next car in cash (10 to 15 years from now).

Use the garage.
We moved to a house with a small garage. So I’m giving myself a pass on this one, but truthfully I probably would have failed.

Bring new things into my life.
This was code for get a new job. Which I did, even if it didn’t go as I planned. It was also a call to travel more, which we did on our honeymoon.

Be less fat.
I’m just going to roll this one over into this year. Total fail.

Run/bike/swim a triathlon with Rachel.
Again, total fail.

Get more sleep.
I still don’t get 8 hours a night, but I do get more than I was. Usually between 6 and 7, which is what my body needs.

Cook more.
We did cook more this year and we probably only ate out once or twice a week on average, which was the goal. However this will appear on next year’s list again.

Be healthier.
This happened, but not to the level I would have hoped.

Be cleaner.
Nope, didn’t happen. The house isn’t dirty, but it’s still not as clean as it should be.

Learn something new.
I probably did learn some things, but the goal was to learn something specific and important. That I didn’t do.

Help get CS ready.
I can’t remember if this was for the HOW tour or the new web site. Either way, both went off wonderfully.

Make a friend.
I have ex-coworkers that I only see only outside of work now and I’d call a good portion of them friends. Hopefully we’ll get closer as time passes.

Be nicer.
This was specifically to be nicer at my old job, which I was. For example, when someone told me, “your job is to copy what I write in the brief and paste it in a new word doc,” I didn’t punch them in the face; most writers would have, so I’m chalking this up in the win column.

2012 Plan

2009-11-22T22:39:00.000-06:00

As most of you who read this blog probably know, Rachel and I had a plan to move to London by 2012. We were serious about it. To the point where I told my parents and totally freaked them out.

But between making that plan and now, a lot has happened. Rachel opened a successful Austin graphic design business, which would be difficult to transfer overseas for various reasons. We purchased a home, and then a second home. And a bunch of smaller, daily things that would make it hard to leave. Not to mention that it’s pretty difficult to trick England into letting you live there.

Point of the story being, a while back, Rach and I had a sit down and we decided that we weren’t moving to London by 2012. It’s not off the table in the future, just not on the original time line.

After that discussion, I was reading one of my financial blogs and they were saying you need to have financial goals – as you would workout goals or career goals – so you have something to aim for. It clicked with me so I thought I should create some.

With 2012 as my old date for a pretty big goal, I decided to arbitrarily make it the date for 2 financial goals: paying off my car loan and having my emergency fund fully funded.

After looking at the actual numbers, that’s pretty much the track I was already on. And that’s not really a goal. A goal is something you have to strive for.

So my new goals are:
Pay off my car loan by 2011.
Full fund my emergency fund by 2012.

I’m already making extra payments towards the principal of the car loan ever month, so I’m actually going to have to push hard to shave an additional year off. I’m really going to have to focus on that goal while maintaining my current efforts towards my emergency fund.

The extra car loan funds are outside of my current budget so I’m going to have to find ways to get extra cash. But reading plenty of frugal/financial blogs has prepared me for that. And I’ll get into my efforts as much as I can here.

On a side note, I also signed up for the 401K at my new job. I now realize exactly how much my car loan is taking away from my retirement efforts – in terms exact percentages. It’s enlightening.