Lofty

 Okay, it's time to admit to myself that accomplishing my 37 goals I hoped to accomplish before I turn 37, just isn't going to happen.  I knew when I made them that they were going to be tough, but I decided to go big.  I went a little too big.  I'm not necessarily unhappy with what I did accomplish, but do know I could have accomplished many, many more had I only applied myself.  I do want to look at the positive aspects of this and so I can say, if anything, I know how to structure the list in the future. 

For example:  I now have plenty to roll over to a list for the next year and I also know which ones I will delete.  There are quite a few that seemed like a good idea at the time I wrote them, but my total lack of desire to do them tells me that I will most likely never do them.  I need to set goals that I can maintain an excitement and enthusiasm for until they're completed.  I don't want to complete them simply because I feel like I have to.  I want to complete them because, well, I want to complete them.  Feeling like I have to complete them makes them feel like a chore, or that I'm being told what to do.  I think I've made it pretty clear how I react to being told what to do.  My stick it to the man instinct kicks in and I do the exact opposite of what I'm being told.  Even if I'm the one telling myself to do something.  It makes absolutely no sense to me either.

I'm satisfied with what I did and I look forward to constructing a much more manageable list for the next year.  (It's coming up faster than I care to admit, by the way.  I have a little over 2 months (crazy!)to come up with some good, manageable goals.)

If I Had A $1,000,000.00

If you don't know or recognize the name of this post, it's a song by The Barenaked Ladies and the blasted thing has been stuck in my head all this afternoon.  So, rather than fight it and try to purge the song from my brain, I'm going to go with it and think of what I would do I had $1,000,000.00.

Simple.  I would pay off my house.  I really don't think I would buy or build a new one.  I'm happy here and I don't see any reason to change because I firmly believe that a neighborhood can be anything you're willing to make it.  (My husband has a differing opinion on this.  Not the neighborhood being what you make of it part.  The wanting a new home part.  He dreams of new construction simply to have a basement with 9 foot ceilings.). I would stay right where I am, pay it off and then make all the improvements to it I dream about.  They would be:  ripping out the wall between my kitchen and dining room and creating an enormous kitchen and dining area.  I could care less about a formal dining room.  A family style, eat-in kitchen is just the thing for me.  A place where anyone and everyone feels welcome and comfortable.  I would go state of the art on everything and make it a total gourmet kitchen, too.  I would outfit it with all the appliances and gadgets I've ever wanted.  A cook's dream come true.  Ripping out the wall would mean that all the flooring on the entire main floor would have to be replaced.  No problem.  In fact, I would replace the flooring throughout the entire house.  Next would be the master bedroom and bathroom.  I would change the entire configuration to give us a bigger bathroom, create a dressing area/closet, etc.  I would change the exterior of the house.  I'm not exactly sure what I would do, but if I had a $1,000,000.00, my options wouldn't be limited.  I would finish the last dang strip of our driveway.  I would dig up all of the "grass", have a sprinkling system installed and start over with a professionally landscaped yard.

Next, I would buy a brand new car, of course.  Who wouldn't?  :) This is what I would buy.

I would pay off any and all debt we may have.

Finally, I would take my family on a couple of big trips and then save the rest for a rainy day.  That's really it.  Well, I may buy new wardrobes for my family, too.  Simply because it's fun to shop for clothes, but beyond that, that's all I can think of.  I have simple tastes and don't need a lot to be happy.  But an ultral fancy pants kitchen would be lots of fun and not make me unhappy.

Now, song, you are free to leave my head.