Friday, December 30, 2005
2005 - The reality
2005 – What I expected…and what really happened.
As of this writing Husband is headed to Okinawa Japan some time in 2005 for a two-year tour; probably the end of April. The plan right now is for me to stay here and finish my college then join him over there. If I do join him over there his tour will be extended, but that’s too far off to worry about now.
Didn’t happen! Woohoo! Thankfully Husband got orders to a unit here on the base.
I’ll be taking as many classes as I think I can handle in 2005 hoping to finish up my 2nd AA in Paralegal Studies. I’m registered for 5 this term (January 18 – May 21). Fortunately one goes the first half of the term and another goes the second half of the term. Another is mostly viewed via TV with 4-5 class meetings during the term. Self-pace, give me strength. I have no self-discipline in these situations. My biggest challenge this term will be Intermediate Algebra. I am math challenged.
I received my AA in General Studies on May 20. I did take as many classes as I could toward my Paralegal Studies degree, but working and going to school is tough, not to mention the school not completely cooperating in offering classes I needed. As of this writing I’m registered for 2 required classes and 1 elective. I still haven’t received confirmation on whether my challenged classes are accepted. If they are I might need one more elective, which I can take in the summer.
I’ll also continue to get my personal debt under control without financially strangling myself. So far I’ve moved all but about $800 to interest free CCs. My first 2005 financial goal will be to get 2 months salary saved up. After that it’ll be to pay off that $800 CC, then take what I was paying monthly and add it to payments on the next CC, etc. I know it’ll take me more than a year, since I’m only working part time, but I can live with that as long as the balances keep going down.
I didn’t do as well as I wanted to. I did get rid of one debt that freed up $100 a month. I am starting a new job on January 3 that will greatly help me meet this goal in 2006!
The biggest disappointment for 2004 personally was I failed to get off my blood pressure meds. 100% my own fault, so I plan on focusing on that. I did decrease the amount of caffeine I was used to so it wasn’t a total flop in the health department. I tend to become a hermit when Husband is gone, no going out to eat, movies, etc., so I should have plenty of time to take care of myself (mentally and physically).
Sigh. Still on the meds.
On that note, expect to see less of me on the BBs. The behavior on the BBs before and after the election had a lot to do with this ~ I just couldn’t stand the bickering, name calling and down right nastiness of some people, so I’ve cut ties with a couple of BBs that allowed (and even encouraged) that behavior. Now that my time will be more precious to me, I’m dwindling even more and I’ve asked to be relieved of moderator duties on all but a couple of BBs. That’s not to say I will completely disappear, since I feel like I’ve made good friends I want to continue that. You know you’ll always be able to find me on The Rotation BB at The Silver Lining and a couple of other BBs.
I did cut way back. In fact there are days when I don’t even go to any BBs. My stitching and studying time have benefited from it.
For stitching, my 2005 hopes and dreams were:
(1) Keep up with my rotation: I think the easiest way to keep up with where I am will be to number my rotations on my blog above the percentage bars.
Um, no, sort of. I changed my rotation around and became somewhat of a screamer toward the end of the year. Not to mention I changed my blog completely.
(2) Keep StRIPping: nothing special or new to report here. I plan to just keep on stitching with whatever little time I’ll have when not studying and keep the same goal of starting a new project with every 3 finishes. I know I still have items that need to be sorted out and added to my StRIP list, but that will just happen over time as I get more organized, so I expect my StRIP list to increase because of this.
I didn’t finish a single thing on my StRIP list this year! Yikes!
I’m disappointed in the last half of 2004 as far as buying stash goes. I really wanted to cut out more than I did. I did get a small raise, giving me a stash budget, so I want to stick to that in 2005 to help with my StRIPping. I really would like to increase my WDW and GAST stash so will try to purchase a few each month and stick to my budget so I can keep paying down my debt but not feel S.E.X. deprived :o)
I managed to cut my stash spending way back. There were even months when I didn’t buy a single thing.
(3) Organize freebies: I purchased A-Z index pages and a 4” binder and I’m going to organize by designer. After I stitch a design, I’m going to leave the highlighted pattern in the binder to show what has already been printed/stitched. I have been horrible about printing off designs that I already have.
I’m still working on this.
(4) Quilted wall hanging: I’m going to stitch all of the Bent Creek 2003 Monthly Snappers as a stitch along with Karen. They’ll be on one piece of fabric and I’m going to turn it into a quilted wall hanging.
I finished stitching this design in November, but haven’t gotten around to quilting it.
(5) Christmas Tree: I’ve ordered a 3 ft tree. I’m in an ornament RR that will take care of 5 ornaments and I’ll stitch 7 more on my own, since I’d like to have an ornament a month. Right now I have 5 handmade ornaments to put on the tree, not counting those mentioned above. The ornaments will hopefully increase my finishing skills since several of the ones I’m looking at are finished differently.
My lovely little tree didn’t get set up this year, nor did I manage to stitch the ornaments I wanted.
(6) Quilting: the Bent Creek wall hanging and a tree skirt for the above tree will cover this.
See above.
(7) Crocheting: I want to make a crocheted afghan. I know the basic stitches and am fortunate to work with someone who crochets and who has volunteered to help me over the bumpy parts. I’ve picked an easy, multicolored pattern and am looking forward to learning a new craft.
Didn’t even go there!
(8) Beading: I’ve done a tiny bit of beading and want to get more proficient in it. I purchased a beaded scissor fob kit in 2004 and want to complete it.
I purchased more supplies, including items to make fobs, but never found the time to complete anything.
(9) Finishing: I hope to get some of my finished designs framed. I set this goal every year, but it has not been a very successful one. Perhaps 2005 will change that.
I had Mirabilia’s Spring Queen framed for the county fair. That’s it! It’s so expensive; however, I did get a source this month for something that does great work at a reasonable price. He comes highly recommended by the art department of one of the high schools here and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for me.
CATS will be in Burbank this year, much closer to home than Santa Clara. Even though I probably won’t be able to go for the whole thing, I am close enough to drive up for a meet and greet and to spend some time in the Mall.
I went to Santa Clara and had a wonderful time.
As of this writing Husband is headed to Okinawa Japan some time in 2005 for a two-year tour; probably the end of April. The plan right now is for me to stay here and finish my college then join him over there. If I do join him over there his tour will be extended, but that’s too far off to worry about now.
Didn’t happen! Woohoo! Thankfully Husband got orders to a unit here on the base.
I’ll be taking as many classes as I think I can handle in 2005 hoping to finish up my 2nd AA in Paralegal Studies. I’m registered for 5 this term (January 18 – May 21). Fortunately one goes the first half of the term and another goes the second half of the term. Another is mostly viewed via TV with 4-5 class meetings during the term. Self-pace, give me strength. I have no self-discipline in these situations. My biggest challenge this term will be Intermediate Algebra. I am math challenged.
I received my AA in General Studies on May 20. I did take as many classes as I could toward my Paralegal Studies degree, but working and going to school is tough, not to mention the school not completely cooperating in offering classes I needed. As of this writing I’m registered for 2 required classes and 1 elective. I still haven’t received confirmation on whether my challenged classes are accepted. If they are I might need one more elective, which I can take in the summer.
I’ll also continue to get my personal debt under control without financially strangling myself. So far I’ve moved all but about $800 to interest free CCs. My first 2005 financial goal will be to get 2 months salary saved up. After that it’ll be to pay off that $800 CC, then take what I was paying monthly and add it to payments on the next CC, etc. I know it’ll take me more than a year, since I’m only working part time, but I can live with that as long as the balances keep going down.
I didn’t do as well as I wanted to. I did get rid of one debt that freed up $100 a month. I am starting a new job on January 3 that will greatly help me meet this goal in 2006!
The biggest disappointment for 2004 personally was I failed to get off my blood pressure meds. 100% my own fault, so I plan on focusing on that. I did decrease the amount of caffeine I was used to so it wasn’t a total flop in the health department. I tend to become a hermit when Husband is gone, no going out to eat, movies, etc., so I should have plenty of time to take care of myself (mentally and physically).
Sigh. Still on the meds.
On that note, expect to see less of me on the BBs. The behavior on the BBs before and after the election had a lot to do with this ~ I just couldn’t stand the bickering, name calling and down right nastiness of some people, so I’ve cut ties with a couple of BBs that allowed (and even encouraged) that behavior. Now that my time will be more precious to me, I’m dwindling even more and I’ve asked to be relieved of moderator duties on all but a couple of BBs. That’s not to say I will completely disappear, since I feel like I’ve made good friends I want to continue that. You know you’ll always be able to find me on The Rotation BB at The Silver Lining and a couple of other BBs.
I did cut way back. In fact there are days when I don’t even go to any BBs. My stitching and studying time have benefited from it.
For stitching, my 2005 hopes and dreams were:
(1) Keep up with my rotation: I think the easiest way to keep up with where I am will be to number my rotations on my blog above the percentage bars.
Um, no, sort of. I changed my rotation around and became somewhat of a screamer toward the end of the year. Not to mention I changed my blog completely.
(2) Keep StRIPping: nothing special or new to report here. I plan to just keep on stitching with whatever little time I’ll have when not studying and keep the same goal of starting a new project with every 3 finishes. I know I still have items that need to be sorted out and added to my StRIP list, but that will just happen over time as I get more organized, so I expect my StRIP list to increase because of this.
I didn’t finish a single thing on my StRIP list this year! Yikes!
I’m disappointed in the last half of 2004 as far as buying stash goes. I really wanted to cut out more than I did. I did get a small raise, giving me a stash budget, so I want to stick to that in 2005 to help with my StRIPping. I really would like to increase my WDW and GAST stash so will try to purchase a few each month and stick to my budget so I can keep paying down my debt but not feel S.E.X. deprived :o)
I managed to cut my stash spending way back. There were even months when I didn’t buy a single thing.
(3) Organize freebies: I purchased A-Z index pages and a 4” binder and I’m going to organize by designer. After I stitch a design, I’m going to leave the highlighted pattern in the binder to show what has already been printed/stitched. I have been horrible about printing off designs that I already have.
I’m still working on this.
(4) Quilted wall hanging: I’m going to stitch all of the Bent Creek 2003 Monthly Snappers as a stitch along with Karen. They’ll be on one piece of fabric and I’m going to turn it into a quilted wall hanging.
I finished stitching this design in November, but haven’t gotten around to quilting it.
(5) Christmas Tree: I’ve ordered a 3 ft tree. I’m in an ornament RR that will take care of 5 ornaments and I’ll stitch 7 more on my own, since I’d like to have an ornament a month. Right now I have 5 handmade ornaments to put on the tree, not counting those mentioned above. The ornaments will hopefully increase my finishing skills since several of the ones I’m looking at are finished differently.
My lovely little tree didn’t get set up this year, nor did I manage to stitch the ornaments I wanted.
(6) Quilting: the Bent Creek wall hanging and a tree skirt for the above tree will cover this.
See above.
(7) Crocheting: I want to make a crocheted afghan. I know the basic stitches and am fortunate to work with someone who crochets and who has volunteered to help me over the bumpy parts. I’ve picked an easy, multicolored pattern and am looking forward to learning a new craft.
Didn’t even go there!
(8) Beading: I’ve done a tiny bit of beading and want to get more proficient in it. I purchased a beaded scissor fob kit in 2004 and want to complete it.
I purchased more supplies, including items to make fobs, but never found the time to complete anything.
(9) Finishing: I hope to get some of my finished designs framed. I set this goal every year, but it has not been a very successful one. Perhaps 2005 will change that.
I had Mirabilia’s Spring Queen framed for the county fair. That’s it! It’s so expensive; however, I did get a source this month for something that does great work at a reasonable price. He comes highly recommended by the art department of one of the high schools here and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for me.
CATS will be in Burbank this year, much closer to home than Santa Clara. Even though I probably won’t be able to go for the whole thing, I am close enough to drive up for a meet and greet and to spend some time in the Mall.
I went to Santa Clara and had a wonderful time.