Getting my feet back under me

I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting it together. I must be, because I had an epiphany the other day. I never have epiphanies when I'm swamped with too many things. It must have something to do with being too busy for deep thoughts.

Anyway, I was frustrated because my house is always cluttered, I've been putting off schoolwork, and I haven't written regularly since November. I tend to think better with a keyboard under my fingers, and fifteen minutes or so of free writing got me down to the answer: latent perfectionism. I've always thought of myself as a 'good enough for government work' kind of girl. I cut myself a lot of slack, but apparently that's a defensive rationalization. (Like these $5.00 words? They sound all clinical, don't they? Have I ever mentioned my first major in college was psychology? Sorry--I seem to have ADOB* today.) What I realized was that because I can't dig in and get my house/writing/certification done in an afternoon, I find them easier to put off. I can break some things into smaller chunks, but apparently, those three activities need even smaller pieces or I'll never get on top of them. The certification I'll eventually finish; the house and writing are on-going and will most likely be with me until I breathe my last. For now, I've lowered my expectations a little and am calling any movement in those areas good. Maybe I can build up momentum and actually finish something.


*Attention Deficit---Oooh, Butterfly!

Fa-RREEEEEE!!!!

Eric made the last payment to the last credit card today. We are officially debt-free except the mortgage.

We've been dinking around with this for about six years, but three years ago we took Dave Ramsey's 'Financial Peace University' class. That really lit the fire. We've paid off three cars, half a dozen credit cards, and tutoring tuition. I've lost track of how much it actually amounts to, but it's in excess of $50,000. Eric says it's closer to 60 or 70, but that just seems like a huge number to me. Next up is saving up next year's tuition and building up the emergency fund.

This is going to feel really great when it finally sinks in!