The Thirtieth Year

So, here is an update of where I am. I shouldn’t make excuses, but this weekend has really been messed up for me. My neighbors were making noise during my prime sleep time, and my schedule has been off ever since. I’ve been sooo tired. I’ve not had energy to do anything. I did attempt a few things, though. Anyway, here’s an update. I think I”ll try to do a full update around the 15th of every month (unless I’m working, then I’ll do it shortly before or after).
Apartment:
The bathroom is still clean. I am so impressed with myself. Today, I did a quick wipedown of it. So not only is it organized, but it sparkles, too.

The kitchen is still in progress, of course. That is going to take awhile, as it tends to dirty itself as I try my best to eat at home. It looks a lot better than when I first photographed it (photos still coming). The refrigerator was a bit empty, so I did a bit of shopping to fill it up.

The rest of the apartment is in a sad state, and I’ve a guest coming this weekend. I will do as Sherry Bobbins did, and cut corners, and bury everything under the rug. . .ok maybe I’ll just shove it in the closet. It’s terrible, I know, but she’s seen my place much worse, and she’s like family. I can’t wait for her visit after next. Hopefully there will be a lot more progress!

Career:
I’m still trying to work on that whiteboard, but it’s so overwhelming, I’ve just put it off forever. I am working a week from Saturday, so I’m hoping that I’ll have some time/enthusiasm then. I have a meeting on Wednesday (maybe) with someone who was in charge of a job I did not get. Apparently, the team wants me, but hired someone else (ie an outside FRIEND). They are trying to get me some “special projects” to do. I really want to advance my career, but at the same time, this whole thing smells like rotten fish. We’ll see.

Environment:
I’ve not been to the recycling center yet, but I’ve been saving things to take. Hopefully I will get there next weekend. Today I remembered to take my tote with me to the grocery store. Unfortunately, I bought a little more than my tote could hold. I also returned all of my plastic bags to the grocery store. They really recycle them, right? It’s not just some fake promise, is it?

Finance:
I transferred my balance to an existing card with a much lower rate. My raise has kicked in, finally, so I’m able to make larger payments on the card. I’m still getting used to my new wage. I’m supposed to make a bonus for my shift work as well, so we’ll see how much I can put down when that takes effect. Oh, and that reminds me, I need to do my taxes!

Health:
My weight has been fluctuating 2lbs or so.  My diet hasn’t been the best.  It’s more that I’ve been drinking lots of soda at work to stay awake. Bad news bears, man. I have been eating at home quiet a bit, though.  That’s both good for my wallet AND my body. I made a huge thing of crockpot chicken paella that I found on the Weight Watchers site. However, it was really gross, so my meals for last week were out the window. Tonight, I’ve prepared Buffalo Chicken Lasagna for the week. It’s cooling, and I’m not too hungry right now. I should probably sample it before relying on it for work tomorrow.  I really need to get back to the gym and Weight Watchers. I’m throwing money away and my body could be so much healthier, if I’d take advantage of these things. I think it’s a vicious cycle. . . too tired to do anything, but with healthy diet and exercise, I could probably have more energy. I can’t wait til the night shift is over!!

Personal Enrichment:
Okay, so I skipped German class tonight, but there’s so much snow outside that even the snow plows are having accidents! Tonight, I am going to work on my vocabulary. I also found a virtual opportunity to volunteer with the American Cancer Society. I applied for it, but they accidentally put it up as virtual. They need someone in Wisconsin. Oh well. I went out a couple of nights this month. I’m trying to spend quality time with friends. . .getting out of the house and such.

So that’s that. Tonight, I have to remember to change my sheets!

APARTMENT: I’m just about finished with the bathroom. This is merely cleaning though, not decorating or anything. I’m almost through the Apartment Therapy book. I’d really like to find a better way to store my bathroom products, but my bathroom is so awkward. I wish that my sink did not have a storage area underneath, so I could stick a cart or something between it and the toilet as I did at my last place. The shelves will have to suffice for now. I also wish I could paint my bathroom. Half of the wall is white, wooden paneling. Is that called a chair-rail? I’m not sure what it’s called. The other half is a very off-white paint. Gross. It looks pretty bad. Additionally, I think there’s something wrong with the area above the tub where the curtains hang. I’ve got a claw-footed tub, and I think the piece above the tub is too small. It makes the curtains look weird. Part of me wants to find a new one, but the other part doesn’t. I rent, so any improvements I make will also benefit the landlord, and I will reap nothing but aesthetic pleasure. Is it worth it? I’m not sure.

I’m glad I’ve decided to go with the bathroom first. When something is in the wrong room when I’m cleaning, I usually just throw it in the room where it belongs. I probably won’t have many things that belong in the bathroom that aren’t there already. This will make cleaning faster, and I’ll be cluttering the other rooms less.

So far, I’ve gotten rid of tons of junk, cleaned the tub, changed the shower liners, cleaned the medicine cabinet and shelves, cleaned the toilet, and the sink. I’ve emptied the wastebasket, cleared out all dirty clothes, wiped down the light switch and outlet. I even cleaned all of my bottles and wiped off of the crud that gets around the top of the products. Oh, and I wiped the scale off, too.

The next steps are: clean/sort everything on product shelves, wash floor, clean/sort makeup, clean out magazine bin, and wash the bathmat.

HEALTH: I’d been doing pretty well until yesterday, which was a horrible day for nearly everyone I know. I had a bad, bad day at work, which led to weakness, which led to having a soda or two. Tomorrow is back on track. I need to wash out my water bottles so I can reduce waste (from cups and bottles) and drink more water! I’m also scheduled to go to the gym, and menu planning will also begin.

PERSONAL ENRICHMENT: I’m signing up for German class on Tuesday.

ENVIRONMENT: Well, I went shopping today, and didn’t take my cotton bag with me (FAIL). I have, however, arranged a few paper bags for each area of recycling (cardboard, magazines, bottles, cans). I washed out the bottles of things I threw out today, and put them in the bags. Go me! My goal is to take all of the recycling on the last Sunday of each month. Oh, also, I bought a customizable stamp so instead of wasting paper for address labels (which are bound to change anyway, since I move about every year), I’ll be stamping away instead.

CAREER: I’m going to the night shift soon, which hopefully means I’ll be able to concentrate more on my Wiki project. I am also working next Saturday, and Saturdays are typically slow, a perfect time for a project. My raise kicks in next week, and Monday is orientation!

FINANCE: As I mentioned, the raise kicks in next week. I haven’t really sat down to do any particular budgeting, though. I think this home “cure” or “renovation” is going to dip into the finance department. I should get on track before that, but my main focus right now is the apartment.