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Completely random....
Jan. 14th, 2015 11:41 amI still have one Christmas present outstanding and another that hasn't been delivered yet. I'm working on the one and waiting to deliver both until it's done. However, it's on 0000 needles with lace weight yarn and it's taking a bit of time, time I haven't had yet.
I will get it done; It is worth it but wow!
It has been suggested that I attend a conference in New York City in June related to work. I don't know yet if they want to pick up the tab and I certainly can't afford to. It would mean flying to the East Coast on my birthday and spending time in a city that, frankly, scares me. I am not a big city girl. I'd be more interested in some place like Boston because I understand there are a lot of historical landmarks there. I'm sure there are in NYC but I'm not sure I'd have the confidence to find them (Ok, maybe I wouldn't in Boston either). It would certainly be a stretch to my comfort zone. NO DOUBT! On the other hand, I wouldn't have any time to explore anyway because work won't pay for extra time there I'm sure. Currently, the thought is that I would fly in the day before the conference and leave the day after. I'm a little ambivalent. I'll go if they say they'll pay but I don't care one way or another.
I finally, finally, FINALLY, got the flood insurance straightened out on the house. I was required to increase the amount of coverage on the house to match the replacement value on my homeowner's insurance, something which the insurance agent didn't listen to me say so we had an extra go around about that. In spite of the fact that the cost of the flood insurance has dropped by almost half, I'm not paying any less on my mortgage and I don't know why that is. I guess the bank is determined to make sure there is enough in my escrow account to cover any emergency but I didn't think it was a savings plan.
I have agreed to spend another long weekend with my parents. We'll be going to Gleneden beach on Thursday next week and coming back on Monday. Mom and I plan to make cards while we are there. Dad's probably going to get frustrated with his iPad. He spent all day yesterday trying to figure out how to find his contacts and then determined, when he found them, that he must have downloaded a new app for them to show up. I assured him, gently, that that was an application already installed on the iPad and asked him to call me if he was spending a lot of time searching for something. Mom said he had a few choice, colorful words to say, which is not his normal MO, so I'd rather he called before he got that frustrated. He won't call, of course, but I've given him the option. I hope it's a pleasant weekend instead of a frustrating one but I have no guarantees. If we can fit everything in the Rav, we'll all drive down together. It will be cheaper for me that way.
Speaking of cheaper: I filled my gas tank for $24.70 yesterday; that is 13.75 gallons of gas for about $1.80/gallon. That was because I had a discount card good for $.40 off per gallon, but it's still exciting!
I think I forgot to mention that, while in CA, we took a hike through the Redwoods Regional Park. It was 4.53 miles, the equivalent of 70 flights of stairs, and a little over two hours. I had a blood sugar issue that took way too long to figure out but once I got a fruit and nut bar into my system I was ok. Those 70 flights of stairs, almost all occurred at the end of our hike and it was a rough go. Apparently, my SIL chose the hardest trail to go up when we re-routed after taking the wrong path. It was a challenge but we made it; One hike of an undisclosed number for the year. Last year I think I got in six hikes but not the 12 I'd hoped for. I forgot to take into consideration when I set my goal, the time it would take away from other responsibilities and the effect weather would have on my ability to get outside. It wasn't a reasonable goal and I'm not sure how to set a number as a reasonable amount. I guess ultimately, my goal is to be able to hike 10-12 miles by the end of the year. We were up to 6.3 on our last hike of the year but that was back in September. Unfortunately, the longer hikes take more time and I don't really have more time to give. Still, it's worth striving for. I'd like to get my own pair of walking sticks so I'm not dependent upon my dad's. I also want to get a camel pack bag for my backpack.
I need to evaluate how I did on my goals last year. I made progress but didn't make most of my goals and it may have been unreasonable to think I would. Then I need to think about what I want to do this year. The goals help me feel like I'm DOING something with my life, even though it often feels like I'm in a holding pattern. I'm coming to the conclusion that life is, most often, a holding pattern- long stretches of tedium and boredom interspersed with moments of intense emotion and activity. I think, though, I have to do a better job of looking for the opportunities for those intense moments. There is more navel gazing that needs to occur but I don't have time for it just now. I'm about to run off to my water aerobics class which is one of my ways of increasing my activity level and contributing to healthier patterns for myself.
I will get it done; It is worth it but wow!
It has been suggested that I attend a conference in New York City in June related to work. I don't know yet if they want to pick up the tab and I certainly can't afford to. It would mean flying to the East Coast on my birthday and spending time in a city that, frankly, scares me. I am not a big city girl. I'd be more interested in some place like Boston because I understand there are a lot of historical landmarks there. I'm sure there are in NYC but I'm not sure I'd have the confidence to find them (Ok, maybe I wouldn't in Boston either). It would certainly be a stretch to my comfort zone. NO DOUBT! On the other hand, I wouldn't have any time to explore anyway because work won't pay for extra time there I'm sure. Currently, the thought is that I would fly in the day before the conference and leave the day after. I'm a little ambivalent. I'll go if they say they'll pay but I don't care one way or another.
I finally, finally, FINALLY, got the flood insurance straightened out on the house. I was required to increase the amount of coverage on the house to match the replacement value on my homeowner's insurance, something which the insurance agent didn't listen to me say so we had an extra go around about that. In spite of the fact that the cost of the flood insurance has dropped by almost half, I'm not paying any less on my mortgage and I don't know why that is. I guess the bank is determined to make sure there is enough in my escrow account to cover any emergency but I didn't think it was a savings plan.
I have agreed to spend another long weekend with my parents. We'll be going to Gleneden beach on Thursday next week and coming back on Monday. Mom and I plan to make cards while we are there. Dad's probably going to get frustrated with his iPad. He spent all day yesterday trying to figure out how to find his contacts and then determined, when he found them, that he must have downloaded a new app for them to show up. I assured him, gently, that that was an application already installed on the iPad and asked him to call me if he was spending a lot of time searching for something. Mom said he had a few choice, colorful words to say, which is not his normal MO, so I'd rather he called before he got that frustrated. He won't call, of course, but I've given him the option. I hope it's a pleasant weekend instead of a frustrating one but I have no guarantees. If we can fit everything in the Rav, we'll all drive down together. It will be cheaper for me that way.
Speaking of cheaper: I filled my gas tank for $24.70 yesterday; that is 13.75 gallons of gas for about $1.80/gallon. That was because I had a discount card good for $.40 off per gallon, but it's still exciting!
I think I forgot to mention that, while in CA, we took a hike through the Redwoods Regional Park. It was 4.53 miles, the equivalent of 70 flights of stairs, and a little over two hours. I had a blood sugar issue that took way too long to figure out but once I got a fruit and nut bar into my system I was ok. Those 70 flights of stairs, almost all occurred at the end of our hike and it was a rough go. Apparently, my SIL chose the hardest trail to go up when we re-routed after taking the wrong path. It was a challenge but we made it; One hike of an undisclosed number for the year. Last year I think I got in six hikes but not the 12 I'd hoped for. I forgot to take into consideration when I set my goal, the time it would take away from other responsibilities and the effect weather would have on my ability to get outside. It wasn't a reasonable goal and I'm not sure how to set a number as a reasonable amount. I guess ultimately, my goal is to be able to hike 10-12 miles by the end of the year. We were up to 6.3 on our last hike of the year but that was back in September. Unfortunately, the longer hikes take more time and I don't really have more time to give. Still, it's worth striving for. I'd like to get my own pair of walking sticks so I'm not dependent upon my dad's. I also want to get a camel pack bag for my backpack.
I need to evaluate how I did on my goals last year. I made progress but didn't make most of my goals and it may have been unreasonable to think I would. Then I need to think about what I want to do this year. The goals help me feel like I'm DOING something with my life, even though it often feels like I'm in a holding pattern. I'm coming to the conclusion that life is, most often, a holding pattern- long stretches of tedium and boredom interspersed with moments of intense emotion and activity. I think, though, I have to do a better job of looking for the opportunities for those intense moments. There is more navel gazing that needs to occur but I don't have time for it just now. I'm about to run off to my water aerobics class which is one of my ways of increasing my activity level and contributing to healthier patterns for myself.
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