#29 - Organization, the Bane of My Existence

1. Host mah jongg night.

2. Make jam.  (Done!)

3. Host brunch. (Done!)

4. Go for a picnic. (Done twice!)

5. Go grocery shopping on my bike. (Done!)

6. Finish my year-end photo albums.

7. Take Fred to Lost Lake.

8. Rearrange the backyard.

9. Eat at the Space Needle.

10. Stay in bed all day.  (Done!)

11. <edited for privacy.>

12. Have a really girly slumber party.  (Done!)

13. Play a round of mini-golf. (Done!)

14. Get the craft room sorted and gorgeousified.

15. Go for a weekend in the San Juans. (Done!  Orcas at Memorial Day!)

16. Have an individual date with each NGS. (Done!)

17. Go for a hike.

18. Plan and cook a week’s worth of dinners.

19. Go to Portland to see old friends.

20. Perfect a signature recipe (one slightly more nutritional than Bundt cake.)

21. Go to the drive-in movies.  (Done!  Harry Potter at the Blue Fox on Whidbey Island)

22. Get a mani-pedi every month. (Done for Jan, Feb, March, April, May and July)

23. Go ice skating. (Done!  Colorado with the parentals!)

24. Find the perfect shade of lipstick.

25. Host a big tea party in the back yard.

26. Make a quilt top.

27. Take six dance classes of any kind. (THREE down.  Love the Little Red Hen.)  (Done!)

28. Ride on a Ferris wheel.  (Done!  Puyallup Spring Fair!)

29. Organize our finances and filing system.  (Done!)

        30. Plan an awesome 30^th birthday party.

 I really want to be an organized person, but somehow its always a struggle.  #29 was one of my least favorite items but it's like drinking your milk, just pinch your nose and do it because its good for you.  I don't have any fun pics of this one, which is fine cause I'm going to keep it short and sweet.  (Also, how do you blog about something polite people aren't even supposed to talk about?)  Anyway, my personal steps for newlywed financial organization ran something like this:
1.) Agree on a bank.  (This was VERY hard because we had two different banks.  Finally, we went with the bank of the person who already had the bills in their name.)
2.) Actually go to the bank, get a joint account.  (This was hard!  Finding time during banker's hours?  Felt like a major accomplishment.  I had a hard time saying my own new last name!  I felt like I was going to be exposed as a fraud at any minute.  I'm not an adult!  Don't give me a bank account!  Eek!)
3.) Agree on how much goes in from each person.  (Prooobably needs to be adjusted on months where you throw six parties in 30 days.)
4.) Actually get direct deposit set up. (There's a form for this.  I hate forms.  It wasn't too bad.)
5.) Find a spot where bills and other important info go.  (Um yeah, I'm still working on that.)


So all in all, I'm calling this one a win.  We've made a lot of progress and we've got a system!  There were a couple of other bonus things thrown in like 401k's and next I've got my eyes on bigger fish, like a will and stuff.  OMG, it feels like adulthood all of a sudden, which is what you should be doing to warm up to 30, right?  Yay!  Adios #29!