Nine goals revisted

About these project management classes... I found out with my good, hard-earned money, that all these goals and lists I keep making aren't really achievable if I don't set a deadline.  Oh.

So, if you, gentle readers of the blogisphere, internets, and cyberspace recall, I've made a few proclamations since starting this blog back in January.   Nine, to be exact - that have basically been reduced to nothing unless I quickly revive them with some serious targets and deadlines.  Ahem.
 
So here goes:

1. More time with family and friends.  Weekly check-ins and social events!   (This is my favorite goal.)
2. More time for introspection.  Weekly blogging.
3. Finish my wedding album.  by August 12, 2010 (10 year anniversary!)
4. Finish my bedroom curtains.  by May 15
5. Join a gym, for crying out loud.  Ride bike once a week: alone to work or with 75 lbs of children to neighborhood park.  I'm starting small here... look at all these other goals!
6. Purchase life insurance.  by May 30
7. Finish estate planning.  by May 30
8. Write children's book on cascarones. Uh... 2011?
   
9. Become certified in project management.  by May 28 (last day of class)

Geez, this got really ambitious.  I'm going to bed.  In the next sixty minutes. or so.

scatter remains

On the subject of final resting places (I can't wait to be finished with our estate planning; then I can stop talking about this), many National Parks allow the scattering of remains with a permit.   In the state of Texas,

A person may scatter cremated remains over uninhabited public land, over a public waterway or sea, or on the private property of a consenting owner, if the remains are reduced to a particle size of one-eighth inch or less. 

 Just FYI.

what do we do with ourselves?

In one of my listmaking frenzies, I mentioned our goal to finish estate planning.  We've finally made enough decisions to receive a draft from our lawyer.  One big question left is:  what do we do with our remains? 

I'm posting this photo, half jokingly, though it does look intriguing.  This is actually from an eco-friendly mattress blog.  I can't believe that such a thing exists.  I'm talking about the blog, by the way.  But here's the information -

"There is much call for eco burials these days... many people would like to be buried at sea... Lots design of Sweden has come up with this eco friendly pressed paper capsule, made from bio degradable paper and has a special place for loved ones to place messages, it could catch on!"

I can't get over the plethora (would you say there is a plethora?) of options for the "final resting place".  Even though I'd really rather not think about it, the alternative is to burden someone else with making this decision for us.

And finally, since there are two of us, that brings up a whole 'nother topic.  [yes, I am infusing this blog post with movie references to lighten the mood.]  Forget the burial vs. cremation decision.  Where do we put ourselves?  Whose family should we be near or with, if at all?  Sprinkled together?  Two separate urns?  A 50/50 blend with lavender and rosemary?  I'm sure that's an option somewhere.

And now I need to watch a funny movie.

listmaker part II

Tracking my earlier list... I have decided not to join a gym for various reasons.  I'm going to try some fitness classes offered at my work.  My wedding album has come to a halt to make way for curtain-making, which I am about a third of the way through.  And I'm spending way too much time on the computer.  But obviously not blogging.

It turns out that I'm not so great at blogging.  I am, however, very good at list-making.  So I will continue to do that. 

I have some new goals, which I have been spending lots of time on, so let's just attribute my slow progress on previously-stated goals to these front-burner, I-am-now-an-adult goals.

1. Purchase life insurance.  We're not sure where to go here - is it better to use a broker and find the best deal, or to go through our regular bank?  It's a little unsettling.  But either way, we need to do something.  Our financial advisor gave us some leads.
2. Finish Estate Planning.  Matthew and I have been meeting with a lawyer, and it's going really well.  Which is good, because it's costing a lot of money.  I am totally in the wrong field.  So at the end of this, we will each have a will and a trust for the children.  The incentive for this is that if we do nothing, and something should happen to us, the state will decide what happens to our kids and all of our assets will be liquidated with no parameters for how any of it will be used.  Yikes.  Plus, Matt and I need a second honeymoon.  Though now we won't be able to afford one.  Hmmmm...