Saturday, December 30, 2017
A New Book To Check Out!
Yeah, I know, enough with the books! The good news is, this is a goal planning workbook, that comes with a lot of free printables, which is great considering that I mostly do ebooks now.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Taliesin West
I decided to have a little bit of fun during Winter Break, one of them is something that has been on my bucket list. And oh boy, did this ever make my bucket list.
Years ago when I was earning my bachelors degree, I took an architecture class for humanities credit (VERY interesting overview of architecture styles and learning about city and neighborhood design. One of the architects we spent a lot of time on was Frank Lloyd Wright. I had heard about him with learning about the design of Grady Gammage Theater in Tempe on the ASU campus. I’ve been there a few times to see programs, so I had been familiar with it, the design of the building, and a brief mention of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Today (December 28th) I visited Taliesin West, which was not only his home during the final years of his life, it was also a school of architecture and design, where the students created little “cabins” in the desert around the campus.
The tour this morning was made extra special with the docent, a woman who is a former art teacher to pre-school children. She was awesome and made everything fun. Even more fun, in one of the rooms was a Steinway grand piano, that I was invited by the docent to play. Very cool!
Here are a few pictures (I tried to get some without other people from the tour group in the shot):
The View
The water flowing in this pool is pumped from an underground spring!
Having views of nature brought indoors is the hallmark of Frank Lloyd Wright designs.
The Steinway, the keys flowed like butter even though it hasn’t been tuned in decades.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s bedroom. The nearest bed was for short naps, the further bed was where he slept. A window (to the left of the picture) that shows the further bed was the “Do Not Disturb” window so the students (apprentices) would know he was sleeping if they were trying to speak with him.
Another pool from the springs in between buildings.
This room is a lighting room. Lights were put in different places to teach apprentices how light affects a room.
The view of McDowell Mountains from the dining room area.
The studio and dining rooms. The rooms were changed from the front rooms due to the build up of power lines obstructing the view in the front.
The entrances of each of his buildings have Asian inspired sculptures at the entrance, a nod from him after his travels to Japan.
The theater
The Cabaret from next to the stage.
The Cabaret from the back. Yes, they did have movies shown, due to Frank Lloyd Wright’s connections with Hollywood.
Their logo is this orange design, symbolizing to hands clasped together in a working relationship and friendship.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Guess What I Found At Costco!
I’m planning on doing a no spend January (whether I can do it or not we will find out), so I figure I’ll get these now!
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Bags, Bags And More Bags
Saturday: 2 bags of donations delivered to Deseret Industries
Monday: 3 bags of trash
Tuesday: 4 bags of trash
Tomorrow: 1 bag of plastics and cans, 2 full containers of cardboard boxes, 1 box of paper to go out to recycling (Wednesdays are recycling pickup days)
There will be more trash and recycling to go.
Monday, December 25, 2017
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Saturday, December 23, 2017
A Great Way To Learn About Christmas In Denmark
I love the people of Denmark. Watch the entire series, she shows how to make the food that is used for the celebrations.
Friday, December 22, 2017
It’s Almost Christmas?
This past week has been hectic, but do-able.
Last week I had received confirmation that Mom’s bills (what didn’t get paid from Medicare and her supplemental insurance was written off. A huge blessing I am very grateful for.
That meant that last Saturday (Dec. 16) I was able to close out Mom’s accounts and get the money divided between my sister and myself. That is done.
On December 15th, my new iPad Pro (12.9 inches) was delivered, so on the 16th I picked up the keyboard and a carrying case for it. It’s gorgeous, and I’m typing this post on it right now. It types like a dream. I can’t wait to do my writing on it, once I feel like I’ve gotten to where I can write again.
This past week saw me working long hours, taking extra time at lunch to eliminate the hours. I also managed to send a package out that had been on the back burner, but is now done. Another check off my list.
Now that the Winter Break has begun, I’ve started with some laundry and dishes, tomorrow will mean more work. I have people coming in during break to set up the blinds and to replace the HVAC system and hot water heater in my home. The next on the list (once I’ve gotten my savings back up) will be flooring, as I’ve described in my previous post on goals.
I’ve even bought a ticket to see Taliesin West, which I’ve wanted to see for years. New beginnings.
Baby steps.
I still don’t feel like I’ve grieved, but now that I’m off, I think I can stop long enough to let that begin.
Well, that’s enough for now. There is going to be a lot of recycling, a lot of trash and a lot of donations over the next few weeks. I also need to get my finances ready for taxes, it will be here before I know it.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year to all of you. Please be safe.
Last week I had received confirmation that Mom’s bills (what didn’t get paid from Medicare and her supplemental insurance was written off. A huge blessing I am very grateful for.
That meant that last Saturday (Dec. 16) I was able to close out Mom’s accounts and get the money divided between my sister and myself. That is done.
On December 15th, my new iPad Pro (12.9 inches) was delivered, so on the 16th I picked up the keyboard and a carrying case for it. It’s gorgeous, and I’m typing this post on it right now. It types like a dream. I can’t wait to do my writing on it, once I feel like I’ve gotten to where I can write again.
This past week saw me working long hours, taking extra time at lunch to eliminate the hours. I also managed to send a package out that had been on the back burner, but is now done. Another check off my list.
Now that the Winter Break has begun, I’ve started with some laundry and dishes, tomorrow will mean more work. I have people coming in during break to set up the blinds and to replace the HVAC system and hot water heater in my home. The next on the list (once I’ve gotten my savings back up) will be flooring, as I’ve described in my previous post on goals.
I’ve even bought a ticket to see Taliesin West, which I’ve wanted to see for years. New beginnings.
Baby steps.
I still don’t feel like I’ve grieved, but now that I’m off, I think I can stop long enough to let that begin.
Well, that’s enough for now. There is going to be a lot of recycling, a lot of trash and a lot of donations over the next few weeks. I also need to get my finances ready for taxes, it will be here before I know it.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year to all of you. Please be safe.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Friday, December 15, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Ring In The New Goals
December 10th and I'm already thinking about my goals for 2018.
If you remember my list from last year, you'll see how much I hit and where I missed the mark, one in a good way.
A little over a year ago, in the Financial Basics Lesson 2, I wrote out some of my long term goals.
While some have been fulfilled, others haven't and some no longer exist.
I'm no longer worrying about how to take care of Mom, she is now with God.
I'm still working on getting good homes for her three remaining cats who are staying with me for the time being, however I would like to find them good, permanent homes.
I now have a bunch of stuff in storage that needs to be gone through, but I still have a house full of stuff in boxes from last year's craziness when I got hit with bed bugs (they are gone).
I've hit rock bottom emotionally, but I'm slowly working my way up.
1. I'm having blinds put into the windows. The cats have been destroying the curtains.
2. The next on the list is to get the HVAC and hot water heater replaced. I still need to make that call.
3. I need to finish the last of the probate in calling the medical people Mom owed money to. We'll see how that goes in the coming week.
4. I need new flooring in my home, but this will need to be done slowly, room by room. As one room is finished, that work will stop while I get furnishings put in there that will reduce the boxes currently in the house as well as the stuff in storage.
a. The Master Bedroom will be first, I have my bed frame and a large bookcase in storage that will need to be moved in. This will allow for books that have been in boxes around the home to be given new homes. I will need to purchased an all new mattress and box springs as those were bad and left for disposal at Mom's house.
b. The guest bedroom will be second. Once the flooring is done there, I will be able to get some Ikea furniture purchased, delivered and assembled for that room, namely bookshelves and a window bench. A bed frame and mattress will need to also be purchased and installed into the room. More books will find new homes and more of the items in storage will be brought into that room.
c. The living room, dining room and kitchen will be third. A new sectional sofa with storage will be purchased, delivered and assembled from Ikea. Some of the furniture that exists in the room will be rearranged.
d. The office will be last. This is the room that has the most clutter to it, however some of that clutter will either been gone through for donations, sales or scanned and shredded. More Ikea shelving will be purchased, along with a desk system for the closet.
Will this all get done in 2018? I have no idea. Number one will get done in 2017, I'm hoping number 2 will also be done in 2017. Number three has to be done in 2017, the deadline is December 29th to close out the probate. Number four is going to be the big question, but it will be taken slowly.
The bathrooms are not on the list as they will be gutted for new fixtures, flooring, lighting, everything.
In the meantime, because of my change in family situation, as well as financial situation, I re-visited the Budget Binder video from the beginning of 2017 to see what works for me - and what I will need to tweak for my situation. The forms available for purchase are wonderful, however I'm a Google Sheets nut and know how to create my own, so that is what I did, based upon how my mind works on this stuff.
Here is what I came up with:
Sinking Fund Balance Sheet
A few changes I made to the sheets used in the video below: The Sinking Fund Balance sheet is more of a general ledger used in accounting, and I changed it to look more like that, including a starting balance for the sinking fund. It resembles the ledgers used for checking account books.
I changed the checklists to include $$ amounts with the names of the bills/sinking funds. I don 't know about you, but I don't have memorized how much I should expect to pay each month. Plus, having these amounts written down will make the budgeting easier, rather than having to look it up every month when I write out the budget. I hope that makes sense. Also, as great as it is to have a checklist to remind myself to pay bills, I think it will be helpful for me to keep a checklist of paying my "sinking fund bills" as well.
When I filled out the Monthly bill checklist, I added in the blank space on the bottom of the printout for the annual payments for property taxes and life insurance policies.
I didn't include the Financial Goals list as the one I made is pretty much identical to the one available for purchase. The only "tweak" I made is the reminder to make your goals SMART.
Also, there will be more details about the goals and the steps I need to do to accomplish those goals on my Daily Task Schedules.
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Friday, December 8, 2017
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Monday, December 4, 2017
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
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