update on ass-in-gear

1. took the exam and passed. it was effing hard, but now I'm a PMP :)
2. signed up for boot camp. I need someone else to push me to lose the fat ass. I start in June.
3. took off 3 weeks of freelance to study for test. Back on track starting Monday.

Off to a wedding in Cape May this weekend. And it's my birthday tomorrow. I'm 31. yikes!

ass-in-gear

I have all this shit to do and it sucks. I also have a significant procrastination problem, so I'm going to start writing things down in the hopes that I'll actually doing them.

These are the problems, and the deadlines.

1. I have a major exam to take on June 5, which I'm thinking about pushing up to the third week in May. I am taking a class for 4 looooooong days to prepare for this bitch. I'm nervous to fail, especially because work is paying for it and I'm paying for the class. So.. for 2 days every week until the test, I'm going to study for 3 hours. Every other day, I will study during my lunch hour. Mark my words here. That gives me about 40 hours of study time and 32 hours of class before the exam.

2. I need to dedicate some solid time to the "lose my big ass" plan. Before summer starts. I weigh more now than I ever have. I don't like it. But I like food, so more exercise, a lot more exercise is necessary. PRONTO. I was doing the 30-day shred by Jillian Michaels and was killing it. Then I got sick and slid right out of control again. I feel better now, so I'm starting again.

3. I have a steady freelance job that requires and extra 30 hours of work per month. I've got this under control, but I'm worried it will slip with the other 2 big responsibilities.

So - once a week, I'm going to check in with my progress. Every Sunday. every.single.sunday.

vacation rentals

I really want to spend a week in an Outer Banks, NC house. I've always wanted to. Wild horses, house with a kajillion decks, 4wd-access only, secluded beach--all of these things sound awesome. I've been on vrbo.com looking at these places and they look awesome. I'd like the following breakdown:
-3 or 4 couples, or not - really just 6-10 people.
-No kids (unless they are babies and super-cool and fun).
-Dogs. Mine and at least one other. But they should all get along. This is a key problem in one couple I'd like to vacation with. Their dog is not nice. Especially to other dogs. Here's the problem with this plan:
1. Picking who goes. All the mens and all the womens need to get along. Even better if all the sexes can intermingle (not in a dirty way!)
2. Getting all those people to be able to take a week off work at the same time.
3. Figuring out the organizer in this grand scheme of things. I would do so, but not sure if I can hack it. People annoy the shit out of me and I don't like dealing with minutia that belongs to others.
4. I don't think I know anyone with a 4wd. Renting such a vehicle would be expy$$.
Really, these are not huge problems - just more effort-filled tasks that I don't want to do.

Moral of this stupid-ass story: Someone should invite me, my husband and my dog on an Outer Banks vacay.

steel, wood and plants

I want my back yard to look like this:

(oscar planters, cb2)

Too bad I can't keep any plants alive, I have a chintzy chain link fence that I really have no intention of replacing anytime soon and I have hoodlum neighborhood kids (or adults) that steal the stuff out of my backyard - like my fire pit.

I still might try. Watch this space

travel bucket list

See for the 1st time:
Croatia
Africa (Botswana, Nigeria, Tunis, Egypt, South Africa, Madagascar)
Food tour of Vietnam
Argentina (esp. BA & Mendoza)
Iceland
India

See again with my husband:
London
Paris
Barcelona
Australia
Amsterdam

And that's just off the top of my head...

Soundtrack of my life

How is it that The Police are so flipping awesome, but Sting sucks so bad? I really can't wrap my head around it. In fact, I think Sting is so bad solo, that if you tell me you like him--I think less of you.

The Police on the other hand were awesome. I heard this on the radio this morning and have subsequently launched myself into some sort of fan club situation.

another list

Blogging isn't the only thing I've been slacking off with.*

This is what my to-do list looks like:

1. Call the Contractor about the kitchen
2. Start new freelance article (due 3/16)
3. Give the dog a bath - he smells like a foot
4. Clean something, anything
5. Call the guy to do our taxes
6. Work on my new project (I'd say look for a post soon, but let's be realistic - look for a post in 6-9 months)
7. Sit down with the hubs and make a real budget/figure out our new financial plan (it's only been almost 2 years since we agreed to do this...)
8. Clean out the basement
9. Take photos of bike, elliptical, furniture, and clothes to sell on craigslist or ebay
10. Replace living room light fixture
11. Call my out-of-state friends (I would be satisfied if I made 2 calls, but I have about 14 on the call-back list. At this rate, I'll have no friends.)
    

I would like to delegate some of this, but the man's list looks quite the same and I don't know who else would do any of this crap.

*not entirely true. miltonaday has been updated every day of 2009 (with a little maneuvering from vacation on my part)