Lists

I am a fan of lists.  All kinds of lists. Lists of things to buy when shopping. Lists of projects for the house.  Lists of vegetables I like and want to plant and grow.  Lists of books to read. Lists of things to complete on weekends – this one is also known as the “to do” list.

I was thinking about something yesterday morning, you know, while working on my weekend “to do” list. One list I don’t have, and have never thought to have, is a “to be” list. This one, I think, is a much harder list for people to make. A list of things I want to be. I also believe that this list evolves as we do... so this is an ever changing, expanding and contracting list...

Maybe now is a good time to make that list – or to at least START that list.

·         I want to be…….. healthy

·         I want to be…….. slim

·         I want to be…….. pretty

·         I want to be…….. strong

·         I want to be…….. patient

·         I want to be…….. happy

·         I want to be…….. productive

·         I want to be…….. kind

·         I want to be…….. deliberate

·         I want to be…….. gentle

·         I want to be…….. loving

·         I want to be…….. optimistic

·         I want to be…….. creative

Here’s the thing. In order to be all of these things – to be able to put all of these things out into the world – and to make the world a better place by being all of these things, I first have to learn how to be these things to myself.

With love across the waters…

Goals Based Planning

I recently completed the two modules of Canadian Securities Institute training (Personal Financial Services Advice and Financial Planning 1) that qualifies me to apply for a Senior Account Manager position - when one becomes available in my region.  Since I am LONG finished with being mobile for work, this tightens the circle of where I might be willing to work to three branches of the bank I work for, or, if the offer was REALLY good, any of the other credit unions and / or banks within about a 20 KM radius.

While I was in the final stages of the Financial Planning (1) course, our branch's Financial Planner completed some more of her training and offered to do some goals-based planning with me.  In order to do this, I was asked to consider some financial goals I would like to obtain, and I was given a list of things to gather together so that she could review my current state and then help me put together a plan to reach my goals.

The cool thing is that I recently sat down with one of my other colleagues and he helped to put together something called a Financial Needs Assessment for me. The Financial Needs Assessment was to help me figure out if retirement at 55 was going to be responsible.  The good news is that I CAN retire at 55 on a very reduced pension, as long as my mortgage is paid off.  The bad news is that, based on my current salary and savings, if I choose to do that things will be VERY tight - even considering no mortgage payments. Something that my colleague pointed out to me (that I did not consider) was that though I could manage it, there would be no savings to do things like buy a new car or cover emergencies, should they arise. He fleshed out assessments for ages 55, 60 and 65 and at the end of the day, his recommendation was that 60 is a more responsible target if nothing changes in my financial picture.

Thankfully, my financial picture will continue to get better. The closer I get to my desired retirement date, the closer I will be to having my mortgage paid off.  Once my mortgage is paid off, everything I have been laying into my mortgage can then go into savings - the savings that will be needed to fund the emergency account and the new car fund.

Anyhow, back to the offer of Goals Based Planning made by my Financial Planner. I've managed to collect almost everything together that she needs - I'm still waiting on one document (which is probably in my mailbox right now, to be honest) but what I haven't actually done is put together my list of goals.  Retirement is obviously one of them, a new car and an emergency fund also need to be on the list.  The homework now will actually be figuring out what I will need for a new car and what would constitute (for me) a comfortable emergency fund.  

The primary consideration should always be having that emergency account set up and funded. The standard recommendation is that a person should always have 3 to 6 months' worth of income laid aside in case anything should happen to interrupt the income stream (loss of employment or an injury making it impossible to work, for example) Generally speaking, what people need to determine is what that number should look like.  I guess to be safe I should look at having 6 months' worth of (after tax) income set aside to cover expenses and so forth.  So I guess that creates goal number 1 for me: 6 months' worth of after tax income in an emergency fund account. That means somewhere between 10 and 15 thousand dollars.

The second goal will be to buy a new car.  My car is currently 8 years old - and though it runs like a top and I am maintaining it as required, I can probably count on having to replace it in the next 5 to 7 years.  I'll hold out as long as I possibly can, of course, but realistically speaking, I am going to have to replace it some day and if I can plan to have enough money set aside in 5-7 years to pay for a new car, then I'll be ahead of the game when it needs to be done. I did a little research on line and the average price of a NEW car (off the lot) this year was a little over 25 thousand.

Considering that I am currently only able to put aside just enough money to cover my annual insurance and property tax monies, well, coming up with 35-50 thousand dollars is a very scary thing.

Or is it?

If I look at the full 40 thousand, and I look at a 7 year time-frame I'm looking at about $275 a pay. That amount doesn't take into account any income or growth.  If I were to look at a conservative to a very conservative approach,  and considered a 6% growth per year that would actually make my bi-weekly contributions look a little more like $160 per pay.

I have found that breaking things into much smaller pieces makes them a lot less daunting.

Now, for the good stuff... with the recent completion of those courses, and the fact that I now can qualify for a promotion - when one comes in I can count on an incremental raise of between 3 and 7 thousand dollars a year - yes, before taxes, but after taxes, that could mean anywhere between ninety and two hundred dollars more per pay cheque - and BINGO - there is my savings requirements met!

OK, I should probably get off the computer and get things ready for my week ahead!

With love across the waters...

Getting Ready for 2014

Well, another new year is upon us - it will be here in a matter of just days now!  In anticipation of 2014 and all it will bring, I'm spending a little time looking back at 2013 to see what I will try and do, and to do differently, in the new year ahead.

As always, I will strive to be more patient and more giving.  I think the thing I regret most in 2013 was treating people I love with less patience than I should have. Once something is done it is too late to take it back.  Patience and tolerance are things I think I will always be working on within myself.  I think this year I will also try to be more patient with and tolerant of myself.  Other people give me the benefit of their patience and tolerance - so why should I treat myself with anything less? 

I wonder: What kind of place would this world be, if we learned how to treat ourselves well, and then strove to treat others with that same amount of love and respect?

I am working to change things - how I do things, how I see things... about myself and about other people.  I will try to love myself more - and to love myself for who I am and not for who I think I should be.  I will continue to set goals for myself - physical, emotional, financial and spiritual. I would like to take a course or perhaps attend some sort of seminar... I'm just not sure what at this point.  Practically speaking, I should look at taking something that will allow me to work on my home - maybe some sort of course on wiring or construction... I'm just not certain what at this time.  The beauty of today is that I have a whole year to plan for. A whole year of days to look forward to.

I cried less, and laughed more in 2013.  That is a good thing.  I want to laugh even more in 2014. I want to feel a small gem of joy every day.  I want to look forward not only to the big days, but to the small ones as well.  

It is time.  Time to pull out the red pen and the good paper.  Time to write out my intentions for 2014.

With love across the waters...

Waking Up The Springtime Yard

I have spent a few hours of my Sunday/Monday weekend outside working on my back yard.  Yesterday’s outside time started with a post-snow gleaning of all of the dog poop that accumulated while snow was on the ground for a couple of months.  I did get out there while the snow was thick and heavy on the ground and do a gleaning at that point, but yesterday saw the very last of the back-yard snow gone and, with a warmish day in the works; I thought I should take advantage of the lack of rain and get out there and, well, glean.

 

That done, I spent a lovely hour outside working on pruning some of my shrubbery and the apple tree.  There’s a pile in the middle of my back yard awaiting removal now. I also, however, discovered that my wheelbarrow’s tire is flat as a pancake and that there isn’t an inner-tube – which means I either need to learn how to re-inflate a tire that doesn’t have an inner tube (I researched online and it looks too complicated) OR I need to acquire a wheelbarrow tire inner tube (MUCH less complicated and most likely my plan of attack) some time this coming week.

 

I need my wheelbarrow, you see, to help when I am removing pruning cuttings and also when cleaning up the winter debris and mulch I put down.  My compost bin is about to get a lovely rotting down leaves!

 

Once I had raked and composted the grass and leaves left over from fall, I moved my herb pots back to their space along the side fence and hauled out my bistro set – maybe a little early for it at this point, but it feels good to have it out and welcoming for the first dry day of sunshine I am home and can have a coffee outside!  I left the BBQ put away - but I suspect it too will be coming out very soon!

 

Next up on my list was to untangle my clematis from the temporary trellis-y thing I had it on last year and to affix it to the trellis-y screen that is currently (theoretically) hiding my oil tank from view in the back yard. Quick note to self, clematis is a MASSIVE pain in the bottom to be untangling and re-hanging – so never again plan to do something like that! The screen it is now affixed to is one it can stay on for years to come – or until I get rid of the oil tank for good and claim that space for addition to the house – whichever comes first.

 

I also started the work to set up where my 2013 vegetable garden will reside.  I have laid out the patio squares in between the legs of the arbour that will be acting as my gate into the garden (incidentally, it will also be what I grow my beans up over as it is the perfect height and size for me to grow green beans on) and then last of all I removed some weed suppressing cloth that the previous owner had put down under gravel along that area.  I will have a HUGE job ahead of me where screening out all of the gravel is concerned – there are stones and so forth all over the place in the area I plan to start my garden in, but this is something I can definitely do in stages.  I’m not entirely certain WHAT to do with all of that gravel when I screen it all out – maybe use it to augment Navijack when I am looking to sink fence posts and pour concrete?

 

I also found more new and interesting “crap” during my labours – a very old style pitchfork head, some spike things that I am sure are for gardening (but will have to ask my mum about) and another shovel head. I also harvested some sunchokes from the patch that grows along the back fence - I'm going to try experimenting with them this week.  I can't think if I have ever had them before and I know I have never cooked with them, so this should be interesting!

 

All done, I am soaking some dishes now and have a cup of tea steeped and ready for drinking.  Time to put together a list of supplies I will need for my next stages of the spring garden project.  Metal posts, some wire for fencing, a heavy duty screen for getting gravel out of the soil, an inner tube for my wheelbarrow’s tire, and a new hose to name a few…. I wonder if I can locate any of these things using freecycle?

 

With love across the waters,

Real Success

Real success and fulfillment comes from helping someone else achieve their goals.

          ~John Stanton: Founder of the Running Room.

 

It was in one of my Running Room courses that I first learned about SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Time framed) goals. This morning on FaceBook I read the quote above and once again have something to mentally chew on.

 

I can name a multitude of people who have made it possible for me to make more than a few of my goals into realities.  Without my family and my friends I would be in a completely different life.  My family and friends have given me the strength, support, push, and yes, when I needed it, the real kick in the pants that I needed to take the things that were just thoughts and wishes ,and make those things into my current (and future) realities.

 

When I was in Ontario and I first started running I actually didn’t tell anyone back home what I was up to – I didn’t want to tell people what my dream was - just in case I failed. I had a big fear of failure back then, and a big fear of disappointing other people.

 

Don’t get me wrong – I still fear failure and am still avoiding disappointing others like the plague – I’ve just realized over the years that the biggest thing I can do to the people around me to make them disappointed in me is to not be myself and to not trust them to support me in my endeavours. Even when I “fail.”

 

So what am I up to now? Well, I’m trying to live more fit – get more exercise and gradually improve my endurance and over-all quality of life.  This isn’t a small goal for me – this is a big one because it involves learning to feed myself properly, and it also involves follow-through.  It also involves getting out there and exercising and trying to increase and improve things by just a little bit, but every single day.

Healthy-fit isn’t all I am trying to improve upon.  I am also trying to live more financially fit – make more intelligent shopping choices.  Ensure that there is no waste when it comes to groceries. Grow food for my own consumption.

 

This year, 2013, promises to be one filled with challenges – but the challenges I am looking forward to aren’t overly scary ones – they are goals I am excited to face – and ones that I will be thrilled to overcome!

I am also looking forward to maybe being able to help someone else achieve their own goals. Remember: what goes around comes back around threefold – good or bad.

 

Here’s to a GREAT 2013!

 

With love across the waters,

Actually Yes, I Can!

People are notoriously hard on themselves. We constantly tell ourselves that we cannot do things.  We believe we are not capable of doing something because we aren’t skilled enough, smart enough, rich enough, strong enough, capable enough – well, you know, this list of “why not” goes on and on and on.

 

We are so good at stopping ourselves from doing things for fear of failure that we forget that, without trying to do something new, something harder than we have tried before, something that could lay us open to ridicule and contempt, we miss out on the opportunities that could MAKE us stronger, smarter, more capable, more skilled, richer, happier and more fulfilled.

 

OH – and we make excuses (lots of them) for why we don’t have the time to try.

 

So how do we change things? I don’t have the answers for this one for anyone other than myself, but I’ll tell you my internal scripts that help me not only take those first steps, but also the ones that help me move through the fear of failure.

 

The first one (and for me the most dangerous) is this: “How hard can it possibly be?”

 

How hard can it possibly be got me into running - which I ended up loving in spite of myself - and miss terribly. It got me into riding a bicycle again after nearly twenty years.  Again – something I love. It got me into trying to do things in my home – things like pulling off drywall, pulling out carpeting and has started me learning how to refinish old things.

 

Yeah – this is the one that seems to get me into the most trouble.  But honestly, once I’m in it, it is also the one that keeps me going and helps me get to my second script – which is “I can do *anything* for 5 minutes.”

 

It’s true. I can to anything for 5 minutes – and I started using this script when I was learning to love running. I was miserable and cold and in pain and couldn’t see how I could ever possibly love running – EVER.  Runner’s high was a delusion.  Running outside in Toronto at -30*C was insane.  That was it – runners has to be crazy – I’d see them out in the snow and rain and wind and they seemed to be enjoying themselves – that IS crazy, isn’t it?  What got me through was me telling myself, with every single step, that I am totally capable of doing absolutely ANYTHING for 5 minutes – its only F I V E little minutes!

 

And it worked.

 

The thing I am struggling with right now is RE-STARTING good habits. I have back-slid with diet and exercise – I’m feeling sluggish and although my mental state of being is great right now, my physical one is not where I want it to be.  I need to set myself some SMART goals, write out those intentions in red pen, focus on positive outcomes and ask myself: “How hard can it possibly be? I can, after all, do anything for five minutes!”

 

With love across the waters,

An Addendum to Letting Go

Things are moving forward in a positive way… tonight I finally sold the portable air conditioning unit I have been trying to sell since I moved into my house. I’ll probably regret it at some point, but the sale of the AC unit allowed me to pay back some monies owed and thereby cross someone off of my “list” of items that I wrote out the other night…

Progress!

With love across the waters,

Thoughts on Wallpaper and Earthquakes

18

That’s the total number of different types of wallpaper found in my house – so far.  I may find more, but at this point, I think this is “it.”

The reason I’m telling you about paper number 18 is that it’s a really interesting find. 

Last weekend we were being treated to the penultimate winter weather on Vancouver Island – rain, wind, heavy black clouds and wind all rolled into one glorious day (also known as a hoolie) to spend inside.  I elected to (finally) climb into my attic space and check out the box of Christmas Ornaments that had been left behind.

Out to the shed, I collected the ladder and then inside I prepared to go up into the attic. 

Flashlight in hand, I climbed the steps and pushed the hatch open.  I pulled the box out and laid it on the floor below.  There is some interesting stuff – a couple of tall stand-up Santa Clauses, some flocked and glitter-encrusted plastic holly/cedar boughs and some bells.  Nothing antique though - ah well.  I had a look around and lo and behold… I found the hatch into the upper attic – the TRUE attic space to my house.  I pushed that open and climbed up further.

I didn’t find anything particularly interesting except for a HUGE unused space that, some day, I can convert to living space.  I did also note, however, that there really isn’t any insulation to speak of up there (there was some of that blow in fill between the rafters) and I have lined up an immediate project for myself as well as a long term one (in the conversion of that space into living area.)

On my way back out of the upper attic, however, I *did* discover something VERY interesting. 

Or rather, a FEW very interesting things. 

The walls between the bedrooms and the main living space of the main section of the house are very rough cut 2” by 8” planks – and I would estimate them to be 12’ long. Between the rooms there are two layers of them – so the original walls are VERY sturdy wood that’s not actually framed the way we would see in a conventionally framed house.  I suspect that they were nailed firmly to the rafters when the rooms were added.

I suspect this is why, after 115-some-odd years’ worth of earthquakes, my house is still standing.  I learned that there have been 7 major ones in the last 100 years - including one that measured 7.3 on the Richter scale right here in Cumberland (the epicentre was Forbidden Plateau) in June of 1946 that was so strong that it knocked down chimneys – here’s a short write-up that has been respectfully taken from the Earthquakes Canada website:

“Vancouver Island’s largest historic earthquake (and Canada’s largest historic onshore earthquake.) The epicentre was in the Forbidden Plateau area of central Vancouver Island, just to the west of the communities of Courtenay and Campbell River. This earthquake caused considerable damage on Vancouver Island and was felt as far away as Portland, Oregon, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The earthquake knocked down 75% of the chimneys in the closest communities, Cumberland, Union Bay, and Courtenay, and did considerable damage in Comox, Port Alberni, and Powell River (on the eastern side of Georgia Strait). A number of chimneys were shaken down in Victoria and people in Victoria and Vancouver were frightened, many running into the streets. Two deaths resulted from this earthquake, one due to drowning when a small boat capsized in an earthquake-generated wave, and the other from a heart attack in

Seattle. “

So at the very least, I know my house is built to last!

Anyhow, something else I discovered then I was up crawling around in my attic (and sub-attic space) was Wallpaper Number 18.  This find was a dilly!  The wallpaper itself is probably the least obnoxious I have found and is also the most historically significant one.  This is the ORIGINAL wallpaper put up in the house.  How do I know this? Its cloth backed paper (yes, paper stuck on linen cloth) that had been tacked directly to the rough-cut planks of wood that made up the original walls!  The paper is so brittle (100 years later) that I will have to remove it VERY carefully in order to take a sample… Hopefully I'll be able to provide you with a peek in the next week or two.

With love across the waters,

A Big Thing Off The List

Big day in my house today!  Today is Wood Stove Installation Day. A power outage on a very cold day in October (I think it was October) made it patently clear that my house is in desperate need of a secondary heat source.  The power went out at around 10:30 in the morning and didn’t come back on until nearly 6 PM and though the day wasn’t below zero outside, it had been snowing and was pretty chilly.  When I got home from work that afternoon, the inside of the house was roughly 10*C and it was dark, damp and cold.

It was at that point that I determined that a wood stove was a necessity.  Last month when my oil tank was “topped up” and I found that the tank needed 500 litres of oil and the bill for THAT came to almost $700, well, the wood stove became a DESPERATE necessity! Long-term plans involve changing my oil furnace into an electric furnace – but it will, when all in said and done, be my secondary heat source.  The house is not properly insulated (more on that later) and wood as a heat source is MUCH cheaper (and better for the environment.)

And really, there’s nothing quite like sitting curled up in front of a wood stove, watching the flames and soaking in that lovely drowsy heat and, well, just BEING.

Today is the big day – the stove and pipes and blower will be installed. In preparation, my task (completed yesterday) was to dismantle the electric fireplace and take apart the mantle.  Not a difficult chore – all I really had to do was break some glue seals and pull it all apart.  The fire screen, wood from the mantle and the heater itself are all out shoved into my mud room – I’ll move it all to the shed in a little wile – once the team is actually here and my wood stove is on its way to being installed.  It's almost 1PM now, though, and I'm starting to be concerned the job might not get finished today...

Anyhow, just so you can see where I am progress-wise, here are some pictures for you.

Before - this was taken just after I signed the paper-work to buy the house – the furniture shown isn’t mine:

"Before" - complete with fireplace screen and electric heater in place.

This is “disassembled” and waiting for the wood stove:

A blank slate to work with.

I added the towel about a month ago when I pulled off the mirror
the hole was just open and leaching out all of my heat!

These brick outcroppings are interesting - the brick to hold up original mantles!

And hey – look what else I discovered while I was taking it apart – yes, painted leaves on the hearth – they had been covered by the brick that was holding the mantle up – with the new set-up, they will be totally visible!

Hand-painted leaves!

With love across the waters,

New Year’s Resolutions? Nope, Not So Much…

I try not to make resolutions at New Years - there seemed (for me, anyhow) to be a big push to accomplish something, which then became a little push and then the resolution was placed, neatly, back on the personal shelf... For many years now, I have been trying to set SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time Oriented) goals for myself... and I usually try to set them to paper around my own "personal new year" - my birthday – which is in a little over a month’s time. 

It ends up looking more like a “To Do” list, but that’s OK - I work better with lists (that I write out) anyhow. This year the list starts with things that will continue to make my home a place of safety, comfort and usefulness. The installation of a new front door, the installation of a wood stove, making the back and front yards into productive garden space (where the deer and bears will allow) growing (and then freezing, drying and canning) my own foods. I need to learn how to actually can foods, but that will be part of the process.

I have a new notebook/diary set aside for this.  I have a red pen ready to start writing.  I have a day off in front of me and I have coffee ready to drink.  What a great way to look at my year ahead – setting my goals. Writing them down. Reviewing what is left from last year - modifying those ones as needed and adding them to this year’s list.  Dates for completion are subject to change – it all depends on the supporting factors like time and money. And weather, and season, and availability of teachers.

As I have mentioned a number of times, I love lists, and one of the things I am planning to do today (a day off) is to start drafting up my 2012 "to do" list. That’s the great thing about having a whole year to work through the tasks (or change them or remove them and add new ones, as the work progresses) there’s a whole year ahead.  

A whole year – one of potential and possibility – stretched out ahead of us.

I know a lot of people had a rough year in 2011.  Parts of it were unpleasant for me too, I’m sure. The thing is, though, that in looking backwards at this year that just finished, the spots that are standing out for me are all good things. In May I welcomed a new Sister to my family.  In July my Nephew joined us. September saw me starting a new full time job, learning new skills for work and taking possession of a new home.  October saw me hit the 20-year mark at my place of employment and December saw my Nephew’s first Christmas – spent with two of his living Great-Grandparents.

So as I wrap up my own personal thoughts on the year just finished I am reminded, once again, of how much I have in my life to be thankful for, and just how blessed I truly am.

I look ahead to 2012 with happy anticipation.

With love across the waters,

Progress...

Well, progress is coming along nicely!  Monday saw two of the subjects crossed off the list (title search and property disclosure statement) those two things in hand, the financing was submitted and then approved on Tuesday.

After hugging my mortgage representative (yes, he was in the office and yes, I hugged him) and doing a happy dance, I let my real estate agent know that we are good to go ahead with the inspection - which is booked for tomorrow morning.  Work is letting me leave around 11:00 AM to go complete the walk-through with the home inspector and, provided all is good to go, I'll call the insurance company when I get back to the office to discuss insurance.  That will be the final bits done and the purchase finalized.

I'm trying hard to be very positive that the inspection will be fine.  There really is no point in worrying about what *might* be found.

I'm reminding myself, daily, what my Grannie always told me: "If its for ye, it'll, no pass ye by."

In "other" news, I got to spend a great four hours with my gorgeous nephew today.  We cuddled, we bounced, I sang to him (yep, I actually sang, out loud, where my brother AND his wife might hear me) and he slept like the little angel he is.

All in all, this has been the best summer of my life - and it just keeps getting better!

With love across the waters,

My Head is Spinning!

I’m buying a house!

Yes, this is happening fast – the updated listing hit the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) yesterday with a lowered price – one that meets what I can actually afford – and I took the chance to speak with my mortgage rep (Dave Robertson with RBC Courtenay) – who went way above and beyond for me on this one!

I spent about 2 hours in the office with him yesterday, crunching numbers and making phone calls. He was also kind enough to refer me to an incredible and dynamic real estate agent (Cindy Armstrong with Remax in Courtenay BC) who stepped right in and has been working hard to help make this dream a reality!

Last night I went to look at the house and, through Cindy (my real estate agent) made an offer.  Today the offer was accepted and, due to the fact it is part of an estate sale, the completion and close dates are, well SOON!  Six weeks away, as a matter of fact! That is, of course, subject to financing, home inspection, title search and the property disclosure statement. But still - the biggest hurdles have been climbed over!

So what happened that kicked things into high gear here? Feng Shui firmly in mind, last week I *finally* wrote out some of my intentions, using a red pen.  Once written out, I pinned them to my cork-board in the home office. 

I guess that once I took the time to write them out, the universe decided that I was serious and it was time to give me some of what I have been asking for.

And truly, with this change, two of the four things on my list will be accomplished within the next 6 weeks.  One further item on the list will be completed within the next 4 to 6 months and the last item on this initial list becomes actually viable!

So having made the offer last night, I emailed Terri at Fine Art of Intention Feng Shui and told her that I will, quite soon, have another house for her to work through with me – I sure hope she’s willing to drive out to Cumberland to help me with this!!!

Ok.  I need to sit down and start a list.  I have a LOT to accomplish in the next 6 weeks!!

With love across the waters,

July Feng Shui Update – Progress to Report!

Finally – I have some concrete progress to report!!  As you know, the primary and most pressing of my goals, was to have a permanent full-time job which is followed closely in importance by a relationship and then owning a home of my own.  For a few months now I have been actively applying for jobs, both internally and externally. Most recently, I expanded my search to other industries and possibilities and I’m pleased to be able to share that this past week (Thursday, to be exact) I was finally offered (and accepted) a full-time position!

Woo hoo!

I’m staying with the company I’m currently employed by – so I won’t have to learn a new corporate culture – and it is even in the same city AND branch I’m already in – so I don’t have to try and consider moving just now either!

The job is a hybrid to my industry – it’s a split role between a client service representative (bank teller) and an account manager, and is exciting to me for a few reasons.  I will get to take clients from the point where I spot a need to actually being able to complete the process for them and fulfill those needs! Yes, I will have sales targets - which, I admit, does make me nervous.

My start date will be September 27^th but before that rolls around I need to take (and pass) the Investment Funds in Canada (also known as IFIC or IFC) course and obtain my Canadian Mutual Funds License. 

But no pressure.

I have already ordered the course materials & registered for an August 30^th sitting of the exam, and if that doesn’t pan out well, there is a second sitting on September 27^th that I can attend. One of the ladies I work with has loaned me her books to tide me through until my materials arrive, hopefully early this coming week.  Yesterday I completed chapter 1 and today I will complete chapter 2.  My plan is to complete at least a full section each week (usually 3 chapters) and spend the final two weeks before the exam sitting really pushing the materials into my head so that I can make that 70% passing mark.

Funnily enough, all of this came to a head shortly after I really started to figure out exactly what my real intentions are.  I started this process by making notes on my iPod notepad so that, once I had a more complete list of my requirements I could write them all out by hand.  When I go back over the “Job” list I made, I can see I have a few points I should have fine-tuned a little bit more - but I can always write it all out and fine-tune it anyhow… just to ensure that things continue as they started for me.

I also ran into Terri from Fine Art of Intention Feng Shui the day after I was offered the job and told her my news.  Evidently she has had some great news herself recently and will be re-vamping her whole home consultation process and has asked if I would be willing to be a case study for her (of COURSE I said yes right away!) and am looking forward to seeing how this new process works and what sorts of changes around the house I may still need to make… but for now, I should fold some laundry and finish working on chapter 2.

With love across the waters,

The Road to Hell, or to Happiness…?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions… Hm. But you know what, it could also be said that the road to happiness is paved with good intentions. So what’s the difference? Hell had no follow through, whereas happiness had action? Can it really be THAT simple?

Yup. It sure can.

Intention without action is kind of like vanilla ice cream. Nice, but better with something hot. Or sweet. Or chocolate. Intention WITH action is like having chocolate lava cake with strawberries and vanilla ice cream – the full experience.

Part of the challenge that most people (including myself) have, though, is trying to figure out which action to take. Which action is appropriate and which one isn’t. This is where it’s all about the options in front of you. Some questions you can ask yourself here are:

• What options do I have?
• What else could I do?
• What if I had some…? (this would be the money, time, power etc spot)
• Do I need suggestions?
• What are the benefits and costs of each of my options?
• Who can help me, and how?

Usually at the point where I am asking myself all of these questions, I’m all worn out, and a glass of wine and conversation with one of my friends or family members will help me let go of the emotional attachment to the challenge and maybe also point out something I didn’t think of already. Remember - new people offer different perspectives & ideas.

So what do you want? This is your intention. This is your goal. Make a list – this is always fun. I’m going to start making my long list tonight. I know what my short list looks like, but there are also a lot of other things I could do, see, feel, experience, and try to obtain, that I don’t have listed anywhere.

Now that you have your list, how are you going to go about getting (seeing, being, doing, experiencing and so on) the things on your list? Are you being creative? If this thing you want is something you have wanted for a while, are you trying different things, different angles? Or are you doing the same thing, over and over? Share your list with someone. It never hurts to let someone else see what you are striving for.

This week I challenge you to set your intentions. Make a list and take some action.

With love across the waters,