Friday - Anime Expo Day 2

Today's costume was based on the theme of a Japanese maid (as in housemaid).  According to my daughter, a Japanese maid costume was supposed to be more "innocent" and "cute" than a French maid costume, which is supposed to be more sexy!  Indeed!  I am all for innocent and cute!  LOL.

In Costume

According to my daughter, a Japanese maid "cosplay" (i.e. costume play) costume, if purchased, could easily cost upwards of $20, although its dress would likely have a full, gathered skirt and puff sleeves.  Daughter's version is a more casual take on the costume and much less expensive!

Her dress cost $5.99 and she actually bought it to wear as a regular dress, as she had bought a similar dress (but in a patterned fabric) earlier and loved the style.  The idea of wearing it as a Japanese maid costume occurred to her only afterwards.

But she needed a frilly apron to go with it (the apron I had made for her 4 years ago, for another costume, wasn't quite what she wanted, and that apron was a bit too small for her now).  I sewed the apron from leftover fabric in my stash, so the apron didn't cost anything other than time and the electricity to run the sewing machine and for ironing.

Apron Front

Apron Back

Her cat ears are what she already had as she bought them several years ago during a visit to Disneyland (they are the ears of Marie, the little white kitten in Aristocats).  I don't remember how much she paid for them, I think about $6.00?   She was in high school at the time and she went as a guest of her friend, whose father worked at Disneyland.  But they weren't bought specifically for today's costume.

Even the wig was something she had bought for $6.00, earlier in the year - she bought it for cosplay, but without a specific costume in mind.  As she mentioned on our drive to downtown, this morning, she now has a Halloween costume, as well (she'll just wear leggings and a long sleeved turtleneck with the dress, for warmth).

Once again, she went downtown with me, in the morning, and she went on her way to the hotel to stand in line for the shuttle and I took my regular shuttle to my office.  She made two bagel sandwiches to take with her, just as she did, yesterday, for her breakfast and lunch, along with a refillable bottle of water.  It was already in the mid 80sF when we left the house, this morning, and the forecast called for 100+F temperatures later in the day.  The organizers of AX had sent a text alerting everyone to take the weather into consideration when it comes to costumes and to stay hydrated.  Daughter said the convention center was air conditioned, but one has to be outside, at times, as well, especially if one wants to go to one of the food trucks to buy food (there is a cafeteria inside the convention center, as well, though). 

I had a good day at the office.  I worked on my projects and updated my supervisor as to the status of my projects.  Then, I requested a day of vacation on Monday, since that's when my daughter leaves and I need to take her to the airport in the afternoon.  I took a ham sandwich, a container of yogurt, some granola-type cereal, and grapes for my breakfast, lunch, snacks.  When I came home, I had a cup of tea, followed by a piece of the chicken drumsticks my daughter had cooked on Wednesday.  Then, I gave into temptation and had a piece of red velvet cake that I had frozen! 

I received the authorization for the endoscopy and colonoscopy in the mail, today.  I will be calling the doctor's office, on Monday, to schedule it.

Friend M came over to do the garden - I asked him to mow the back garden.  I have the sprinklers on, right now, to water the garden.  The heat withered almost all of my four-o-clock (mirabilis) plants! 

Wilted Four-O-Clocks

I think it is time to pull them out, don't you:

Practically Dead!

I have the sprinklers running in the back garden; I will water the front, tomorrow.

I also did a load of laundry (the sheets I use as dust covers for the family room sofas and the towels I use on the sofa arms).  Tomorrow, I will switch out the covers and wash the ones I have on the sofas, now.

And I called friend R to check on her, as I know she doesn't like the heat.  She said their electricity went off three times, this evening!  Fortunately, it is back again and she is able to have her fan on (she has an air conditioner, but she puts it on only if she really needs to because of the expense).  She said she will probably spend the day at the mall tomorrow, because it is air conditioned.  The city has about 150 cooling centers (libraries, recreation centers, senior citizen centers, etc.) open during heat waves, for people to stay in, as well.  The nearest cooling center for me would be the local library; I'll keep that in mind when I am home, during the summer.

It is 9:00 p.m., now.  I am waiting for daughter to call to let me know when she's leaving the convention center; she will take the shuttle to the hotel and wait inside the lobby until I get there.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Air conditioning in the office and at the convention center!
- Electricity to run the fans and operate the lights and appliances
- Water for the garden
- Friend M tending to the garden for me
- Daughter having fun at Anime Expo

How was your Friday?  What have you planned for tomorrow?  Are you having a heatwave, too?

Thursday: Anime Expo Day 1

Holding her prop: Tsunomon

Daughter went dressed as a character from the series called Digimon (short for Digital Monster).  Her Digimon is named Tsunomon and she made it out of a paper lantern covered with felt.  She said several people admired her prop and asked to take pictures!  Apparently, being asked to pose for pictures in ones costume is one of the highest compliments one can get!  The character she's dressed as wears blue jeans and a green sleeveless turtleneck and brown work gloves.  She couldn't find brown work gloves, so bought white ones and painted them!  She couldn't find a green sleeveless turtle neck, either, so bought a green t-shirt and cut off the sleeves; then, we pinned one of the sleeves to the neckline to make the turtleneck. 

Daughter wanted to be downtown as early as possible, so we were up at 6:00 a.m. and we got to downtown by 8:00 a.m.  There is a hotel down the block and across the street from where I park the car where a shuttle provides free rides to people to and from the convention center where the exposition is being held.  I directed daughter to the hotel to wait for her shuttle and took my shuttle bus to the office.

I had a productive day at the office.  Today was my 35th anniversary, working there!  It is a mile stone I have been wanting to achieve and now, I have achieved it! 

After work, I texted daughter to let her know that I was leaving the office and I came home (she was going to stay until later in the evening).  I felt a little tired, so I rested and ate an early dinner.  Then, I sewed a tail for another of daughter's costumes! 

Daughter called me a little after 9:00 p.m. to say she was leaving the convention center to take the shuttle back to the hotel and I left to pick her up from the hotel.  There was road construction on the freeway and 3 lanes of the freeway were closed.  As a result, there was quite a bit of congestion and I didn't get to the hotel until almost 10:00 p.m.  By the time I picked daughter up and we came home, it was 11:00 p.m.  Daughter had a lovely day, she said; she had participated in some dance work shops, done some shopping, and had made a new friend - a girl from Boston who was attending the Anime Expo for the first time.  She was also very tired, so she headed off to bed after she showed me what she bought, performed a dance she had learned, and shared a slice of her pizza that she bought for her dinner!  We will be making another early start, tomorrow, too!

Today was a warm day, with a high of 97F.  Tomorrow will be hotter, with a high of 113F.  Summer is here! I turned on the ceiling fan in the family room for the first time, this summer.  But, it is supposed to cool down to the low 90s by the end of next week, according to the forecast. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- My daughter had a fun day
- I completed 35 years of work
- Safe drives to and from downtown
- Ceiling fans
- Hugs from my daughter

How was your day?  What are your plans for Friday?

On the Fourth of July

I woke up when my alarm went off at 9:00 a.m., but stayed in bed until my daughter called me at 9:30 a.m., to check on me.  She knew that I had gone to bed on Tuesday night, feeling sad and upset as I had just found out that a friend of mine seems to have reached the end of her battle with cancer.  The doctors have given her just days, if not hours, more to live.  We met at the dance studio where our daughters took dance classes and later, we took a couple of dance classes together.  She was diagnosed before I was and hers had spread and progressed to stage 4 cancer.  She has been in and out of hospital over the past 4 years.  Even so, the news that she has reached the end came as a shock to me.  It left me feeling as if I had been kicked in the stomach and the wind knocked out of me.  I think it was especially hard for me to take in because I had received my recent mammogram results in Tuesday's mail and it said the results were normal.  I was crying and I didn't know who I was crying for - my friend, her two daughters and son (all younger than my daughter), or myself and my daughter!  Her daughter posted an update, late last night, saying her mom was still fighting and she was still hoping for a miracle.


After I had reassured my daughter that I was OK, I got out of bed, put up the flag in celebration of Independence Day, had a cup of coffee, chatted on the phone with two of my aunts who called, replied to blog comments, read and commented on a few other blogs, and made myself a To Do list.  I wasn't very motivated to do anything, but I cajoled myself into doing just one small thing and then, another item from the list, and soon, I had:
- topped up the sugar jar
- stripped and remade daughter's bed with new bed sheets
- done a load of laundry
- cleaned daughter's bathroom
- scrubbed my toilet
- tidied the dining table
- put away the leftover scraps of fabric from sewing the apron
- washed the dishes and scrubbed the sink
- wiped down the kitchen counters and stove top


Then, it was time to go to the airport to pick up daughter!  She has come down to attend the Anime Expo for the next four days!  I treated her to her favorite Chinese food for a late lunch (picked it up to go) and, after lunch, she took a nap.  I finished sewing the straps on her apron - I had waited until she could try it on to get the length of the shoulder straps before I sewed them to the waist band at the back.  Then, I watered the back garden and cooked fish, broccoli, and pasta for dinner.  Daughter baked the chicken drumsticks with an apricot jam/soy sauce glaze, because, by then, I was feeling tired and didn't feel up to making a curry with them. 


After dinner, we went outside and watched the fireworks!  Fireworks are supposed to be illegal within our City limits, unless it's an organized, permitted, fireworks display, but, one would never know it, by the amount of fireworks that were lit in my neighborhood!  It went on for hours, too!  Neighbor T called because her dog was having a hard time with the fireworks and she was feeling nervous and worried about the risk of fire due to the fireworks.  Even Dancer wasn't happy with some of the very loud fireworks as the noise spooked him. 


Still later, I changed the sheets I use as covers on the family room sofas and daughter sprayed the sofas with flea spray as she thought she spotted something which jumped!  But I flea combed Dancer and I didn't find anything.  Anyway, I put white sheets on the sofas so it'll be easier to spot any fleas or flea droppings, etc.  I will wash the sheets I took off the sofas with some bleach, later, today.  And vacuum, as that was the one thing that was on yesterday's to do list that I didn't do. 


Yesterday, I was grateful for:
- My daughter arrived home, safely
- Phone calls from my aunts
- My friend is still fighting
- My mammogram results are normal
- Being able to watch the fireworks with my daughter


This morning, daughter and I were up at 6:00 a.m.!  She came downtown with me and walked a couple of blocks from where I parked the car to a downtown hotel from which a free shuttle bus would take her to the convention center where the Anime Expo is being held.  She will take the shuttle back to the hotel in the night and I will pick her up, because I do not want her to travel home in the subway that late at night (around 10:30 p.m.)


How was your Wednesday?  If you are in the U.S., how did you celebrate Independence Day?

Soap

One of my friends and I have been discussing soap, recently, as she is looking for something that is natural, mild, and pure.  She was mentioning an olive oil and laurel oil soap and, although the name of the soap she mentioned wasn't familiar to me, the description of it reminded me of the soaps I had seen in the Armenian grocery store.  So, when I was there, yesterday, I took some pictures of the soap they have for sale.  These soaps are different from the usual packaged soap I see readily available in various shops, here:

Olive Oil/Palm Oil Soap with Laurus (Laurel) Oil and Fragrances

It didn't specify what the fragrances were, although it wasn't a very fragrant soap.

Price Tag for Above Soap

Right next to it, on the shelf, was this soap, pictured below:

Olive Oil Soap

It, too, was priced $2.29 each, but they were in packages of 4 pieces, although, since they were individually wrapped, I believe they were being sold as individual pieces.

These soaps below were packaged with six pieces of soap in each package, and, going by the price tag and the packaging, I believe they are sold as packages of six pieces of soap:

Olive Oil Soap

I thought the price of almost $9 for six pieces of soap was a little on the high side, even though it is a special type of imported soap.

Olive Oil and Laurel Oil Soap

But, I figured that, someone who grew up using this soap would be willing to pay the price for the nostalgia value, alone, just as I do when I go to the Sri Lankan store and buy a piece of the sandalwood soap I grew up using. 

Olive Pomall Oil Green Soap

Then, I looked up what "olive pomall oil" was (apparently, also known as olive pomace oil, it is olive oil pressed from the pulp after the first pressing) and pictures of this soap popped up.  It is available online, from a major online seller, for $24.99 per package of six pieces of soap!  Maybe paying $8.99 is not such a bad price, after all! 

I rarely use soap on my face, anymore, because I feel it dries my skin too much, and when I do, I use a soap that is supposed to contain moisturizing cream in it and which is supposed to be for sensitive skin (it is the soap the oncology nurse practitioner recommended I use when I was getting my treatments, especially during the radiation treatments).  But, I am wondering if one of these olive oil soaps might not be equally good, if not better. 

Have you seen this type of soap, before?  Have you tried it?  Would you be willing to try it?

July Grocery Budget: Week 1

July Week 1 Groceries: Bread, Dairy, Meat, Nuts, Beverages

I went grocery shopping today.   It was the first time I went grocery shopping since picking up some milk ($1.99) on 6/22 (the milk put me $3.78 over budget in June). 

I went to two stores - the Armenian grocery store and the regular supermarket. 

The Armenian store carries these bottled drinks which have basil seeds in them.  We use basil seeds in a drink we call faluda, which is made with rose syrup and milk.  I have been wanting to try this drink because it has the basil seeds in it, so I bought two bottles (one for me, one for daughter).  A bit of an indulgence at $.99 each, but worth a try.  They had other flavors, too, including mango, peach, lychee, and pomegranate.  But I thought the passion fruit flavor would be good for a first try:

Passion Fruit Flavored Basil Seed Drink

At the Armenian Store, I bought:
2+ lb. chicken drumsticks @ $.69/lb = $1.56
1 packet raw whole cashews @ $8.99/lb = $3.69
1 lb. bag carrots = $.39
Broccoli crown @$.49/lb = $.36
1 cucumber = $.50
Zucchini @$.39/lb = $.37
Okra @$.99/lb = $.37
Peaches @ $.69/lb = $.61
Bananas @ $.49/lb = $.59
Grapes @ $1.19/lb = $1.90
2 Basil seed passion fruit flavored drinks @ $.99 + $.05 deposit = $2.08
Total = $12.42

Fresh Produce

At the regular supermarket, I bought:
1 package (6 count) bagels = $1.99
1 loaf multi-grain bread = $1.99
1 flavored coffee creamer = $2.69
1/2 gal. milk = $1.99
Cherries @ $1.47/lb = $3.51
Green beans @ $.99/lb = $.64
2 packages (@ 8 oz) ham cold cuts @ $.99 = $1.98 (discounted because sell by date is 7/11)
Total = $14.79

(I also bought 4 cans of cat food for Dancer, which is not part of my grocery budget)

After I came home, I realized that I had forgotten to write down lettuce on my grocery list and, therefore, hadn't bought any!  Oops!

Total spent on groceries = $12.42 + $14.79 = $27.21

July Week 1 Groceries: Receipts

In June, I went over budget by $3.78  (I am not including that variety cake I had bought in my grocery budget; it was covered from my Miscellaneous account!).

In July, my daughter will be here for 5 days this week and another 9 days later in July.  Therefore, I am increasing my grocery budget by $25 to make it $100.

July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $27.21 = $69.01

I plan to make a curry with the drumsticks, I bought.  Daughter doesn't like okra, so I bought just enough for myself for a couple of meals.  She won't be home for lunches when she comes down this week, but she can take bagels or cold cuts sandwiches with her, if she likes and there will be rice and curries for dinner once she comes home from the Anime Exposition in the night.  I will be taking a ham cold cuts sandwich for my lunch, tomorrow.

In addition, there is smoked sausage and fish in the freezer, as well as some cooked ground beef and another cooked chicken breast half.  I can see myself making a stir-fry with the smoked sausage, some curry puffs with the ground beef, and making the fish for dinner, one night, when daughter is here.  It's not meal planning, exactly, but just listing options works for me!

Have you gone grocery shopping for July, yet? 

July Balanced Life Goals: Wonky Wheels!

It is July!  The first half of this year is over!  It is time to look forward to the second half of the year!  It seems like a very good time to do a mid-year check on my goals and resolutions for this year, to see how things are coming along.  After all, that is what my monthly Balanced Life Goals are all about!

My New Year Resolutions for 2018 were:

• Resolution 1:  Continue to pursue good health - keep all medical appointments, eat a healthy diet, drink enough water and stay hydrated, increase my activity levels to build up stamina and strength,  get more sleep and rest, continue to climb the mountain.

• Resolution 2:  Procrastinate less - attend to things right away and get them done.

• Resolution 3:  Be more organized - declutter, have a place for everything and  make a habit of having everything in its place.

• Resolution 4:  Be more positive - focus on accomplishments.

• Resolution 5:  Maintain a balanced life.

I have been trying to incorporate them into my Monthly Balanced Life Goals to make sure they are worked on throughout the year.

As I've explained before, when I do my monthly balanced life goals, I picture a wheel with several spokes, each spoke representing an aspect of my life that is important to me.  Taken together, I like to think that they make a well-balanced life.

When I first started doing this balanced life wheel exercise, I was instructed to rate each category, from 1 to 10, in terms of my satisfaction with how things were in that category, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.  The length of each spoke would represent my satisfaction.

Ideally, each spoke is of equal length and the arcs drawn between the spokes would make a nice, perfectly round wheel.   For me, the emphasis is on being of equal length - not necessarily having each spoke at a rating of 10.  Obviously, a rating of 10 would be lovely!  But a rating of 7 or 8 would be good, too.  A rating of 5 or 6 would be just average, but, if all spokes are of that length, then, it won't be a jarring ride.

More often, however, in reality, the spokes are all of different lengths, with some being a 3 or a 4 (time management, perhaps) and others being an 8 (Spiritual, perhaps) or even a perfect 10 (relationship with a loved one).  The resulting balance wheel is something that looks like a bicycle wheel might after a very bad crash!  Dented, somewhat misshapen, deflated with a punctured tire, and maybe even a spoke or two broken and sticking out of place!   And that is exactly how my balance wheel looked, when I first started doing this, years ago! 

A well-rounded balanced wheel results in a smoother ride; a dented wheel results in a bumpy ride.  Add some ruts (doing the same old stuff, day in and day out) and a pot hole or two (a cancer diagnosis, for example) to that road and you can imagine just how wobbly that ride can get!  Currently, as shown in my month-end reviews, I am mostly wobbling along!  But, at least, I am traveling along the road, and for that, I am grateful! 

But, since I am doing a mid-year check, I will add my satisfaction ratings to my spokes, this month.  Which brings me to the question  of what would make me feel that I am perfectly satisfied with how things are in any given area or segment of my life?  For me, it would be a feeling that I have achieved all what I would like to accomplish in each area.  I will give the current level of satisfaction (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being highest) and, at the end of the month, when I do my review, I will rate my level of satisfaction, again.

These, then, are my goals and current ratings for July:

Spiritual (8):  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive
- Take time for meditation - at some point during my day, pause long enough to consciously meditate for 5 minutes; 10 if possible 
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering

Environment (5):  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.
House: 

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas - get 20 bags of donations out of the house by the end of the month!
- Deep clean my bedroom - It is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night; it should be a place of calm restoration!
Garden:

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed)
- Scatter some seeds and see if they will grow!

Daughter (10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting
- Look forward to her visits (2) in July - over the 4th of July weekend and, again, towards the end of July
- Be supportive of her enthusiasm for the upcoming Anime Exposition by sewing part of a costume, by giving her rides to the event and back, etc.

Family & Friends (8):  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Wish friends A and R on their birthdays
- Go out to lunch with friend R
- Attend cousin V's son's wedding (7/21)
- Attend another friend R's daughter's wedding (7/28)
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the various family gatherings this month
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/have coffee with her one day

Community (8):  The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community

Career (9):  The goal is to continue to work while planning for retirement.
- Complete as many assignments as I can in the next 3 weeks and bring the others to a good pausing point
- Clean up my work space and files
- Continue to work on retirement related stuff

Finances (9):  The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
- Make an appointment with financial planner
- Make final decisions about pension options

Health & Well Being (6):  The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 2 scheduled for July, so far, with maybe 2 more to be scheduled upon authorization approval!  
- Call and make dental appointments!
- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight
- Continue to focus on a healthier diet, drinking enough water (8x 8oz), exercising regularly (walk for 30 minutes during the work week), and getting sufficient sleep
- Focus on accomplishments and staying positive

Time Management (4):  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Procrastinate less
- Implement routines and schedules

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (7):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 30 minutes a day to do something relaxing, such as reading books  blogs, or doing a craft

And how does my balanced life wheel look?

Balanced Life Wheel at the Start of July

Just a bit wonky, wouldn't you say?  The blue outer circle is how it would be if everything thing was a 10.  The red shape is the wheel I get when I connect the dots, so to speak.  (Please ignore the pointed bit at the Career spoke; I made a mistake and connected to 10 instead of 9 and didn't feel like redrawing the circle; also, please ignore the fact that some of the segments are larger than others - it is truly not an indication of their importance or lack of importance; it's simply because I have 10 spokes and I didn't bother to divide the circle into 10 equal segments!)

The good thing is, only one item (Time Management) dips below a 5, and only because I procrastinate a lot and don't really follow a cleaning routine.  The others are at a 5 and above, with one (Daughter) at a 10. 

Showing the circle at the midway point of 5, in green

Health, Time Management, and Environment are the areas I need to focus on, in July. 

Have you ever tried doing a balance wheel?  

June Balanced Life Goals - Update

Jacaranda Flowers and Pomegranate Leaves

On the last day of June (didn't the month start just the other day?), it is time to update the monthly goals, again!

As I've explained before, when I do my monthly balanced life goals, I picture a wheel with several spokes, each spoke representing an aspect of my life that is important to me.  Taken together, I like to think that they make a well-balanced life.  Ideally, each spoke is of equal length and the arcs drawn between the spokes are equally rounded to make a perfectly circular rim around the wheel, without any bump-outs or indents.  A well-balanced wheel results in a smoother ride; a wonky wheel results in a bumpy ride.  Currently, as shown in my month-end reviews, I am mostly wobbling along!

Here's how I wobbled along in June:

 Spiritual:  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive - On-going; I don't think I complained too much or grumbled a lot, and I listed five things for which I was grateful, every day.
- Take time for meditation - continue to attend the Friday night meditation sessions at the temple - I decided to wait until I had retired, as it was a bit of a rush to get home from work around 6:30 p.m., go to pick up my friend and then, drive to the temple to be there by 7:00 p.m.  It didn't give me enough time to change out of work clothes, freshen up a bit, feed the cat, have a cup of tea, etc.  And all that rushing around in the half hour preceding wasn't very conducive to slowing down to meditate!  
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to perceived grievances and grudges - This one is almost as hard, if not harder, than letting go of things with sentimental value!  Even when I make a conscious effort to let things go, I find that the emotional scars remain and they have become a part of me, a part of who I am now.  This one is still a work in progress.
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering - The date was changed at the last minute (it was originally scheduled to have been held, tonight) and I couldn't attend due to a prior engagement.  

Environment:  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.

House: 

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas - Work in progress! 
- Deep clean my bedroom - Didn't do!
Garden:

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed) - Accomplished for the most part, although, some weeks, watering was done only once for the week.
- Plant some flowers and vegetables - I planted a plumeria cutting.

Daughter:  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting - Accomplished
- Look forward to her visits in July - I didn't have to wait until July, after all, because she came for a visit in June, as well!  To accompany me to the retirement counselling session, because I got so stressed over the forms and options!  Having her home for those few days was wonderful!  We went out to lunch (or got food to go), we went shopping and found some good buys, and we were able to just spend time together!  

Family & Friends:  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Attend uncle's funeral (6/2, morning); cousin P and her daughter will give me a ride to the funeral and back - Attended the funeral and the reception afterwards.
- Attend bridal shower for cousin V's son's fiancée (6/2, evening); again, cousin P and her daughter will give me a ride to the event and back (although I offered a ride to them) - Attended the bridal shower and dinner.
- Call, email, wish people on their birthdays, etc. - Kept in touch with various friends, including my former supervisor who checked my blog to see how I was doing and emailed me when she found out that I was stressing about the retirement papers!  We have since exchanged several emails and I am hoping we'll be able to get together for lunch, in the near future.
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the various family gatherings (funeral, bridal shower, monthly prayer gathering, etc.) - I saw several friends and family at the funeral and the bridal shower; however, I didn't attend the prayer gathering this month.
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/have coffee with her one day - Weekly calls and one or two in-person chats, although I didn't have coffee with her.

Community:  The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community - On-going.

Career:  The goal is to continue to work while planning for retirement.
- Continue to do my assignments in a timely manner - - On-going
- Read up the brochures and other retirement related information - Did so; still more to information to process, though!
- Print out and fill out the required paperwork (lots of forms!) - Did most of them, but some will have to be redone, because of retirement date changes!
- Gather all the documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce papers, etc.) that are being required to be submitted and make copies  - Accomplished
- Attend the retirement counseling session (scheduled for 6/20) - Accomplished

Finances:  The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - On-going; I went over one or two budget categories (groceries, eating out), but savings in other categories more than made up for it.


Health & Well Being:  The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 3 scheduled for June, so far, with maybe 2 more to be scheduled upon authorization approval!  - Lots of medical appointments, this month!  I went for a consultation, a bone density scan, a mammogram, and will be scheduled for additional screening tests, in July.  I rescheduled two appointments, however, because there were too many to go to this month!
- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight - On-going
- Continue to focus on a healthier diet, drinking enough water (8x 8oz), exercising regularly (walk for 30 minutes during the work week), and getting sufficient sleep - Let's just say it's a work in progress!

- Focus on accomplishments and staying positive - Trying!

Time Management:  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Procrastinate less - I got the important things done, such as getting the documents ready for the retirement counseling session, etc.  This is me, focusing on the accomplishments!
- Implement routines and schedules - Work in progress!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time:  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 30 minutes a day to do something relaxing, such as reading books  blogs, or doing a craft  - I read and commented on blogs, I played sudoku and other games online, I did crossword puzzles, I did some knitting, I made a couple of cards, and I started sewing an apron for daughter on the last day of the month!  

So, that is my goals update for June.  I think, overall, I did pretty well.  I'll be posting the July goals, tomorrow.

(Some of my color changes on the updated items wouldn't show up in blue, but showed when I did in a different color!  Weird!)