Always around the first week of the year, everyone talks about their New Year’s Resolutions. By the end of January, the resolutions are out of sight, out of mind. This post, I’m revisiting my resolutions/goals to see how I’ve been doing.
1. Catch up in scrapbooking: I have now scrapbooked through May of 2006. I got on a scrapbooking kick for about 2 weeks and trudged through 2005 and half of 2006.
2. Make the Australia scrapbook: Zero progress.
3. Drink more water. 4 out 7 days a week, I’m good. The other days are mediocre, but I have been making Ryan drink more water. Does that count?
4. Create a health and fitness plan that gradually builds: I spent January reasonably dedicated to one workout a week and no eating out. Then birthday and Valentine’s day madness came around and I fell off the wagon, hard. I’ve since reached an all time high in weight and then come back down off the edge of a tall cliff. I’m back on water and the treadmill.
5. Move to a new city: Orlando is looking more and more realistic.
6. Make new friends: I haven’t exactly made new friends, but I have been more active with current friends and people from work.
7. Build up my savings account: I mailed a check to my mom yesterday to be deposited in my new MM account. It has a higher interest rate. I’ve been much better about controlling the urge to eat out. I’ve cut back drastically on how often I run downstairs for a coffee or bagel. I bought creamer for when we make coffee in the office and buy regular coffee instead of the fancy stuff (twice as expensive). This has been my greatest success in terms of making new year’s resolutions.
8. Figure out my career choices: I have been switching back and forth between nursing and teaching for months now. Finally, I decided that, either way, I have to take the GRE. So I have books and notecards courtesy of Maggie and will be taking the test by the end of April.
9. Religion: Not sure where this is going yet.
As for number 8, the latest issue of Real Simple touches on our greatest decision-making problems. In this case, I have gone through every road block in deciding what career I want to pursue. I’ve waffled, procrastinated, polled people’s opinion, been over cautious, etc. I’ve now set a deadline to decide. April = GRE. June = application deadline. I will have a decision and I will pursue something. Not because of a last minute decision, but because putting it off will only keep me more miserable.
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
happy new year!
This year I will be turning 24. Yikes! The new year gives us the opportunity to start fresh, evaluate where I’ve been and where I want to go. I want to make things move in my life, so I’m compiling a list of things to work toward. 2008 Here I come!
In no particular order:
1. Catch up in scrapbooking: I’ve only scrapped up to 2005 and I already have pictures from 2008! Though it has been a fun adventure to peruse through pictures from my life 2-3 years ago.
2. Make the Australia scrapbook: Admittedly, this should be under bullet 1, but this beast is a project all its own. I haven’t even begun to sift through the hundreds of pictures from my trip to Australia.
3. Drink more water.
4. Create a health and fitness plan that gradually builds: This way my goals can change daily/weekly to accommodate my schedule. So yesterday, the goal was to just use the treadmill for a full 30 minutes. It didn’t matter how many calories I burned or how far I went, just that I was moving for 30 minutes and the time was blocked off in my head. I’m hoping to use this once a week to keep my mind set on working out regularly for a set amount of time.
5. Move to a new city: I am so done with Gainesville. Crazy drivers. Freshmen season. Bad shopping. Crazy college kids. Unappealing social activities (i.e. getting drunk) Six years is enough.
6. Make new friends: On the nights when Ryan is working or the times that we would like to just have a bunch of people come hang out, there is just no one to call. I’d like to build up a new friendship base complete with girlfriends (don’t be gross), board gamers, wine and cheese lovers, and workout buddies. Where do you find these people?
7. Build up my savings account: I did some research and found that my credit union savings account is making 7x the interest of my main savings account. I have 10x the money in my main savings account! I’ll be switching accounts to get the better interest rate, but this goal involves more than just that small change. I will be working on not eating out as often, controlling the impulse buys and conserving the energy/water we consume at home. I will also be looking for a home with lower rent starting August 1.
8. Figure out my career choices: I have no illusions in my head of finding the perfect career in the next year, but I would like to narrow my choices and head in the right direction toward my choice.
9. Religion: I would like to become more spiritually active. Currently, prayers come as an after-thought or during stressful/worrisome situations. I’d like to get back to the roots of my faith.
This year seemed to go by in such a blur. In 2007 I: filed my taxes, spent as much quality time with the love of my life as possible, was in my brother’s wedding, changed jobs, RV’ed with my family, went on a cruise, lost a little bit of weight, stayed in the same apt for a second year, donated blood, saved a little more money, went to my first black-tie event and started taking piano lessons. When making my goals, I forgot to think about all the things I have accomplished this year. I’ve done more than I thought. Here’s to a great oh-eight.
In no particular order:
1. Catch up in scrapbooking: I’ve only scrapped up to 2005 and I already have pictures from 2008! Though it has been a fun adventure to peruse through pictures from my life 2-3 years ago.
2. Make the Australia scrapbook: Admittedly, this should be under bullet 1, but this beast is a project all its own. I haven’t even begun to sift through the hundreds of pictures from my trip to Australia.
3. Drink more water.
4. Create a health and fitness plan that gradually builds: This way my goals can change daily/weekly to accommodate my schedule. So yesterday, the goal was to just use the treadmill for a full 30 minutes. It didn’t matter how many calories I burned or how far I went, just that I was moving for 30 minutes and the time was blocked off in my head. I’m hoping to use this once a week to keep my mind set on working out regularly for a set amount of time.
5. Move to a new city: I am so done with Gainesville. Crazy drivers. Freshmen season. Bad shopping. Crazy college kids. Unappealing social activities (i.e. getting drunk) Six years is enough.
6. Make new friends: On the nights when Ryan is working or the times that we would like to just have a bunch of people come hang out, there is just no one to call. I’d like to build up a new friendship base complete with girlfriends (don’t be gross), board gamers, wine and cheese lovers, and workout buddies. Where do you find these people?
7. Build up my savings account: I did some research and found that my credit union savings account is making 7x the interest of my main savings account. I have 10x the money in my main savings account! I’ll be switching accounts to get the better interest rate, but this goal involves more than just that small change. I will be working on not eating out as often, controlling the impulse buys and conserving the energy/water we consume at home. I will also be looking for a home with lower rent starting August 1.
8. Figure out my career choices: I have no illusions in my head of finding the perfect career in the next year, but I would like to narrow my choices and head in the right direction toward my choice.
9. Religion: I would like to become more spiritually active. Currently, prayers come as an after-thought or during stressful/worrisome situations. I’d like to get back to the roots of my faith.
This year seemed to go by in such a blur. In 2007 I: filed my taxes, spent as much quality time with the love of my life as possible, was in my brother’s wedding, changed jobs, RV’ed with my family, went on a cruise, lost a little bit of weight, stayed in the same apt for a second year, donated blood, saved a little more money, went to my first black-tie event and started taking piano lessons. When making my goals, I forgot to think about all the things I have accomplished this year. I’ve done more than I thought. Here’s to a great oh-eight.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
ding ding ding.
The time has come to make changes, instead of just wishing for them.
I have recently decided that my constant wavering of decisions has gotten me nowhere. I believe that I am very capable of making a very good, solid plan when it comes to the possibilities my future could hold. I can even hold on to those plans for days, weeks, months, even, at a time. The downside is that I am also very capable of carefully picking apart those well-laid plans until there is nothing left to stand on. I bring my hopes up high, then tear them down sadistically.
My first tackle at this sadistic behavior has been purchasing a piano and researching teachers. I am bound and determined to learn to play it. Jackie and Luke helped Ryan and I move the damn thing into the apartment. We had to lay it on its back, which made me cringe over every bump. Some of the keys were not exactly working and it is very much out of tune after the move. I was really afraid that it was irreparable.
Last night, Dan the Piano man came over to fix the issues. Have you ever seen the inside of a piano, more than just opening the lid? I watched him work for about an hour, completely mesmerized as I learned how the whole thing works. He was a rather chatty man and had no issues explaining the process or showing me the keys and the hammers and all the things that make it a piano.
Tonight, I am having coffee with a possible piano teacher. She seems very nice and very experienced with piano. Hopefully, by Christmas I will have some reasonable amount of skills to show off after Christmas dinner.
Ryan and I have discussed, re-discussed and discussed further what our future might hold in terms of geography. It seems to change every day. However, a fairly do-able plan has been created in my mind and I intend to get somewhere with it, whatever the obstacles.
I am going back to school. It is official; I will be taking advantage of the free schooling that UF offers. Then I will be applying for another degree. Decisions have finally been made regarding my career path; no longer do I feel doomed to an office/desk life for the rest of my career. The classes that are required are a bit daunting, but hopefully I will survive.
Ryan has been very supportive. Though, I must admit, I am rather sad about the fact that I will continue to live in Gainesville until at least 2009. Yuck. As long as I don’t get to the point where I am stuck in Gainesville, I can live, but having kids here is just not for me. I want a bigger city, plain and simple.
I have recently decided that my constant wavering of decisions has gotten me nowhere. I believe that I am very capable of making a very good, solid plan when it comes to the possibilities my future could hold. I can even hold on to those plans for days, weeks, months, even, at a time. The downside is that I am also very capable of carefully picking apart those well-laid plans until there is nothing left to stand on. I bring my hopes up high, then tear them down sadistically.
My first tackle at this sadistic behavior has been purchasing a piano and researching teachers. I am bound and determined to learn to play it. Jackie and Luke helped Ryan and I move the damn thing into the apartment. We had to lay it on its back, which made me cringe over every bump. Some of the keys were not exactly working and it is very much out of tune after the move. I was really afraid that it was irreparable.
Last night, Dan the Piano man came over to fix the issues. Have you ever seen the inside of a piano, more than just opening the lid? I watched him work for about an hour, completely mesmerized as I learned how the whole thing works. He was a rather chatty man and had no issues explaining the process or showing me the keys and the hammers and all the things that make it a piano.
Tonight, I am having coffee with a possible piano teacher. She seems very nice and very experienced with piano. Hopefully, by Christmas I will have some reasonable amount of skills to show off after Christmas dinner.
Ryan and I have discussed, re-discussed and discussed further what our future might hold in terms of geography. It seems to change every day. However, a fairly do-able plan has been created in my mind and I intend to get somewhere with it, whatever the obstacles.
I am going back to school. It is official; I will be taking advantage of the free schooling that UF offers. Then I will be applying for another degree. Decisions have finally been made regarding my career path; no longer do I feel doomed to an office/desk life for the rest of my career. The classes that are required are a bit daunting, but hopefully I will survive.
Ryan has been very supportive. Though, I must admit, I am rather sad about the fact that I will continue to live in Gainesville until at least 2009. Yuck. As long as I don’t get to the point where I am stuck in Gainesville, I can live, but having kids here is just not for me. I want a bigger city, plain and simple.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)