This Life, Redefined...: Better late than never.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Better late than never.

I forgot about the final installment of Fabulous in February (brought to you by Melissa! and Hope!) yesterday, and if I've ever needed a good dose of positive thinking in my life, Monday was the day. So I spent my lunch break coming up with my make-up list to post today...because procrastination is my middle name.

(Actually, it's not. My middle name is Lynn. As in "Tara Lynn-pronouced-Leeeyin". Because there is some good old-fashioned country in my background, folks.)

Anyway, my final three positive attributes:

1) I can make my mom laugh

The last time I was back home again in Indiana (Oh, ha! That never gets old. Well, not to me anyway. I apologize to the rest of you...), we were sitting in the kitchen talking about who knows what, when she looked at me and said, 'When did you get to be so funny? I don't remember you being this funny in the past." One, thanks for the backhanded compliment there, Mom, and two, I've always been this funny, you just took my humor to be general teenage snottiness in the past. Same sarcasm, different time in life.

2) I take great, great pleasure in handling my household finances. And I'm good at it, too.

Well, I think this one is a positive, anyway, although my husband may beg to differ, as I am slightly manic in my "HAVE YOU DEPOSITED YOUR MONEY IN THE JOINT ACCOUNT YET? WE GOT PAID FIVE MINUTES AGO!!! WHERE IS IT?" demands, but I like making sure bills are paid on time and tracking where our money is going and budgeting for known future expenses and planning for financial surprises. When I noticed today that my little built in surplus for big or unexpected expenditures is back above my (completely arbitrary, matters only to me) threshold after a month of two automobile tag renewals and the yearly installment of HOA fees? Yes, the happy dance was performed.

In my chair. At my desk. At work.

I can only hope nobody actually saw it...

3) I am not afraid to do my happy dance in public.

Because yesterday was not the first time it's been performed at work. And people have definitely seen it.

Outfit 28 of 30

Blouse: Banana Republic

Cardigan: New York & Co

Skirt: The Limited

Boots: DSW

5 comments:

when BABI speaksMarch 1, 2011 at 10:23 AM
cute story! :-) you look great too!

Babi
http://whenbabispeaks.blogspot.com
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AnonymousMarch 1, 2011 at 6:53 PM
Oh my gosh, I LOVE these b/c I am in charge of our money too and am CONSTANTLY nagging husband on depositing into joint. AND I have a dance I do at work too. I look like a complete fool, but I just can't help it! :)

I'm SO happy you posted these, I love seeing things I have in common with people :)
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SavannahMarch 1, 2011 at 8:23 PM
Those boots are to die for!! :) LOVE THEM!

savannah-joyofliving.blogspot.com
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TaraMarch 1, 2011 at 8:54 PM
@Savannah - Thank you so much! I absolutely wear the heck out of these boots, and I'm scared they won't last much longer :)
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BrittneyMarch 1, 2011 at 9:13 PM
happy dance at work? good, no, GREAT for you. betcha get a raise for improving morale. if you don't, you should definitely request one. :)
oh, and your boots are awesome.
-brittney
http://adayinlifetoo.blogspot.com
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2014 List

1) Send more mail...thank you notes, birthday cards, and 'just because' messages.

2) Be nicer, in general, to my husband and family. They deserve a much less crabby me than the one they were stuck with for most of 2013.

3) Make more of an effort to communicate with the long-distance people in my life. I got away from facetiming with my sister on a regular basis, and I miss it. Plus, now that she's making me an aunt, I think it's even more important that we get back into the habit of seeing each other every week. I do not need her new baby asking 'are you SURE you have more than one sister?', just because Aunt Mary lives in Indiana and Aunt Tara lives all of the way in Georgia.

4) Call or email or even text my friends from college more than I do now, which is hardly at all. Just because we can pick up after not talking to each other for months like no time has passed at all does not mean I should keep letting all of those months pass without the talking. I'm afraid the picking back up can't keep happening in a friendship like that.

5) Do one fitness/health related challenge each month. - You know all of those '0 to 1,000 sit-ups in just 30 days!!' kind of schedules that pop up on Pinterest all of the time? I'm going to start doing those. One each month. Fifteen minute plank? I'M COMING FOR YOU. I'm also throwing my meat-free/sugar-free/alcohol-free months in this category, as well.

6) Run another organized 5K. - It was so much more fun than I expected. Minus the running up a hill part, anyway.

7) Renew my vows with Steve, in Vegas, by Elvis, for our 10th anniversary in October.

8) Create an art wall somewhere in my house.

9) Organize a workspace for me

10) Attend The Blathering in Seattle. - Charleston was such a great time, I'd love to make it back for the Seattle trip.

11) Read at least two books a month.

12) Take Brigid camping.

13) Find a yoga studio and start taking classes regularly.

14) Write something, anything, not blog related.

15) No spending money on new clothes this year. Using gift cards and rewards points are fine, but I need to get out of the habit of spending money on new stuff, just to make myself feel better. I swear, shopping is my addiction, but the high I get from buying a new sweater probably isn't enough to justify the amount of money I spend on clothes I don't need.

16) No buying anything at all unless I absolutely need it. I have a bad habit of stocking up on things at sales (candles, lotions, make-up, beauty products), even if I have a cabinet full of the same stuff already at home. I will use the cabinet full of crap before I add more crap.

17) Be more consistent in updating my family blog, because my parents give me a hard time when I let it lag, and my personal blog, because I'm not as happy with myself when I let it lag.

18) Find a general practitioner and get a physical.

19) Post at least one picture a day on Instagram, to get myself into the habit of taking more pictures of my sweet girls, since I find entire events have passed where I've forgotten to photograph said events. Like Christmas. Sadly.

20) Get a haircut. - You can laugh at this one, if you must, but I did not get one single haircut in 2013. In fact, I haven't had a haircut since before Caitlin was born in November of 2012. I do not even know how this happens, but I know it must end. Soon. I think a Locks of Love kind of donation might be in order. My hair, it is long.

21) Make an effort to get to know the neighbors. - I tend to not get dressed/leave the house on the weekends, and this extends to not fraternizing with anyone who lives near me, because I'm afraid people will judge me for my make-up free, sweatpants clad weekend laze. I should probably get over that.

22) Write more thank you notes. - I am terrible at writing thank you notes. I should not be so terrible.

23) Buy new rugs for my new house. - The sunroom and foyer, in particular, need something fun.

24) Be more fearless in forming and maintaining relationships. - There are many times where I think of something I want to send to someone, whether it's an email, text, card, or what have you, and I don't, because I'm afraid I've maybe overestimated whether we have the type of friendship where I can do something like that. I don't want to worry about stuff like that anymore.

25) Put together an Advent/Christmas activity calendar for Brigid and Caitlin. - I did that for Brigid when I was home on maternity leave after Caitlin's birth, and it was so much fun. I didn't get the chance to do it this year, and I feel like I missed out on some part of the excitement of the season. I'm bringing it back.

26) Institute a once-a-month date night with Steve. Or date lunch, I guess, if necessary.

27) Institute a once-a-month girls' night, whether it be with my old college roommate, my SiLs, or the neighbors. I should get out of the house at least once a month with people who do not live in my house.