Lovely in Lavender

That was quick! I stopped in at Mandeville GardenWorks this afternoon and bought two small lavender plants, both Munstead variety. So, my next task will be to replant them in 2 of the many pots I have in my shed, both to give them a little room to grow and to  provide a saucer under the pot for drainage purposes.

We'll see if they'll grow here at the Coast. I've had this type before but was growing it in the Okanagan then. I'll also see if I can get enough light inside for them to grow successfully.

Goal or No Goal?

I think the first thing to do as I try to figure out what direction I'm taking with this is to haul out my list of long term goals and take a good, hard look at them. Right now they just sit there in that sidebar, mocking me. Am I still interested in them? Am I still working towards them? Is there something else that should be on that list? In other words, is this still a goal, or not?

1. Take Religious Studies courses, potentially leading to an undergraduate degree.

Okay, I haven't done more than occasionally look at university websites and their courses. I don't have the money to go back to school and I work almost full time, so I also don't have the time to take a full course load. Frankly, I don't have the energy to even take *one* course at this point in time. I might go back to this in a couple of years, if and when certain circumstances change. Right now, however, it doesn't belong on my list. That makes me sad, but I have to be honest about this.
2. Become fluent in Hebrew.

This *is* still a goal of mine, though my work towards it is sporadic at best.
3. Study oenology and viticulture, potentially leading to a degree.

This goal is far too far down the road for me at this moment, so it needs to come off.
4. Grow lavender for sale.

Hmm, I love lavender and I want to be able to grow it better or more successfully than I've done in the past. I probably can't grow enough to actually grow it for sale at this point, but I'd like to actually get back to growing it and experiment with it a bit. So this goal can stay for now.
5. Buy a minimum of 5 acres of land in our chosen retirement area.

First of all, that should say *my* chosen retirement area. And right now I could buy 5 acres about as easily as I could fly to the moon. Luckily I don't need to be retiring in the near future. And I already have my existing home in the area, though it still needs plenty of work. This comes off the list until I have the funds to buy the land.
6. Build a home on the land.

No land, no home. Off the list for now.
7. Plant grapes and open a kosher winery.

How do you make a small fortune in the wine industry? Start with a large one! This one, or a variation of it, can stay for now but it had better start to develop or else!
8. Get totally out of debt and stay there!

I *definitely* need to keep this one!
9. Lose 10 pounds.

Um, I actually *did* that. And I've maintained it for a couple of years now. I guess it can come off the list! Yay! Success at something!
10. Accumulate enough retirement funds to supplement our pensions and other income streams.

*My* pension. Aside from that, I have to say I'm not really putting away money for retirement while I'm sinking further into debt. I really have to deal with my overall financial situation first and then start to put away a bit of money.

So that leaves me with 4 out of my 10 goals that I can use or rework. I'm going to add one more now that will take me up to 5 goals and then I'll rework all my microgoals.

1. Become fluent in Hebrew.
2. Grow lavender.
3. Find a way to partner with others to develop a kosher wine business, including the possibility of fruit wines.
4. Get totally out of debt and stay there!
5. Develop at least two alternative income streams (in addition to my current employment) and use the money I make to accomplish my other goals, starting with getting out of debt.

So, my microgoals are the small steps I will be taking *now* in order to move ahead with each goal.

1. Go back to Rosetta Stone and figure out how to log in again.
My Dear Child and I wanted to get ahead in Hebrew, so I bought the Rosetta Stone course a few months ago when it was on sale. We tried it a few times and then got really busy. Now I don't remember our log in. If I can't figure it out, I'm sure there's a way to reset it.
2. Go to a few gardening centres (like Home Depot, Art Knapp's, etc.) and look at lavender plants. Only buy if I find the types of lavender I'm looking for.
3. Get together with someone who expressed interest in this project.
Maybe meet for coffee and discuss the project? This person suggested another mutual friend and perhaps that would be the first thing for us to follow up on.
4. Stay current on the regular bills, paying things every payday.
5. Go to the start up meeting for 31 Canada in BC on April 7 and enroll that night. Do as much pre-planning as possible ahead of time so I can start strong.

Not bad. I think I can live with these goals for now. The underlying theme behind these goals is happiness, something I would like to expand upon soon. For now, I think I'll just finish getting this post up and editing the sidebar. It is after 2 am, after all.

Back from the Ether

Okay, it's been a long, long time since I managed to access this blog. I doubt anyone is actually reading this any more and I'm not really sure where to begin when I haven't posted in over 3 years!

I have to say that my life has changed drastically in that time. I'm now a single parent, more in debt than ever, but more determined to create a good life for myself and my Dear Child.

I'm not quite sure how I'll revamp this site at the moment, but at least now I have access to it.

Here's to new beginnings!