This time with action plans. But man, this is all so very random. Apologies. Tomorrow’s post is about books and it is AWESOME.
1. Survive: So far so good. Cannot be smartened because, although vital, it is not really specific.
2. Fix all the things that gremlins have gotten to: in progress…
3. Make a will: We’ve done everything but made an appointment and signed. Action: look at joint schedules and find a weekday we can both sign. This will be difficult. Time: This weekend. Update: Done. Next: Pick up copy of will. Time: Next week.
4. Tinker with all our finances, including switching 403(b) providers and ramping up retirement savings: DH’s is done, mine is still stuck in ING’s incompetent claws. In a week I call them again.
5. Make new friends, preferably ones that won’t graduate and leave in a year or two. Double points if they have children our kid’s age.: Horrible, our tenured friends quit! They’re moving! We keep trying to meet the friend of the friend who just graduated and left, but his mom seems to deliberately avoid us. She mysteriously forgot to show up on two group playdates at friend one’s house after she found we were coming. She must hate our house or something. No idea what to try next. Thoughts? (Action: ask you all for ideas) Update: Halloween is awesome. We tracked down a gaggle of preschoolers and made contact with their parents. They have weekly playdates. Though the first one, some of the kids were kind of mean, and DC was unprepared because what’s popular at their daycare (calling other kids “poopy-butt”, and willfully excluding people from playing) is not tolerated at DC’s much kinder and gentler daycare (where they instead have lengthy intellectual playground discussions about dinosaurs, robots, their shirts, sharks, and super-heroes… my mom calls it a training ground for future nerds).
6. Do educational/fun activities in the city at least once a month: So far so good. Every 4 weeks we plan something. This weekend will be the zoo.
7. Take advantage of visiting cultural opportunities (I’m thinking going to shows here… this requires babysitting!): We bought tickets for the two children’s shows. Update: Please save me from having to go to another children’s show… (oh no, we already have 3 tickets to the second one…)
8. Keep the weight down so I don’t have to buy new clothing.: This was going great, but I’ve gained 3 lb. Must stop eating free pizza. And free leftover Halloween candy. And oh, the 18 job candidate dinners I’ll be going to…
9. Get those darned pants hemmed (!): This just isn’t going to happen this semester.
10. Make and book holiday plans.: Done.
Do you have any fun (or not so), non-financial (or financial…), personal goals for Fall? How are they going?
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
November 17, 2010 at 5:37 am
I just want to say that I think it is so cool that you and DH make time to do your finances together!!! I know how it is to try to coordinate two busy schedules, so for you guys to make time for the will, tinker with DH 403b, etc. is impressive. I would think doing so would increase the communication in your marriage substantially.
November 17, 2010 at 5:51 am
Well, we did a big flurry right before school started (and we do another at tax time). The fact that Ing messed up my account has been lingering since September. There’s an unfinished blog post on this. It will be finished once Ing moves my stuff (I need to call AGAIN and possibly send forms a THIRD time). I hate them.
November 17, 2010 at 6:37 am
Oh my gosh, the Halloween candy is killing me. We bought a ton and barely got any kids, so it just sits there and stares at me, waiting… I have probably gained 12 pounds, but I am afraid to go near a scale.
I think it is great you have goals you are working towards. Mine are usually “I will make dinner”. Although I have done some financial things that make me happy like setting up savings accounts for certain goals. That counts, right?
I need to hit up a science center soon, I am having withdrawal, as is my youngest son. I love those annual passes that you can use in museums all over the place.
November 18, 2010 at 6:34 am
I had DH take ours into his work. He’d opened the bags so we couldn’t just donate them like last year. The problem is that all the admin at work also brought their extra candy into the office…
Targeted savings accounts totally works.
This week has been grueling. I can’t wait for our completely off driving into the city Saturday at the zoo.
November 17, 2010 at 7:20 am
I’ve only recently come to the conclusion that I need to set goals for the non-professional aspects of my life. (I need to do it for the professional aspects, too, but that’s another issue). Spurred by the open enrollment deadline for my medical flexible spending account, I accomplished one goal by going to the orthodontist for a consult. That has led to a consult with a periodontist and will result in a more work before the orthodontia next year. *sigh* I guess this fall has kicked off the “the year (and a half) of the mouth” for me.
Another personal goal was to start using Mint to track my finances. Did that almost two weeks ago, but I’m not sure it will work for me. We’ll see.
Finally, I’m in the midst of planning for a possible trip to Spain and Portugal in the latter part of January. I’ve got more than enough vacation funds saved up and I’m itching to go somewhere and do something. Too bad none of my friends can join me. If I go through with this trip, I guess I’ll just make new friends along the way. :-)
November 18, 2010 at 6:35 am
Oh man, I’ve been paying for dental insurance all year and haven’t actually used it yet. I need to make an appointment!
Other than the orthodontia, those sound like really fun goals.
November 17, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Action plans are generally good companions to goals. :)
I’ve found it’s hard finding friends as a working parent since a lot of play groups happen on the weekdays. Are there any families to bond with at DH’s daycare?
As for my fall goals…you may have read that I’ve been kind of lazy lately. But I have a goal to get the house Christmas decorations up this weekend so I don’t have to have another Christmas with only a tree because I never got around to the other boxes.
November 18, 2010 at 6:44 am
We do see lots of parents at birthday parties. We haven’t really hit it off with any of them, except of course, for the ones who graduated from grad schools and moved (story of our life here). DC seems to be best friends with younger siblings so their parents are really busy with the older kids and soccer/martial arts/ballet etc. And they tend to live all the way across town.
We really loved having a neighborhood friend because if DC would get squirrely we could just borrow the neighbor kid and hir mom or dad and walk around the block or go to the playground at the last minute. Hopefully as we get older our friends will be more not about to graduate and move. But we’ll see.
November 18, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Ditto on playgroups. The people who are best at them are the SAHM’s and they only want to hang with you during work hours.
Working moms are usually too busy (myself included) to make the effort to organize something. It’s on my list to reach out to more parents as well. I’ve actually given some my card and nothing. You’re not alone.
November 17, 2010 at 7:18 pm
I really like the active role you are taking to socialize and develop your DC!
We did a lot more with our first child than our daughter, but we are going on a train ride that takes a trip (wink, wink) to the North Pole (the Polar Express), in December.
It’s great time and my daughter (as did my son when he was younger) looks forward to the trip!
November 18, 2010 at 6:46 am
Back when we were growing up, of course, our parents would just toss us outside and we’d roam around the neighborhood in enormous multi-age kids groups.
The Polar Express sounds fun!
November 19, 2010 at 1:20 am
Yeah, I know what you mean. A lot of my childhood memories involved sitting in the back of my grandparent’s furniture store in the back room alone… Once I was 10, I’d roamed the neighborhood.
Polar Express is cool! Hot Chocolate and cookies. I hope we get good performers this year again, they really make the experience magical.
November 17, 2010 at 7:45 pm
I don’t make action plans, for better or worse. My short-sightedness allows me to blissfully ignore approaching potential issues, but then if they do turn out to be actual issues they tend to be urgent. I keep a to-do list (or three) lying around, typically about household chores both short-term and long-term, but I try to keep the number of must-do things to a minimum. It’s hard to stay in “flow” when I know there are multiple important things to be done (that aren’t all being worked on at the same time).
November 18, 2010 at 6:47 am
Yesterday at work every single thing I did ended up getting interrupted by something urgent, even the urgent things. I cannot WAIT for Thanksgiving break. I hope I get to breathe then.
November 18, 2010 at 10:24 am
#2 here. I need a week off just so I can even SEE what’s ON my to-do list. Let alone do any of it!
p.s. I did get some pants, though.
November 18, 2010 at 3:08 pm
God, the candy. I can relate to the free food and junk. It’s starting to show in the form of thunder thighs. I really wish I had some more restraint. I need to make fun goals. I’m usually good at planning vacations and things, but a monthly thing would be a good ad.
November 19, 2010 at 10:14 pm
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