Thursday, March 23, 2023

OMG! I had written a super long post and just lost it by inadvertently clicking on a stupid link on the OH page! I'm not sure I can fully resurrect it at this point, but here is the gist:

There was a lot to absorb and chew on in yesterday's thread. Are we living the life we should to achieve a healthy future? Have we put the proper supports in place to allow for that future? Do we need to have a plan so we don't feel untethered?

I felt like we did a fair amount of preparing for the future when we executed a post-nuptial agreement and updated wills, POAs, etc. But we need that book of accounts. And we should make sure the kids know where to find it. I did feel that I was most energized in life when I had a future goal I was moving towards: getting a degree, having a child, getting WLS. I don't feel like there is one there now other than trying to stay healthy as long as possible but I'm not sure I am doing much about that. Mike personally needs to have at least a short-term plan for every day and the immediate year. When he was younger his whole life was executing a plan which got disrupted when he divorced 18 years ago. So now every day he has a plan for the day. I actually like it especially since he is totally willing to revise it as needed. It does seem like there is a lot to improve on when one ponders those questions.

Anyway for today the plan is a Justice walk, the beach and grilled chicken with salad for dinner. I am relieved that we rescheduled the snorkeling we were originally doing today after we received an email suggesting that only strong swimmers should go because of the strong winds. I am not a strong swimmer which is part of why I have anxiety about snorkeling in deep, choppy water. There is no way I could have done it today and I was worrying about it all day at the beach yesterday with the winds and the rough water there.

Off to get changed (and press submit before I lose this again). Have a thoughtful Thursday!

Another Friday on the horizon, the days are long, but the weeks fly by. I double checked my pension estimator, and no I can't retire this year if I have any financial sense. Our new superintendent gives lip service to appreciating teachers, but his actions tell quite a different story. I've listened to several of the school board budget meetings, and he can be very condescending. I'm making a plan for next year. I'm resigning from being department chair because I can see the potential for a bunch of tasks to be moved to the chair. I am going to move towards my own work to rule, no more staying late, except of course for D&D group. Although I could see the whole union going to work to rule, because we will start negotiating a new contract this summer. I don't anticipate it going smoothly. Having a plan makes me feel calm.

So to start practicing, I left today at 3:15, which is when my duty day ends. We got to Planet Fitness before it was crowded, and had a decent workout. This moderate work out I do is paying dividends I sleep better, and I can walk faster and farther. Remind me of this when I fall off the exercise wagon and don't want to get back on. :)

You should be stepping back from extra work at this point in your career especially with a superintendent bound to try and take advantage of people. At least you know you will be ready to retire when it comes. People kept asking me when I first left if I missed work. I had a last couple of years when I wasn't enjoying a lot of responsibilities but especially in the last year when I was constantly defending my group's work and having to lay-off a few people due to budget cuts. I did not miss work though I missed many of the people I worked with.

Greetings all

Plans plans gotta have plans. While I have enjoyed being plan-less for awhile, methinks I need to create at least some small ones. Like eat a little more protein and walk some. Seems pretty simple but why the heck can't I get it done?

Went to the accountant today for a gallery tax issue and I am confident she can fix this. I will probably give up doing these tax returns in the future. Too much to do.

DH went to a Thai restaurant today for lunch with the boys. Brought home pad thai which I love. So no cooking tonight.

DD your plan sounds like a good one. Go home when you reach the official end of the day. Resign the dept chair next year. Someone else's turn. I think I mentioned to you all the book "Your Money or Your Life" which is about how to find ways to retire early. I followed their plan to retire early and it worked though I underestimated the cost of health insurance but made more than I expected selling art. It took me a year to fully implement everything but it worked. That was my Plan for that year. Anyway go for it.

So the minnesota eagles are on hatch watch now for their one egg. Redding eagle hatch watch starts tomorrow. One egg. Fun.

So somehow I have frittered away the day sorting papers and making copies. But I love that it's mine to fritter.

Liz you are wise to skip snorkeling if it's rough. No thanks.

DH made a costco run after his lunch today. We now have enough saltine crackers to year 2025.

It's raining today. Enough please.

Started the new season of Ted Lasso last night. It's fun like the first two.

Cheers Diane S

We shall be cheering for the Eagles too! I hate paying for Apple TV. I had a free subscription when I watched Ted Lasso previously and hate starting up. I may wait until the entire season is available...

How is it already 11pm?! 8 hours spent gathering, sorting, and scanning 72 pages of tax stuff takes a chunk out of the day. The other chunk went towards trying to find someone to do leak detection. I have a leak somewhere, I know not where. But in the last three months (my water bill is quarterly) I went through 163,000 gallons of water. Holy hell. A family of 4 averages 5000 gallons a month. And I'm militant about not wasting water. I fear it's the pool. Or the irrigation lines. Nothing about this house is easy... One would think I'd see a puddle or something with that much water leaking. Sigh.

Hopefully I can talk to someone tomorrow who can help. Messages left for plumbers, but no response yet.

I managed not to eat terribly through the stress of the day.

The weather remains nuts. Today saw temps no higher than the 40s, rain, snow, sun on rinse and repeat. People say the last time it was like this was 1993. Which was a bad year for CA weather too if I recall.

That is a LOT of water! I bet some plumbers might be afraid of how much effort it may take to find it.

But hopefully your tax stuff is done?

CC ask your realtor friend about leak detector. When I first moved here I called mine a number of times to find reputable service people. Realtors know this stuff. GL on leak. We once had a high use and it turns out a faucet out in the far end of the yard was on. Who knew? ds

Good idea! You'd think losing 55,000 gallons a month I'd have a puddle or something.

Indeed. And when we had the puppies we got a call from the water district office telling us our usage was way up. I told him we had five puppies and therefore flushed the toilet about 20 extra times per day! He laughed and said "yeah that will do it". ds