Butterfly Kisses

Knowing you are going to retire in a reasonably short period of time is a life energizer par none. Yesterday I realized that I am taking home in pay precisely what I would get in social security payments when I become eligible in a few months, and this made me ask myself why I am working at all. I really can't come up with a good answer....

All this pondering actually pushed me out the door for a morning walk.

It's good to see the sun come up. I used to watch it rise almost every day. Am so tired of rushing from pillar to post, trying to juggle a million things. The idea of setting down a full half of that load is intoxicating. Wow.

Yesterday I bought a new planner. 

I know, I know. All that razz ma razz about the Knapp Family Organizer and the adjunct binder that I started up a few weeks ago. The Knapp is a great design but I can't manage two books. I've just wanted to get away from ring binders for a long, long time, and find the dream of a simple life to be so very seductive. But I have projects. And lists. And data. And need a place to carry letters and bandaids.  

Nevertheless, I wasn't shopping for a new planner when I bought this one. My intention had been to find a ring binder for another, non calendar purpose (a prayer journal actually), but I stumbled across this planner in Staples and it set me off on a whole new tangent. 

It is a classic sized (8.5" x 5.5") ring binder with undated weekly pages, the entire design titled "Harmony." There was a slightly disharmonious silver nameplate on the front that was stamped "Day Runner." Didn't want to remove it as that would doubtless scar the fabric cover. So I put a sticker over it. Unfortunately the only one that fit reads "Butterfly Kisses." So it seems my planner has a rather unique name now. But it is featherlight despite its size, fits nicely in my bag, and meets a number of other important parameters, so I'm all moved in and ready to live my life out of this book.

Here's a link to someone who has fantastic ideas for setting up and using planners: www.giftieetcetera.blogspot.com

I have wanted to follow her system for a few months now but the small size she uses was too small for me. This larger size, however, is going to suit me very well. I'm looking forward to giving her method a spin.

I had to set it in this hutch to get a fair representation of its color and still it's not spot on.

There are 1.25" rings, a secretarial pocket and card slots. I've got a flyleaf and some dollar store note pages I've punched to keep shopping and errand lists up front.

I love the design of these inserts. I don't use the timed spaces on the day slots. I just list my to-dos here.

The divider tabs are gorgeous, too. However, the undated months included were not tabbed, so I replaced them with a set of tabbed months from Wal-Mart. They are my favorite tabbed months so I'm happy to have a chance to use them.

All the divider inserts are gorgeous (To-Do, Notes, Information, Address), but I was happy to see a full set of alpha tabs in this design, too. I keep my notes organized behind these.

I've made an informal agreement with a co-worker to cover for her when she retires later this year, so I guess I'll be waiting until 2015 to take the big step myself. That will give me time to prepare, and perhaps take things a bit lighter in the meantime. Sweet anticipation, and all that. Likely will be better than actually being retired!

In fact it's a sweet day in many respects. Birds singing, cotton ball cumulus dotting the blue sky. Completely and totally unnatural for January, let's not lose sight of that. But  still, lovely. And life has settled down temporarily so it's time to take full advantage of that lull to rest. 

War's Over

I've been done with my challenge for a week now. So much for accountability. Well, I wasn't perfect, but my slip-ups were few and far between. I am back to my pre-binge weight, but sorry to report that it's not one whit easier to forego non-food goodies. I've had soda today, in fact, and one third of a candy bar that I scrounged from my mother's secret stash now that she's housesitting for my brother. So I'm going to dump out all the soda and buy myself some 60% dark chocolate to stick in the fridge for emergencies.

But I'm not even that concerned about health and diet and all that because something wonderful has happened! I've set my retirement date! In sixteen short months and possibly much sooner, depending on events yet to come, I will be done with the commute, the benchmarks, the time sheets, the annual evaluations, the endless exhortations to do more, more and more still.

Knowing that this is so, I am starting to relax already. I feel the letting go in every cell. And I still have two more days off work. 

It's War

I haven't been posting much because there's been nothing really exciting to write about. Until now. Now I'm going to war. 

Here's another ruddy sunset. I'm getting sick of them. Why do I photograph nothing but sunsets and food? And planners? But I digress. 

For the next two weeks I am going to war against my compulsions. I am going to eliminate three things from my diet:  Alcohol, candy in any form, and sodas. Brilliant! What moron would have all that in their diet to begin with? Well, this one. Ever since I read in "Wheat Belly" that a Snickers bar has a lower glycemic index than 2 slices of whole wheat toast, something in my psyche snapped, and it has been open season on Snickers ever since. And let's not even discuss beverages. I've been pouring Baileys in my coffee, rum in my coke and sipping wine with dinner. Holy Cow. And of course it's been Happy Holidays, so we've had See's Candy and pies and cookies and ice cream too. 

Well of course every symptom of every health problem I've got was robustly re-energized over the past few weeks, plus I gained back 2 of the 13 pounds I labored so hard to lose last year. That's enough backsliding for me. I keep thinking 3 weeks of abstinence would be best, but late last night while tossing and turning fitfully in my feverish bed it seemed like 2 would be less daunting.  

Am sure that after I've done without for 2 or 3 weeks I won't feel the urge to consume any of those (non) foods again, at least in any non-resistible way, except perhaps a glass of wine with dinner now and then, which had been my norm.

In the interests of accountability I shall report my progress on this blog. It will encourage me to post more frequently and to take photographs of hopefully interesting things.