Farther progress

[catsittingstill]

on the paper-sorting side.  When the alarm went off I was on a roll and kept going.  I'm not done--not by a ways---but I have scraped the papers off the top of the file cabinet, and I'm getting down to the dregs on my desk too.

Plus I got our 2010 IRA contributions done.  I've been putting that off since Monday.  It always takes me forever to do that, probably partly because writing checks with that many zeros intimidates me and partly because I only do it once a year so every single time I have to figure it all out again.

I'm thinking about trying to set up a monthly withdrawal for our 2011 IRA contributions.  But I'm not looking forward to thrashing around figuring out how to do it.

Also today has gone well as regards the diet.  But it always goes well up to about this point.  It's the late afternoon and evening that are the danger points.  I have had three fruits, three servings of dairy, and three veggies (counting a small serving of cabbage plus a small handful of spinich together as one serving) and two servings of whole grains.  It's tricky eating this much produce without spending a fortune, but buying a whole bag of apples and a whole bag of oranges is cheaper than buying a few at a time.  Carrots are reasonably cheap if I buy a whole bag, and so is cabbage and celery.   I can do this--but I have to keep concentrating on it.  When I get distracted I have a tendency to find myself in the kitchen, munching saltines.

Comments

[keris]

I do hope that you aren't contributing to the Irish Republican Army *g*...

(I also read that last sentence as "munching stalactites". Not very fattening, I'll admit...)

[catsittingstill]

:-) No, an Individual Retirement Account. Very common in the states as it is an Officially Encouraged (TM) way to save for retirement.

Munching stalactites would not be fattening (not something I can say about munching saltines, actually) but would probably be bad for my teeth.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I like celery and hummus. And pita hummus sandwiches with spinach leaves, which are frequently cheap.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

That sounds nice.

I would probably have to make it myself unless I went to Knoxville. Chickpeas are inexpensive, but the sesame paste (tahini) involved might not be. I could check into it.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

My darling husband says, in regards to the automatic IRA contribution: take a check, not a deposit slip, to wherever you have your IRA set up. Tell them you want to set up an automatic draft to your IRA account. It should be set up within 15 minutes of seeing someone, he says.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I appreciate the suggestion. Alas, my IRA is handled by a company that doesn't have a local office.

Uh, as far as I know, anyway. Maybe I should go online and check.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Whew! Reading down my Friends Page tonight I didn't have the previous post in mind as context. And when I saw "When the alarm went off" I went Wha'??!! and jumped to your blog and previous post, and was relieved to realize it was just the alarm CLOCK for your planned end-of-task-session.

There was a bad fire in the neighborhood about three weeks ago (http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/breaking/West-Philly-Apartment-Fire-113227474.html). Nobody killed or seriously injured, thank Heaven, but their homes and possessions are destroyed. That probably was in the back of my mind.

Like I said: Glad you're OK. And (end of massive digression from your actual post) glad those things are going well.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Maybe I should say "when the timer went off."

Obviously I am not so dedicated to organization that I would continue to sort papers if the house were on fire.

Though that's quite an image.

[boywizard.livejournal.com]

It's advantageous to make your contribution as early in the year as possible - contingent on having the money, of course. That way it gets to earn tax-free for most of the year. I'm not sure what happens if you lose your source of income before reaching the amount you actually contributed; you'd probably have to withdraw the excess and possibly pay a penalty. Fortunately that never happened to me. Now that I have no earned income, I don't have to worry about such details since I can't make a contribution anyway.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I do realize that it's better to contribute early than late. And even better to contribute a little bit each month to average out market fluctuations, for that matter.

It's just that I have a tendency to procrastinate.

[filkferengi]

Yay you for getting more organized! I've been moving and re-arranging the shelves in the computer room for more floor space and increased access. Thoughts of Sisyphus & his rock & roll come to mind, but I figure, at least it's better than it was [once the dust settled].

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Yes, dust has been an issue for me too. Side effect of letting everything sit in piles for months, I guess. Fortunately I'm not particularly sensitive to it.

Good luck with the re-arrangements.

[filkferengi]

After fewer than 4 hours of sleep & lots of hearing myself wheeze, I'm thinking a mask would've been a good idea. I know I went through & sorted these things just a few years ago. Who knew dust could accumulate so fast?

Still, I've sorted through & organized all my clothes; the pile on the dresser is *much* smaller now. You're a good catalyst [all puns thereunto appertained are incorporated herein by reference].

;)