Dear Friends and Family,
Good morning! Well, it's 10:30 at night, but I had lunch with B and Chef M at one, and then fell asleep until about an hour ago. So, good morning!
Where to begin? It's tough to encapsulate 2008 into a single coherent year. It started off as a series of lazy, hazy days where Mr. mouse and I got to enjoy life in general and even if it wasn't exciting, at least it was entertaining. And, it ended with a series of monumental changes that feel like a step function change from before, like someone stomped on the gas pedal.
I could go category by category. But, frankly, I'm not inspired. If 2008 was a year of breadth where we got to wallow in a bunch of different experiences, 2009 will be a year of depth where we get to dive into a couple of focused experiences.
What's falling off the plate? Or being put on the back burner? Hmm... Let's instead make a list of what's staying on the front burner and process of elimination will tell us that's moving...
baby... maybe: Now that Pioneer's settled into a routine that's primarily focused on growth, we've shifted gears from pregnancy books to baby books.
clutter diet/mouse pad: A temporary focus for the next couple of months as we make space at the mouse pad for Pioneer. The second bedroom will become Pioneer's room. And, the basement is being converted into an upgraded guest suite - with sleeping space for four. I'm actually more excited about preparing the guest room than I am about preparing Pioneer's room. I guess it's because I'm looking forward to having people over. I'll be more excited about doing Pioneer's room once we start working on it.
wellness: I've been lax with my wellness routine because I don't want to go to the other extreme and get obsessive about it with Pioneer. I've gained 12 pounds so far of a recommended 25-35 pounds. I've been giving some thought as to how I want to tackle this once we have Pioneer. Everyone's right, May is a perfect time. The weather will be good. I'll be able to take some good walks. I'm looking forward to it.
money matters: With the economy what it is, and with our jobs continually at some risk, it's tough not to keep this one on the list. We've been good about building up the rainy day fund. And, 2009 will be a year we work obsessively at paying down the mortgage. But, taking time off for Pioneer may toss a monkey wrench into it all. And day care will as well, I'm sure. We'll manage somehow. I just hope the economy plateaus. I'm realistic enough to not hope for a bounce back. But a plateau would be nice.
work: Taking a week off has been good. Work is good. I enjoy my job and all. But, a couple of things concern me... the viability of the company... I can see an implosion in about 18 months... what it means, I don't know... And, more immediately, they made a change to our 401k plans restricting contributions to 5% of gross pay. I had to deal with that at old work and it frankly &%$#@! so bad it was a determining factor in deciding to pursue opportunities elsewhere. I'll focus on work for now. But, after Pioneer and time off with Pioneer, I may decide differently. We'll see.
And, I see a common thread to all five topics - Pioneer. It's tough to predict how the year will evolve. And, we'll take it as it comes. I have a feeling I'll chuckle in a year's time when I come back to this post. But, for now, it is what it is.
Happy New Year!
Cheers!
mouse
Good morning! Well, it's 10:30 at night, but I had lunch with B and Chef M at one, and then fell asleep until about an hour ago. So, good morning!
Where to begin? It's tough to encapsulate 2008 into a single coherent year. It started off as a series of lazy, hazy days where Mr. mouse and I got to enjoy life in general and even if it wasn't exciting, at least it was entertaining. And, it ended with a series of monumental changes that feel like a step function change from before, like someone stomped on the gas pedal.
I could go category by category. But, frankly, I'm not inspired. If 2008 was a year of breadth where we got to wallow in a bunch of different experiences, 2009 will be a year of depth where we get to dive into a couple of focused experiences.
What's falling off the plate? Or being put on the back burner? Hmm... Let's instead make a list of what's staying on the front burner and process of elimination will tell us that's moving...
baby... maybe: Now that Pioneer's settled into a routine that's primarily focused on growth, we've shifted gears from pregnancy books to baby books.
clutter diet/mouse pad: A temporary focus for the next couple of months as we make space at the mouse pad for Pioneer. The second bedroom will become Pioneer's room. And, the basement is being converted into an upgraded guest suite - with sleeping space for four. I'm actually more excited about preparing the guest room than I am about preparing Pioneer's room. I guess it's because I'm looking forward to having people over. I'll be more excited about doing Pioneer's room once we start working on it.
wellness: I've been lax with my wellness routine because I don't want to go to the other extreme and get obsessive about it with Pioneer. I've gained 12 pounds so far of a recommended 25-35 pounds. I've been giving some thought as to how I want to tackle this once we have Pioneer. Everyone's right, May is a perfect time. The weather will be good. I'll be able to take some good walks. I'm looking forward to it.
money matters: With the economy what it is, and with our jobs continually at some risk, it's tough not to keep this one on the list. We've been good about building up the rainy day fund. And, 2009 will be a year we work obsessively at paying down the mortgage. But, taking time off for Pioneer may toss a monkey wrench into it all. And day care will as well, I'm sure. We'll manage somehow. I just hope the economy plateaus. I'm realistic enough to not hope for a bounce back. But a plateau would be nice.
work: Taking a week off has been good. Work is good. I enjoy my job and all. But, a couple of things concern me... the viability of the company... I can see an implosion in about 18 months... what it means, I don't know... And, more immediately, they made a change to our 401k plans restricting contributions to 5% of gross pay. I had to deal with that at old work and it frankly &%$#@! so bad it was a determining factor in deciding to pursue opportunities elsewhere. I'll focus on work for now. But, after Pioneer and time off with Pioneer, I may decide differently. We'll see.
And, I see a common thread to all five topics - Pioneer. It's tough to predict how the year will evolve. And, we'll take it as it comes. I have a feeling I'll chuckle in a year's time when I come back to this post. But, for now, it is what it is.
Happy New Year!
Cheers!
mouse
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