June To-Do List 2023.....Outcome

Here's how the June 2023 To-Do List came out...........

JUNE

*  Pay Bills  DONE  All paid on time or early

*  Go to 1 Dr. Appointment  DONE  Got a new PCP, YEAH!

*  Buy Car Port  DONE and paid for.

*  Clean & Organize Stuff in House  IN PROGRESS  This may be in progress until I die at this rate.

*  Buy Stuff for House  IN PROGRESS  Don't remember what we bought in June but it wasn't big ticket stuff...probably hardware for installing ceiling fans and such.

*  Price Generators  IN PROGRESS  Looking into which kind/size to get

*  Clean out Q Inserts and Envie  DONE

*  Edit more Photos  IN PROGRESS  I've got all the "old" photos edited now I need to edit everything from Dec 2022 until now but using new-to-me editing software so that's going to go slower than it should.

*  Post about Old Trips  FAIL  Just didn't feel like it and then typing got very hard.

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE

*  Hang Ceiling Fans  FAIL  We weren't home for much of the month so no, this item moves to July

*  Organize Clothes  DONE  Mostly Done.  I've still got to fold and put some pants on shelving in the closet but I'm calling this done.

*  Unpack from Trip  DONE  Washed and put all the clothes away.

*  Convert Foreign Currency  DONE  Hubs took what we didn't spend back to the bank.

Sluggy

The To-Do List.....March Update

Let's not be so late this time and take a look at how the March To-Do List turned out, shall we?


* Pay Bills  DONE--Paid on time or this month many were paid early as we were out of town for half the month(when some were due).

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE--I read this one..........

"The Mormonizing of American: How the Mormon Religion Became a Dominant Force in Politics, Entertainment, and Pop Culture" by Stephen Mansfield

I found this book very enlightening about a religion(yes it's a religion and not a "cult" as many still think)I knew little about.  Written by an author who is not of that faith but it was a very even handed study nonetheless.  The author interviewed both Mormons and non-Mormons for this book.  A lot of history and backstory in this as well as modern day stories of Mormon followers.
I couldn't put this book down, it was like a drug....ok, maybe a Diet Coke. lolz  (Sorry I couldn't resist the joke, Kim.)
I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about Mormon culture, teachings and history.
And then this one............

"Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It" by Star Parker

Written by someone who grew up poor and ended up in the ghetto "culture".  She was a welfare mom, or as she says, suckling at the teat of government for her very existence.
Ms. Parker raised herself out of the system that keeps an underclass of Americans dependent on government handouts, or as she terms it dependent on "Uncle Sam's Plantation".  She started a non-profit called CURE(the Center for Urban Renewal and Education)to address what she feels are the issues that have destroyed African-American family life and move adults and families from a life of dependency on Government programs to personal freedom and responsibility.  While I don't agree with some of her agendas I do think she is one of the few people who has a clue how current social policies are destroying our country.
No matter what side of the political bench you are perched on(or not)this is an eye opening and thought provoking book.  Check it out!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

I gave away two boxes of goodies in March.

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  I know one arrived safely....still waiting on the other winner to acknowledge their box arrived.

* Plan rest of 2019 Trips  DONE  I am calling this one done.  We went South in March for two weeks.  There is a week long trip planned to New Hampshire in June.  Perhaps our eldest son will visit sometime this Summer.  We may go to the Family Reunion end of September and there is a girls trip planned for early October to the beach.  Other than that we are being homebodies this year(unless something comes up).

* Open new CD  DONE  The old CD monies finally processed and we got most of the proceeds put in a new CD at a different bank with a higher rate.
Go me.

* Go on Trip  DONE  That trip is in the books and thankfully our time in Myrtle Beach didn't coincide with college Spring Breaks. lolz  We did some things in Charleston(didn't get down to Savannah GA however), met up with Hubs siblings, got to reconnect with a friend of mine from high school, did 2 different battle fields in NC, spent a couple of days hanging out with my brother and sister in-law and then our eldest son in VA.
It was a low-key, hop in the car and go somewhere, kind of trip.  The best kind IMHO.

*  Purge Inserts  DONE  The "possibly gonna use" Qs got cut out and all the old/expired mostly Q inserts got trashed.

* Work on Health Goals  DONE sort of......I've been in maintenance mode since December and doing well.  I got an appointment at Hershey medical center for an HS clinic but that's not until July. ugh.  Just trying to get through until then but all other health issues are status quo.  I am going to be going on a short term diet regime once the Daughter moves out next month.  More on that at a later date.

*  Plan Home Projects-Timeline  FAIL  Hubs and I have talked loosely about what project need addressing but haven't put a timeline together.  We didn't feel like debating all this while on vacation so we'll be hashing over projects and time frame in May.

*  Purchase Porcfest Tickets  DONE  We purchased the event tickets before the prices went up(Early Bird Special anyone?lolz)and the motel reservations are in place.  Eldest son is still on the fence about going but there is space in our room to accommodate him if he decides to go.
PORCFEST is an annual social/pseudo-political gathering for Libertarians.  Think political convention meets Burning Man. lolz  Hubs has wanted to go for years but it never worked out that we could get there.  This year we go.  The porcupine is the mascot of the Libertarian party thus Porc-fest.  
This should be an "adventure" in every sense of the word........


So how did your list of goals for March turn out?


Sluggy

January To-Do List.....Update

* Pay Bills--DONE  Everything paid in full either on time or a bit early

* Read 1, 2 Books--DONE
I read this one......

Sort of a YA read though quite violent so I wouldn't recommend it to a teen with any sort of "issues".  It was a very well crafted story but didn't make for a good nighttime "before going to sleep" read if you know what I mean.  ;-)

And this one.............

From the author who gave us "The World According to Garp".  John Irving also wrote the screenplay for "The Cider House Rules"(a movie I very much enjoyed).  
I found "The Hotel New Hampshire" a bit "out there".  It was a long novel but highly entertaining.  I hear the movie they made from it was horrendous though and Mr. Irving didn't particularly like the finished product.  This makes me want to watch it though. lolz
I saw this novel in December on a list of 50 novels to read, each novel that takes place in one of the states in the US.  This was the New Hampshire book obviously due to the title(even though this novel takes place in NH, ME, NY and Vienna Austria).  I had it on my bookshelf so I moved it to the top of my reading list for 2018.

* Hold Giveaway--DONE

* Mail Giveaway--DONE  Mailed away and received(and enjoyed).  ;-)

* Load to Sallies'--FAIL  I just need to kick my ass in gear and do this one.  There is a bag of castoffs that's been riding around in Hubs' car's trunk for over a month.  Will definitely do this in February.

* Purge Files--DONE  I went through lots of our files in January and purged old papers that aren't needed any longer.  I had quite a pile to add to what was already in the shred folder.

*Shred Old Papers--DONE 

Generally this is one of Hubs' chores but I got tired of waiting on him to do this so I did it.  Filled a garbage bag too.

* Gather 2017 Tax Info--DONE
I believe we have all the forms now-W2s, assorted 1099s.  I went through and did the bank interest my profits for blog revenue and eBay sales too.  We just need to sit down and fill out the tax forms and see what we are on the hook for to Uncle Sam(that insatiably greedy Uncle!)

* Load to Food Bank--FAIL
I have a load sitting in the living room(plus some in the garage)all bagged up waiting on me to get the motivation(and weather cooperation)to go drop this off. ugh.  It will definitely go in February.

* Get back on my usual Diet--DONE
It only took about a week after New Year's to get back into my usual eating/drinking routine.  Between not as much exercising as in good weather and not restricting calories like I did this Summer I am not losing right now but I am holding steady.  I'll call that a win. 8-)

* Put all Xmas Away--DONE
The Xmas stuff got put away soon after New Years however it didn't get put away correctly(in the wrong places).  Plus a few things were forgotten.  We drug all the boxes out again and repacked and stored everything away in the proper places.....except for the rolls of .50¢ gift wrap I picked up on clearance after it was all stored away. lolz  Hubs just needs to chuck those into the bag on top of the cabinets in the garage when he feels the spirit move him.  ;-)

* Plan possible 2018 Travel--PASS
It's still early in the year so I am giving myself a pass on this one.  We have been thinking and doing a little research and planning but nothing is firmed up yet.  Hubs has a trip later this month to get done.  I trip to LA on house stuff there.  A lot of what we can/will do in the travel realm depends on what transpires on that trip. sigh.  Plus we also have a dog and his needs to consider now when we plan our trips.

* Have Financial Meeting about 2018 w/Hubs--DONE
We had our big money meeting for 2018.  Decisions were made and we'll revisit the 401K withdrawal schedule at the end of March.

* Work on 2018 Goals--PASS
I have a few goals for the year and most of them are big(drop more weight, get healthier, sell house in LA, work on the PA house in prep to sell it).   I need to come up with some smaller, filler goals.  As the year goes on I'll decide on what else to tackle in 2018.

* Work on 2018 Budget--PASS
Again, we came up with a loose budget so far for 2018 in our big money meeting in Jan.  But there are things up in the air still for the year so the budget will be tweaked and realigned as we go forward.

Not bad for January overall.  The two items I didn't do are readily taken care of in February.  Now I have to flesh out the February To-Do List.

Did you meet your goals for January?

Sluggy

December 2016 To-Do List....Hahaha!

Let's see how we did with our December To-Do List, shall we?
My month didn't go as planned because of Hubs' accident early into December but we salvaged what we could from the list.

* Pay Bills  DONE  If nothing else I always pay our bills in full each month.

* Bike Something  PASS  Well after Hubs' accident I didn't have much time or energy to bike in December.  I got a few miles in but nowhere near how many I wanted to do when the month began.  Even if I didn't get biking done I was moving a lot more in December so should be in a little better shape by month's end.

* Read 1 Book  DONE  Actually I haven't quite finished it as I only get a few pages in each night.  I highly recommend "As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto" by Joan Reardon.  It's a collection of personal correspondence between the two women from 1952 until soon after Julia's book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was published.  Besides chronicling the path to publication, there are recipes discussed and cooking talk, national politics of that time, as well as personal stuff.

Avis DeVoto was the wife of historian and writer Bernard DeVoto, who was quite popular in the earlier part of the 20th Century in the US.  He had done a magazine article about how French knives were superior to US cutlery back in 1952.  Julia, living at that time in Paris, had sent Mr. DeVoto a fan letter about his article along with a couple of French knives.  Avis, DeVoto's wife was also his secretary and answered much of his mail. Avis ended up writing Julia a reply and a thank you and thus began their pen pal correspondence and later a personal friendship that lasted until Avis' death in 1989.  If anyone can be credited, it is through the efforts of Avis DeVoto and her connections in the publishing world that got Julia's epic book into print and into the hands and hearts of American cooks.
5 thumbs up!

* Shred Papers  FAIL  Nope, just not enough hours in my day in December to get to this.  The project moved to January's list.

* Hold Giveaway PASS  The December giveaway took place.

* Mail Giveaway  PASS  The package was sent off well before Christmas and received heartily.

* Finish SA Donation #1, #2 CANCELLED  After Hubs' accident there was no way I had time or the ability to get this chore done. 

* Take Donations in #1, #2  CANCELLED  Decluttering and Donations can wait and be done in 2017 once the invalid is off my hands.  8-)

* Go to 2 Dr. Appointments PASS  Appointments done and Yours Truly is doing so much better healthwise.

* Put Xmas Tree Up PASS
No tree.....

Tadah!  A tree.

* Decorate for Xmas PASS considering what I had to work with.  Hardly anything got put out other than stockings, a purple garland on the stair railing and the Christmas tree. Hubs had put the door wreath up and the porch lights outside before the accident so we had the bare minimum.
I never got around to hanging the Xmas cards we received onto a silver garland and putting that around the kitchen window frame.
I did however set them all out on the kitchen table for a few hours and snapped this photo.....

While I didn't get much Christmas decorating done I did cook a lot of goodies and food for the Holiday.

* Finish Xmas Shopping DONE  The bulk of it was finished before December began(thankfully)otherwise there would have been little under the tree this year.  I did run out the Friday morning before Christmas for some last minute gifties(and partly just to get out of the house and away from the invalid). ;-)

* Wrap Presents DONE  I do believe I was up Christmas even wrapping some items and having to fill stockings.  Just not enough hours in the day with Hubs' incapacitated to get everything done sooner this year.

* Make Charity Donation DONE  This year I wrote a check to the local Food Bank.

* Pick-Up College Boy DONE  He got picked up by my Daughter since she was done with finals earlier that day.  This was a big help to me not having to drive to his school and back with everything going on here.  Of course, after I saw what they spent on fast food on the way home on my credit card I started second guessing sending her! lolz

* Finish 2017 Budget FAIL What with a decrease in pay after 1 month on disability and not knowing still when Hubs can return to work and his usual paycheck it's hard to get this finished.  But we are close and I hope to have the budget in place before January is out.

* Take Care of Invalid Patient(and don't kill him) DONE  Well as of this morning I haven't killed him yet.....not that I haven't been tempted some days. 8-)))

I should be able to get a tad more done in January as Hubs gets to where he can do more for himself.

How did you do getting chores on your December To-Do List marked off?

Sluggy

Weekend Stuff....And Tuesday Feeling Like Monday

Well Hubs and I found a fridge that would fit into the space that we have in the kitchen for it, so we bit the bullet and bought it from the Home Despot on Saturday.  The funds will come out of the Savings Challenge cash we saved last year that we have left. 
The clerk showed us the one we bought(which is almost 2 cubit feet smaller inside than the current non-working fridge)and another one that was the EXACT SAME Fridge we have now.
Ummm, I don't THINK I want to buy the same fridge....unless of course, I WANT to have to replace it again in less than 5 years.lolol

We'll keep the broken fridge and put it out in the garage and look into fixing it at some later date.  We found out that the local power company will haul the old fridge off for free if at some point in the future we decide it isn't worth or can't be repaired.
It also took a bit of the financial sting off of the fridge purchase when we found out that it qualifies for a rebate of sorts from the power company.  Since it's an Energy Star appliance, it qualifies us for a $50 Visa Card.
Nice.....

We got the deck cleaned and sealed this weekend.  Since we weren't suppose to get any precipitation, we hired the nephew and #2 son to do the job.  No bending for us and walking around money for them...
It was a 2 day job.....cleaning on Saturday and staining/sealing on Sunday.....and dry enough to put everything back on the deck Monday.
Hubs and I spent a good while on Monday in the garage making room for the broken fridge and doing a bit of reorganizing in there.
Then we finished off the 3 day weekend by picking ripe Roma tomatoes off the plants.
Here's the harvest we ended up with.....

 And there are still a TON of tomatoes out there that are yet to ripen!  These are headed into the freezer now so that I can skin them easily when I get the chance to process and can them.

This Harvest--
TOTAL....10 lb. 12.2 oz.
Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....52 lb. 8.02 oz.

I made myself a BLT for dinner.....anybody wonder why? ;-)
Hubs & #1 son had a traditional American Labor Day meal....Taco Bell.lolol
After dinner I went through the island cabinets in the kitchen and started throwing the accumulated leftover Chinese take-out container into the plastic recycling bin.

I woke up this morning with the decluttering bug still up my rear so I've done some throwing out and "Salvation Army setting aside" as I move around the house.  I'll be interested to see how much I can let go of by the end of today.

I love my family but boy!....I am glad they all went back to school or work today. ;-)

Here's hoping your day goes the way you want it to!

Sluggy