Friday, January 1, 2016

Welcome 2016!

Let's see if we can get this rolling again!  (once again) It's been a quite a while since I was out here.

As always, I'm pulled in many directions.  That makes it hard to follow through with goals since one can be in conflict with the other.   So let's try to sort out what you want and see if we can help set some focus points for 2016 and beyond.

I have 3 primary targets - personal health, financial, and homestead.

Starting with the middle one, my Financial Goals are to pay off the new Jeep and see significant reduction to the mortgage loan.  The Jeep payoff is primary over the mortgage.  It's very possible to get it done in 2016, and if not, it will at least set it up for getting it done by June of 2017.  The mortgage is a longer term goal and the same discipline I apply to the Jeep can be extended to apply to the mortgage.  

Side note, the financial goal is often in conflict with my other major goals.  In an effort to save money, I often make due with what I'm left with - which is not always the healthiest of foods; plus I tend to buy things on sale, even when I don't immediately need them, which can lead to clutter.  I need to work on spending on the right stuff at the right time - simple but not easy (at least for me).

My Personal Health Goal is to get healthy!  Clear as mud.  I need to get more active and get to a more healthy weight.   I'm doing more than OK with my financial goals for retirement, but to truly enjoy my retirement I need to get my body healthier and stronger.   The healthier you are the less you spend on health care in retirement - so there is a big financial incentive to stay healthy.   Plus the more I can hike and bike and do things, the happier I will be in retirement.   My weight has been an issue for a long time, and it will take a long time to get to a healthy weight but for 2016 I want to see improvements.  Improvements not only in weight on the scale, but in some lifestyle changes that make it easier to get and stay healthy.  More fruits and veggies, and less processed foods in my diet.  I'm shooting for a 30 pound weight loss - 2 pounds one month, 3 pounds the next and repeating those 2 goals over and over.   It's realistic and doable - I just need to stay focused and keep at it.  

How to do it?  I'm continuing to get more active with the Badgerland Striders.  I've signed up for 2 half marathons this Spring.  The first is a real race for me - it's the BLS trip to Kentucky and running the Kentucky Derby Half Marathon.  The second is a freebie for me, running the Ice Age Half Marathon, which in the past I've more "hiked" than "ran".  The Ice Age Half is on the State Park trails.   This year the Ice Age Half is just 2 weeks after the Kentucky half so I should/could/will be in good shape for running another half.  In addition, I signed up for the 2015-16 Winter run series.  New Years Eve run was the 3 of 3 runs.  I was hoping this would keep me motivated and running through the winter, which is often something I stop and pick up again in late Spring.   It has worked OK but not great.  Between work and illness, I stopped running and it's like starting over again.   I need to make myself a priority.  I'm repeating that because it is very important for me to make this change - I need to make myself a priority.

I'm already working on being more active, and other side of getting healthy are change to the food intake.   I'm working on making healthier choices - more edamame beans, more fruit, more veggies, and less chips and less processed foods.  I've been trying to make a wider variety of dinners at home.  I do need some more recipes that are both simple and healthy.  I absolutely hate the recipes that have a 1/4 tablespoon of this and that - really can a 1/4 tablespoon make that much of a difference?!? and I just hate having to get so many ingredients.  So keep it simple, and keep it less processed.  

The third goal is the house.  I'm getting less and less in love with home ownership.  The grass, snow, etc is all getting to be more of a burden than a joy.   So I'm in the long term process of preparing to move from this house to a condo.   My plans would be shorter term except for the dog.  I don't believe I would enjoy living with him in a condo.  We've have no yard, so it would force a walk every night before bet - no matter the weather.  I'm sure it would put me on edge to have him barking and making noise when we lived one wall away from the neighbors.  So I need him to be old and quiet or he has to have passed to the rainbow bridge.  Neither is in the near time frame so my house goals are longer term.

In no particular priority, the first is to get the landscaping improved.  With at least 3 or 4 years, you have time to plant and let things grow.  And some of that has started, but it still needs more.   The original owner must have loved green - everything is green but nothing flowers or blooms.  Second is to reduce the amount of stuff.   Sell it, donate it, or give it away.  There is too much stuff that you may need 'someday'.   This is a big personal struggle for me.  I hate to see things go to waste when they still have life left in them.  And for so much of what I have, others would trash it and I'm not ready for that to happen yet.  I'm getting better but there is a long road.   Which is fine because I have a dog that will keep me from moving from the house too fast.  Third is to keep the house cleaner.  I'm still amazed at house much dirtier the dog makes the house than living with a cat.   He tracks in dirt on his paws multiple times a day. His shedding is worse than the cat.  I'm hopeful that as more gets removed it will be easier to clean and keep the house clean.

The Jeep and weight loss are measurable goals, the house goal ....not so much.  All these goals are
parts of the bigger picture, and if any slip to 2017 that's not so bad.   The key for 2016 is to be trending in the right direction.