Goal Setting for the New Year

I don't much believe in New Year's resolutions. I've never kept one, and I haven't made one in a long time. But this time of year, people always ask about them, and I respond that I think setting goals is better than making resolutions. At my hippie dippie open elementary school, every trimester we had parent-teacher-student goal setting conferences. The student, with the support of parents and the teacher, set goals in each of these areas:

1) Intrapersonal
2) Interpersonal
3) Creative Expression
4) Math and Logical Reasoning
5) Verbal Skills
6) Physical Fitness
7) Community Action and Social Justice

I think these 7 categories do a nice job of breaking the "self" into manageable compartments and so I have decided to set goals for 2008 in each of these areas.

1) INTRAPERSONAL: My attention will be drawn in many directions in 2008, and my goal is to make sure I have one hour of uninterrupted peaceful solitude per week in 2008. Time for me to think, write, blog, breathe.

2)INTERPERSONAL: My goal is to be a good listener. While the time I have to talk to friends on the phone might be less than it was in much of 2007, I want that time I do have to be quality and so my goal is to not be one of those people who interrupts someone in the middle of a sentence to announce that the baby has pooped. Having good listening as a goal will also ensure my marriage(s) stay strong. In 2008, it will be important to make sure that Eduardo and I have our evening pillow talk as much as possible. Finally, being a good listener will help me be a better mom- understanding the cooing, crying, babbling language of Johan will allow us to communicate and me to meet his needs.

3) CREATIVE EXPRESSION: I would like to write poetry again. This is one of my loftier goals but might fit nicely in with my intrapersonal goals outlined in item one. My goal is to write one poem before January is over. Then, maybe 1 per month for the rest of the year.

4) MATH AND LOGICAL REASONING: Well, lawyers don't do math. I suppose I could repeat my goal of 3rd grade when my goal was to memorize all my multiplication table, but that seems a waste of time since I have a calculator on my desk. So, my "math" goals are really financial, and there are two. First, my goal is to save at least $50 per month in my savings account. I know this sounds very small but with our mortgage, student loans, and daycare payments, this year will be tight financially. Yet, saving just a bit every month will add up. Second, and related, my salary is partly tied to a bonus system and so my goal is to be an aggressive and pro-active attorney who creates enough revenue to maximize that bonus.

5) VERBAL SKILLS: In 4th grade, my goal was to read the newspaper every day. That's a good goal to have, and is one of my goals for 2008. And reading it online counts as the newspaper because daily subscriptions are a waste of paper and money. In the verbal arena, my goal is also to be a good communicator to my clients. It is so easy for attorneys to talk about legal problems and their potential solutions in legalese that no one else understands. I am pretty good at explaining things in lay terms (I think this comes from my Montessori teacher background). What I am less good at is taking the time to fully and thoroughly explain WHY my advice is what it is - what the law is and how the way the law is makes my advice the best choice. So, my goal here is to be a patient and thorough communicator with my clients.

6) PHYSICAL FITNESS: I always hated this one in elementary school because I was clumsy and had crappy large motor skills, and that was never going to change. Alas, I am still clumsy and have crappy large motor skills. I have, however, mastered the treadmill. My goal for 2008 is to treadmill at least 4 times per week and to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet.

7) COMMUNITY ACTION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: One word: ELECTION. Hillary, Obama, Edwards...whichever one rises to the top, I intend to do everything in my power to get one of them elected. My goal is that in November 2008, someone will be elected to the White House that will make this country better for me, for you, and for Johan.
Also, in September of 2008, the RNC is having its convention here. My goal is to take advantage of the national spotlight being on the Twin Cities by helping mobilize major protests against RNC policies. I think I will do so by being a legal observer at the marches.


Those are my goals for 2008. I think most of them are within reach. Happy New Year. Over and out until 2008.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to my blog-readers. Yes, today counts as Christmas. It's a 2-day holiday. Just ask any divorced kid with 2 gentile parents how many days Christmas is. Two. So, Merry Christmas. If I had been able to get my act together, I would have sent out a witty Christmas card and letter with these pictures attached. As it is, I am not even going to send an e-mail. My only written Christmas greeting will be right here- for those of you who are kind enough to indulge me by reading this self-indulgent publication. I hope this finds you warm, happy, slightly tipsy, and enjoying Christmas.

Love, Kristina - Eduardo - Johan

Out Damn Spot, Out I Say

Here's a couple things I have learned in the past 4 weeks, 6 days.

1) When you have a baby, the amount of laundry you have to do increased exponentially. It's not just the kid's clothes- he has plenty, and they're so tiny that his entire wardrobe is less than a full laundry load. When it was just 2 of us, we would wear pants and shirts numerous times before washing them. Now, it's a miracle if something isn't thrown up on or peed on within 2 hours of putting it on. So, we all have a lot more laundry.

2) Always get baby ready for the day- fed, changed, and clothed before getting self dressed. See #1 for further explanation.

3) I am confounded by the tags on baby clothes and associated paraphernalia. The bibs, burp cloths, and blankets all tell my that it's ok to iron them "when necessary." WTF?! When in holy hell would it ever be necessary to iron ANYTHING for a baby? I don't even own an iron! The only clothes of mine that should or could be ironed are suits and I have them dry-cleaned. Until Johan has his first bunad (traditional Norwegian costume that he will wear to celebrate Norway's Constitution Day), we will not have one article of anything that would make dry-cleaning or ironing even a remote possibility. Any parent that is spending her or his time ironing bibs or blankets probably has had a mental breakdown, should be deemed incompetent, and the child for whom that parent is ironing should be removed from the home. Yeah, I watch a lot of Law and Order: SVU where children are removed from the home. But, seriously, "iron when necessary?" Crazy, I tell you. CRAZY.

Sloth, Kristina Style

In some ways, I don't think of myself as a lazy person. I mean, this has been a big year for me being in action, DOING things. I finished law school; studied for and took and passed the bar exam; bought a house; and birthed a baby. All this while juggling roles as wife, daughter, friend, and decent human being. So, yeah, I do a lot.

Yet, I will let a bag of garbage sit by the back door for 4 days because I am too lazy to take it outside. I will leave socks on the floor because I can't be bothered to pick them up. In high school, Sarah tied a fake wreath on to the front of my car one Christmas. It was a brilliant surprise. But not surprisingly, I never took it off. Christmas came and went. The wreath stayed. I sold that car a year and half later and finally took the wreath off.

This year, it's Christmas ornaments. I would rather watch more crappy reality TV than actually put ornaments on the Christmas tree I bought. So, now 3 weeks after having purchased said tree, putting it up, and stringing it with lights, it still has no ornaments. And it's 6 days before Christmas. Eduardo has now gone to the DR, so it's just Johan and me at the house. Johan likes the lights but doesn't know Christmas from a hole in the ground and so I figure, what's the use of putting ornaments on the tree now? I know if I actually did it, I would end up leaving them on and the tree standing until mid- to late January. Why? I don't know. That's just sloth, my style. Or maybe, a year and half from now, when Johan is talking, he'll ask me why we're the only family that keeps a tree decorated with lights and ornaments in the house 365 days a year.

December Update, Or a Better Picture with Grandpa

Moira's been here the past few days. It's been great to have her here to hang out, drink a little wine, eat good food, meet Johan, hold Johan, take pictures of Johan etc. There are lots of new pictures at facebook.com.

But, because my dad has not stopped mentioning the crappy picture of he and Johan I put on my blog, here's a much better one.

In other news, Johan likes to barf a lot these days and this morning we suctioned a mondo booger out of his nose. I promise that come January 3, 2008, I will rejoin the real world and have things to write about other than, you know, boogers.