Finding Myself....

Have you ever said to yourself, "I must have ADD!  I can't focus on any one thing for any period of time.  I'm bored easily and I have all these great ideas and I don't implement any of them."  I say this to myself alot.  ALOT.  Let's be realistic:  I don't have ADD.  I'm not disorganized, I'm not reckless, I don't have marital problems, my listen skills are great, I'm not extremely distracted, I can start tasks, I definitely know how to relax, I'm punctual, not angry and I can prioritize.

I feel my problem (after laying on the couch and psychoanalyzing myself) is I don't know what I want out of life & who I am.  My career is an HR Manager.  I didn't chose this profession, it chose me.  I fell into it when I was 20 & pursued it with zest & vigor.  Now, 20 years later, I don't like it so much.  It's not for me. There are bits & pieces of it that I like, but not enough to say, "this is what I want to do until I retire."

I've decided that in my 40th year, (which begins on 4/18/12 and will go through 4/17/13) I have to find me and my next profession.  I'm sure my DH would still like me to have a 'corporate' job, where I receive great benefits!  But I'm not sure that is for me in the long haul.  Let's face it - there isn't any corporate loyalty to the workers, so why should I be loyal to a corporation?  I think of them as stepping stones in my journey of life.

This blog is going to reflect my thoughts & progress my journey as I venture to find myself and my next career for the next part of my life.  Thanks for sharing the journey with me.

Still Purging

I found this really great blog after reading a Yahoo story:

http://www.tosimplify.net

It's about a man and his adventures as he decides to move into his van full-time.  As I read the purging part of his story, it reminded me that I've come off track, so I've gotten back on track.  And, as our hot water heater broke this past week (which is located in the back of the downstairs closet), it was another sign to continue purging.

Yard jarts - we found yard jarts in the back of our wet closet.  When the heck did I receive those & what was I thinking.  Technically, we don't even have a yard - we live in a complex of townhouses!  Bye-bye to those!  I know I trashed a bunch of other stuff this week, but nothing specific comes to mind.  I guess that's just an indication of how meaningless these items were to me.

Well, I failed

Yep - there - I put it on paper. I failed.  I wanted to participate in a 30 day blog of posting financial help, but I only did one post.  Why?  Was it the fact my father-in-law was visiting and I was side tracked?  Was the topic something I didn't feel qualified to write about?  Why?

I think the reason I failed was I didn't really feel that passionate about the commitment to writing every day for 30 days.  And, since my blog has no direction, and really hasn't hit on the financial side of life, why pretend to be something I'm not?

Instead, I'd rather just practice my writing by letting random thoughts flow through my head & out onto this screen.  And I'm just perfectly fine with that!

Until next time......whenever that may be!

Just Breathe

Day 1 - Just breathe.  I’m here this month to discuss personal finance.  Did your heart just skip a beat?  Is your respiration increasing?  Don’t worry - it’s just numbers.  And your behavior.  Before you start freaking out, practice some deep, belly breathing.  

For some reason, when we start talking about our personal financials, we tend to get stressed out, or tensed up or something along those lines.  Once you face it, understand it, embrace it and tackle it, you come to realize it’s no big deal.

Just breathe.

Get Ready For It!

I just committed myself to 31 Days of Blogging for the month of October!  See this post for more details:

31 Days of Change

I've dreamed of becoming a Financial Counselor so I decided to write about 31 days of sound financial principals.  I have read a ton of articles and books and I feel I am ready to share my thoughts and views on this very important topic!

How about you?  Is there something you can commit to doing for 31 days?  Exercise?  Praying? Dieting?  Join in the fun by clicking the link above and committing to making a change!

The Hardest Thing to Declutter

Sentimental Clutter. To me, this is the 'stuff' one has accumulated from people or places that holds a significant meaning and is hard to let go of. Take for instance, this bathrobe:

This bathrobe was given to me by my DH, on the first Christmas we celebrated together in 1992. When it was new, it was the whitest, softest robe I've ever worn. I loved it and wore it whether it was 60 degrees outside or 90. Over the years, he has bought a few other robes for me, and this one ended up just sitting on the hook, barely ever worn. It isn't the softest, whitest robe anymore but I felt bad throwing it out, so there it sat - taking up space.

As the decluttering continues, I had to come to reality that it was time for the robe to go bye-bye. After reading a few other articles about sentimental clutter, I decided I would immortalize the robe by taking a photo of it and journaling my thoughts. On a side note, I'm participating in Project 365, which is where you take a photo of something in your life each day & journal about it. So that's what I decided to do, and I actually felt a small sense of relief to throw the heavy robe into the trash. Let's face it - 20 years! I had a bathrobe for 20 years!

Time to let go.........

What sentimental items have you let go & did you find a way to keep the memory of them?

Yes! Decluttering Continues!

In my journey to declutter, I now have to step it up a notch. We've decided to move and I'm not going to move non-essential 'stuff'. Since I'm a runner, I buy running shoes every 4-6 months, so I go through a few pairs each year. I don't wear them for anything but running so when they don't suit my needs anymore, they are still in pretty good shape. I like to keep a pair for working outside or around the house. Low & behold I found 2 additional pairs under the bed, so I decided to donate. I also picked out a few items in my closet that can go as well. The black thing in the back is an evening gown that someone gave to me (it's a size 8 & I'm a 4) & I've never worn plus 2 shirts that aren't on my 'love' list.

What have you given away that you haven't 'loved'?

By the way, all my donations go to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast thrift store (http://www.hstc1.org/) which is a wonderful organization in our community. I've adopted 2 of my cats from them & saved 2 others from ending up there.