Yearly Goals 2012--Goal Setting for the Year

My friend Debbie started doing this last year and it helped her to stay on target with her goals. So, this year, i am going to try to post some goals that i would like to accomplish this year and try to post a monthly update to stay accountable. Since i have never done this, i may take some of these goals off this list or add some new ones on as the months go on. Since i am NOT usually a person who stays on track with anything, including goals, i am hoping that this will help me to do better.

Personal Goals:




spiritual

• Read the Bible every day--my church did a read through the Bible in a year last year and used Walk Through the Bible guides. I didn't do it, but i have all the guides. So, i really want to make this goal a priority  by following the guides for everyday reading.

• Spend time every day talking to God and listening to Him. I really want to get to know Him more and learn to hear His voice better.

• Read my bible study book and answer the questions before the day our Bible study meets--we meet the first and third Friday of the month, and i haven't been reading the book or answering the questions that much. So I want to have this done from now on. We are reading God's Priorities for Today's Women at the moment. Friday is Bible-study day and i haven't the chapter yet.

Health and Fitness

• Excercise 3-4 times a week. Either go for a walk for 20-30 minutes if the weather is nice or do one of the excercise DVD's that i have for at least 20 minutes if the weather is not nice.

• Eat at least 3 small meals a day at least 3-4 times a week. I tend to only eat one meal a day and then kind of graze the rest of the day. But my energy is always so low, so i would like to eat more consistently throughout the day. Six small servings would be best, but i don't want to push it, so i'll start with three.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables during the week. I don't want to say every day because that is not realistic right now. I will start with just eating some during the week and try to add more as the months go on.

• Drink 32-48 oz of water each day. I think i come close to this, but i'm not sure. I will need to keep track of how much i am drinking and adjust accordingly.

• Buy a scale and keep track of my weight--I don't ususally do this, but i think i should. I haven't owned a scale in years, but there is a good one on sale that measures weight, BMI, and hydaration levels so i'm gonna get that.

• Smoke less. For now i am gonna keep track of how much i smoke for a month. After this month, i will work on cutting that number down for the next month.

Educational

• College start back up for me on the 9th. I have two classes this semester...Macroeconomics and Anatomy and Physiology. So, my goal is to keep up with my work instead of procrastinating and stressing out because i have to do all the work in one night. My goal is to work on school work 4 times a week.

• I was supposed to have an internship this semester, but I didn't give myself enough time to check out enough intern sites...which is why i have these two more classes instead of an internship like i was supposed to. So, this goal is to work on finding a GOOD internship for the fall semester. To do that, i want to spend 1 day a week checking out sites and putting my name in at the appropriate angencies.

Personal/leisure

• Spend less time watching TV. This is a big weakness for me and a time-sucker too! So, this month, i want to make a goal to only watch 4 shows a day...which may sound like alot, but for me it isn't.

• Blog more often. I started this blog to keep track of our lives and my thoughts/feelings/activities. I want to blog at least one time a week for this month, and hope to increase that later.

• Get involved at my church. I don't really know where to involve myself, but it is a goal to get involved somewhere. This month i want to find a way to plug in to one thing other than sunday service.

• Find a place to volunteer that is Human Services related. This will help me to get out of the house, keep busy, help others, AND pad my resume :-) This month i want to find a couple places that interest me and find out how to volunteer there.

Household/Chores:

• Plan dinner 3-4 times a week and shop ahead at the beginning of the week. We tend to not really think about dinner until the afternoon and then have to go out and get something because the meat is frozen or we don't have all the ingredients. Steve makes dinnner a couple times a week, so i will plan only for 3 or 4 nights for now.

• On Monday through Friday, work on at least one room a day to deep clean. I always straighten up the house, but deep cleaning is not done enough. I want to make a schedule for what room will get done each day and post that sometime this week.

Family/Relationship:

• Take each child out to lunch/coffee each month. I usually try to do this anyway, but now i'm hoping to do it more consistently. I believe that Erin is next, than Rai, than Matt.

• Have a date night with hubby at least once a month. My parents sent us gift cards for dinner and a movie, so this month we will do that.

• Keep in touch with family who live far away. I am not consistent with this. I want to touch base with my parents, sister, and cousins at least once this month.

So, i think that's about it. I'm kind of intimidated by the length of this list, given that i don't normally plan anything and just do things "spur of the moment". But, i am gonna try because there is so much that i want to get done and i don't usually "have time" to do the things i wanted to do. There actually is enough time in my day to do all the things i want to, but i usually spend my time doing other things intead (read: computer, tv). I hope that this year i will be a productive, helpful, joyful, Christ-like, women who can get off her butt and be useful to others! Wish me luck.

30 Days of Thankfulness days 3 and 4

Told ya i would forget to post something every day :-) Not because i'm  not thankful, lol, just because i am very forgetful AND very busy right now.

So, anyway, today i got to spend a whole day...from 8 am to 6 pm...with my oldest daughter. I don't get to spend a whole lot of special time with her anymore, so when we made plans to go shopping today, i was very happy to have her all to myself.

Erin and her yournger sister Rai

Erin is the oldest of my three kids. Because of that, she is the one who her dad and i kind of "practiced" on in order to get parenting right. Not really like that, but you know what i mean.

Erin is kind and generous and sweet. She is easy to talk to, and likes to talk alot. She is funny and bright and charming. She is way more organized that i could ever hope to be, and there is a big part of her who reminds me of my older sister, who she is named after. I have watched Erin go through some stormy times and get frustrated and depressed, but she always manages to bounce back. I love this child of mine so much and am so thankful that the Lord gave her to me. She is a joy to me and i am so proud of the woman she is becoming.

Today i am thankful that i have been blessed with Erin and that she still loves spending time with her mom :-)

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 1 &2

It's been a long time since i've written anything, but my friend's daughter is hosting a "30 days of thankfulness" challenge on Facebook, and , since my blog is focused on seeking the silver lining in all things, i figured joining this challenge would help me to do just that. Since i'm joining a day late, i will use this post for both days 1 and 2. Hopefully i will remember to post something every day or two duriing this challenge :-)

I have been really out of it lately. Like, really down in the dumps, poor me, kind of down. It was really getting on my nerves that i couldn't talk myself out of this dumpy feeling like i usually can. I gave into the feeling for a while, which is NEVER a good thing to do. But, i didn't know how to control the feeling or the situation that was bringing me down.
Then it dawned on me last night--I don't have to control it.....in fact, i can't. Duh, How could i forget that whenever I try to control a situation, or my feelings, i utterly fail. I make a mess out of it. I wind up acting like the kind of person i do not want to be. So, what can i do? I can put my focus back where it belongs....on the Lord! Read His word! And, talk to my Creator and my Savior. He has all the Answers. Even if the answer is just "wait it out and have faith", which is not always easy.

So, today, i am thankful for the Hope that i have in Jesus Christ. He helps me remember that this life and the trials that come with it are just practice. Real life begins the moment we wake up in Heaven, in His presence. Thank God that I have an instruction manual on how to get through hard times! Thank God that i have a Heavenly Father who is always with me and will never forget me...even when i forget how to follow His instructions and forget i can lean on Him. Problems will always be with me...always. It will never be perfect here in this life. Someone will always hurt me. So, thank God that i have hope in the Lord! And, most important for me right now, I am thankful that i am loved, and loved unconditionally, by the One who created the whole universe...and  me. He has a plan for me...I know that his plan is perfect for me...i don't know what it is, but i have hope because i believe that nomatter what is going on now, it will all work together for good...because i love the Lord.


Romans 8:28   And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I am thankful for Hope.

Daybook for the week of September 18, 2011

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FOR TODAY September 19, 2011

Outside my window...Dark and chilly. It's been nice and chilly here lately. Not too cold, not too hot. We had the windows open for a couple days, but today it was too warm. I am looking forward to consistent chilly days--not cold days, but chilly enough for long sleeves and/or a jacket.

I am thinking... that since my gym membership is over, i really want to start jogging in the morning or evening to get back into shape. I hope i have the motivation to do this.

I am thankful...That Rachel really, really likes high school...still, after almost a month, she still like it. This makes me so happy for her. AND, Matt loves it too! It is so nice to see them both enjoying their days. They both got involved with the fall play...Matt got a lead part and will be playing the part of Hook and Mr. Darling (Peter Pan) and Rachel made it in as an indian (which is not easy as a freshman). I love their excitement :-)

From the learning rooms...Well, this no longer applies to homeschooling (which i am actually glad about), but for my college classes it does. I have a Spanish class, which i can not stand (the reason why i will leave for another post) and a Technical Writing class, which i knew i would not like because it is a very hard class that requires a LOT of writing...the kind of writing where i have to make sure that every single word and every single sentence and every single paragraph are all perfect. Starting in October, i will also add a Human Communications class for eight weeks. This is a sixteen week course that is smooshed into eight weeks, so i'm pretty sure that i will be very busy for the rest of the semester once this class starts. But, all in all, i am ok with the classes i have and am happy to say that they are the last classes i have to take! Next semester is my internship and then i will be graduating...which i can say i'm a little nervous about (but i'll save that for another post).

In the kitchen...Last night i made a banging chicken soup with matzo balls that were nowhere near as good as my mother-in-law's, but were good enough. Today i didn't cook (unless you can count cheese fries and raw broccoli as cooking) because only rai and i were home for dinner and that is what she wanted. Tomorrow is a school day and i may throw something in the crock-pot...i am still on a mission to put something in that crock-pot that rai does not hate, lol.

I am wearing...p.j's. Today was a lazy day that pretty much included me changing from one pair of pj's into another pair. That was the extent of my excersise for the day. Tomorrow, i will get back to exercising, lol.

I am creating...um...let's see...i guess the only thing i am creating is a couple of hopefully perfect tech writing papers. And a tidy house. A couple good dinners. That's about all i can think of...i am not very creative.

I am going...to the doctor with Erin tomorrow to help her get some answers about some back and joint pain she has been struggling with. Then i am going to run some errands and go to school. I don't really know if i'm going anywhere for the rest of the week...shopping maybe :-)

I am wondering...what i should do with the rest of my boring week, lol.

I am reading...English Tech book for school and a book titled "Uglies" for leisure. It's a young adult fiction that i took off Erin's book-shelf one day, and it's actually a pretty good book. Once i pay my fines at the library, lol, i will pick up some Ted Dekker books to read.

I am hoping...that i really will be motivated enough to get up early and start a jogging program.

I am looking forward to...going to school tomorrow....i really do look forward to getting out and having some Michele-time once a week (twice, once my other class starts). Oh, i just remembered, i have an honor society meeting on Thursday, so that's something else i can do this week :-)

I am hearing...actually, the house is quiet. The fan is on, but i hear the crickets outside. And Rai is humming while she gets ready for bed.

Around the house...Didn't really do any house projects this week, BUT, i did fix Erin's bike. It took a couple of days and two trips to the bike shop--once for advice and then to get them to take the back tire off the bike because i had stripped the nut and had the tube replaced. But the rest of it was all me. I fixed the front tire, put air in it, broke the brakes while trying to put the front tire back on (that i didn't realize i had broken until the front tire WAS back on, lol) took the tire back off, fixed the brakes i had broken, put the tire back on...and WHALA--just like that-- the bike was fixed. yeah, it may have taken me two days to do a job that would have taken Steve like twenty minutes, but i learned something and fixed something..and that felt good :-) I don't like having to wait for someone else to do something, so i am trying to learn to do things on my own...it may take a while, but at least it's getting done, lol.

I am pondering...nothing, lol

One of my favorite things...being self-sufficient

A few plans for the rest of the week: see above

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I missed my Neice's wedding because it was just too expensive to travel for the third time this summer. I cried when i saw the pictures because i really, really wanted to be there and support my cousin Beth and her beautiful daughter. She made a lovely bride, which did not surprise me. She has turned into one wonderful young lady who i'm sure will make a lovely wife. So, here is my picture thought this week...wish i could have been there:

Jen and Wes

My cousins Beth and Mike--Bride's parents

My daddy dancing with the bride

My sister and brother-in-law

My mom and dad