Chloé’s Ramblings

Monday, March 9, 2009

A great site

It's Craft Critique's anniversary! If you don't know this site yet, go have a look, it's great! First of all, because it gives some fuel to your if-I-ever-win-the-lottery daydreaming, with all the newest and trendiest (is that a word? Whatever, you get the idea!) tools and gadgets you could ever think of. But most importantly because it's packed with terrific tips and creative ideas to use your good ol' tools and fabulous advices to pick your new favorite! Definitely a RSS-subscription worth one!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Math of the day

1 little boy + 5 minutes of loneliness in the bathroom = NOT a good idea! LMAO!!

(My friends Nanie and Pat's little boy Tristan)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Beating procrastination

Okay, I know I'm not the most appropriate person to talk about beating procrastination. But it's maybe exactly because I'm one of the worst procrastinator ever that I can share what helps me fight this VERY bad habit... kind of "the insider" point of view, you know? LOL

Anyway, here's how I motivate myself to do some unattractive task: I remind myself how long it actually takes. I usually procrastinate because I imagine that it will take a loooooong time, much longer than what it actually takes. So I set my mind, do the job and track how long it actually takes, which is usually not that bad! For example, I used to hate cleaning the cat's litter. I once realized that it barely takes 15 minutes, more likely 10 minutes maximum. Let's be honest, the task is still unpleasant and I doubt I will ever think it's fun, but at least I now know that it won't be unpleasant for more than 15 minutes. What a relief! And what a motivation to see my kitty all happy to pee in a brand new litter ;-) Yeah, I know, it's all about finding the right motivator, uh? LOL

Monday, March 2, 2009

March goals and February debriefing

I just realize I didn't even posted my February goals... Here they were:

  • Find new techniques to reduce my stress (gratitude journal, meditation,...): NOT DONE I'm now not only stressed, I'm probably depressed as well... Yeeepeeeeeee. :(
  • Work out at least 30 minutes 5 times a week. DONE!
  • Get rid of all the pending to-do’s at work 80% DONE!
  • Start a budget: collect all our incomes. DONE! I actually started a budget but I need to have a much more precise idea of everything
  • Work on my evening and weekly routines NOT DONE
And here are my March goals:
  • Celebrate Guy's birthday with our family and friends, on a budget (to avoid the stress that goes with over spending!)
  • Track my food for at least 20 days in the month
  • Catch up on my work for the web site: calendar, news page, etc.
  • Track all our expenses
  • Wash dishes right after each meal
I hope I will be more successful this month. I have to, or I'll keep feeling like a big failure and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stand it!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Did someone said slacking??

Isn't it ironic that one of my last posts 1 month ago was about how much I loved blogging everyday during the month of February? LOL

I'm having a really hard time keeping up with everything, this permanent overwhelming feeling is just exhausting. I always have to remind myself that the word I picked for 2009 was PEACE. I want it so bad... I need it so bad! It feels like everything I do in order to be more serene and peaceful turns into more stress and anxiety. For example today I decided to start to set up a budget... Bad idea!! I realized that I don't have any extra money for an emergency or for fun stuff. How sad is that? We can't afford a new computer for Guy, a new lense for my camera, I can't even afford to go visiting Laura who lives 2 hours away because my car is too bad to drive for that long, and because I don't have enough money to go there by train. HOW SAD IS THAT? I already struggle to not get in debit every end of month (and usually I don't succeed), but anything extra is out of question... or actually should be, to avoid the said end-of-month debit!

I've bee researching a lot on the internet about financial stuff, and even though the american way of life isn't totally accurate for me (I don't have much debt, for example), I've found lots and lots of useful tips. I will try to track very precisely everything we spend for the month of march, hopefully DBF will join me in this dreadful yet necessary task!