Howdy, Spring!

Here in the Big D, it is past spring. Those cool, clear, crisp days are gone, replaced by muggy, hot days... already. A little breeze, a lot of green, some rain.

In the past two weeks, I've produced my annual playwriting festival, complete with seven plays; co-planned my summer in London, teaching another history/theatre/performance course, including details about travel, coursework and packing; cleaned my house and done another round of Goodwill (brewing a third round, as I write); and bought a new mattress and box spring, to be delivered... tomorrow.

Old mattress set: taken away and disposed of.

My new mattress set!

New mattress set: put in place and sheeted up and... sigh. That's a happy sigh, by the way.

I cannot wait.

BTW: buying a mattress set was just like buying a car. My salesguy was a car salesman, basically, which is not really a compliment. I had done my homework, had two coupons (for discount and free delivery) and got a great salesprice. I bought a $2600 mattress for $1200, with free delivery. Another... happy sigh.

2013 Resolution Bunch #1: Resources

Resources: time, money, energy, skills, talent.

For 2013, my resolutions include some management of my old favorites, those you can't ever completely "conquer."

• Pay off credit cards and maintain my good credit rating.
• Save some now and for retirement.
• Work smarter, not harder -- in terms of time.
• Cook smarter, not harder -- in terms of using time and money.
• Continue to develop frugal and minimalist habits and mind-set.

These are all rather general, of course, so let's be specific.

1. Make a current will, power of attorney, and other key documents, "just in case."
2. Meet with retirement reps and get a sense of my forward progress (changes?)
3. Save two months' worth of salary (for emergencies).
4. Develop/strengthen my freelance writing work-brand.
5. Develop six new habits of frugality (TBA).
6. Budget time to include work/job, work/freelance, community, health, solo time... and stick to it.  

And a new one for 2013: Take the first three steps to building my own house, which include

• talk to friends who have bought and sold houses
• meet with the company who make the pre-fab houses I want to build
• visit the Northwest and look at the area in detail, with the notion of buying land