goals for 2012: march update

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." Psalm 37:5

No, that verse doesn't really have anything to do with this post. But when I read it this morning, God used it to speak to my heart, so I wanted to share it!

In the month of March, I feel like I just kind of ... maintained. Made some strides in some areas, slipped back in others. It definitely was a better month goal wise than February, but not as good as January.

1. Read through the Bible. Well, I'm still "on track"—meaning I still have two months of catch-up days I can use! I pretty much maintained in March—I definitely didn't read every day, but I did read more than in February. So far, April is going better!
2. Exercise four times per week. The Ja-La-Sta Walking Challenge ran through March 31, and I averaged 5,406 steps per day in March. I stopped marking my exercise time on my calendar a long time ago, but I think I exercised about four times per week. Here's to an even stronger April!
3. Lose 30 pounds. My diet went really well for the first three weeks. Then I went on a trip. Then I went on another trip. I've found that it's virtually impossible to follow this diet while traveling ... or else I just don't have the willpower to make it happen! Still, I'm down four pounds, so just six to go until I can start watching Monarch of the Glen :-) Also, I can tell that my clothes are fitting better!
4. Travel somewhere new. It depends how technical we want to get here. For Blendy's birthday, we went to Wichita, a city I've visited many, many times. But the purpose of our trip was to visit the Warren's balcony theater, a place we'd never been. Still, I want to travel to a completely new city or state this year ... right now, I'm thinking maybe Wisconsin or Arizona. (I don't know why, and I'm still open to suggestions!)
5. Complete one crafting project a month. I failed. Completely. The end of the month just snuck up on me, and I didn't even get one picked out, let alone completed! Maybe I'll double up in April ...
6. Learn to say "no." Yes! About a week ago, I had the following conversation with our Activities Director:
   

   AD: Do you have a minute? I need to ask you something.
   Me: Does this have to do with coaching drama? 'Cause the answer is no.
   AD: Good meeting! 

   In the end, we talked a bit more, and I agreed to help with drama—but I made it very clear that I would not be the coach!
   

My goals have definitely suffered a bit in the last two months. How are yours? Are you still going strong? Have you given up? Or, like me, are you just maintaining?

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goals for 2012: february update

Remember how high I was at the end of January? How well I was doing with all of my goals? Well, February was crash-and-burn month for me. I could blame my trip to Indiana, the cold/cough/ear infection (did you know adults get ear infections? I didn't ... until that's what my doctor told me I had) that has hung on for 10 days, or speech (my favorite whipping boy this time of the year) ... but really, the blame lies with me. My laziness. My complacency. Things are turning around, though, so I hope my March report will be much happier!

1. Read through the Bible. At the end of January, I was a little behind. At the end of February, I'm super behind! I'm still on track to finish well before the end of the year, but I need to keep focused. Sadly, this is the first thing to go when I'm feeling rushed or stressed or tired.
2. Exercise four times per week. I'm probably averaging three, and I really dropped off in the J-La-Sta 10,000 Steps Walking Challenge (I averaged 4,355 steps per day). I did exercise the last three days of February, though, thanks to my new diet. Since I'm committed to it through March 24 and it calls for exercise six days per week, I think my March stats will be better!
3. Lose 30 pounds. I ended February exactly where I began February ... which means I've been in a holding pattern for two months, as I also began and ended January in the same place. I have high hopes for this diet, though—I even bought myself an "I'm going on a diet" gift, the first two seasons of Monarch of the Glen (you may recall that I do love me some Monarch!), which I won't allow myself to watch until I've dropped the first 10 pounds. My first official weigh-in on the diet comes tomorrow morning ...
4. Travel somewhere new. I did go to Chicago and Indiana in February, but I'd been there before. Still thinking about where I want to travel this summer! (And I'm open to suggestions ...)
5. Complete one crafting project a month. Done! It wasn't a craft in the traditional sense of the word, but I'm pretty proud of my birdseed cakes. 
6. Learn to say "no." I actually didn't have much opportunity to do so in February. I passed on a couple reviewing opportunities, but those were ones I would have passed on even before this challenge.

How are your goals progressing two months into the new year? What has proven most difficult when it comes to meeting your goals?

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goals for 2012: january update

Here's the first monthly check-in on my goals for the year. I'm happy to report that things are going fairly well!

1. Read through the Bible. I am a little behind, which has happened just in the last week. The plan I'm on is set to finish up in September, though, so I have a few days to play with! The problem with this plan is that it's so intense (it takes about 40 minutes to do each day's reading) that catching up is difficult. I'm not sure if I'll ever completely catch up ... but as long as I don't fall far behind, I'll be fine. (And I just discovered that YouVersion has a "catch me up" feature that will change your start and end dates so you don't feel so behind ... so my new end date is September 11.)
2. Exercise four times per week. This is the one I can't believe that I've kept up with! I am exercising for at least 20 minutes per day about five days per week. I look pretty stupid speed-walking the circle around my kitchen and living room, but it works ... and no one is (usually) here to see me, anyway! (Don't worry, I won't wear a hole through the carpet—I also work out on my elliptical, play Wii Sports, and walk outside when it's nice.) As far as the J-La-Sta 10,000 Steps Walking Challenge goes, I had no idea how hard it was to get to 10,000 steps each day! I've logged 140,533 steps in the challenge so far ... and I'm determined to make February more successful than January.
3. Lose 30 pounds. Um, yeah. Early on in the month I'd lost two pounds, but I've ended the month right where I started it. So I need to work harder here!
4. Travel somewhere new. I'm going to Chicago and Indiana this weekend ... but I've been there before. So no progress here.
5. Complete one crafting project a month. Done! I didn't do the one I'd planned (still going to do it or something like it later). Instead, I put nail polish on my keys. See my post about it here. 
6. Learn to say "no." Still learning. I did pass on a whole slew of book review opportunities this month. And I decided not to join another Bible study at church after my current one ends—because I have two other Bible studies I'll be involved in! 

If you set goals for the year, how are you doing with them after one month?

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hating on thomas and tswift

I haven't done a bulleted list of randomness for a long time. So here you go!

• I'm sick of reading. This is not good for a book blogger, but it's where I am right now. I've been sticking to my goal of only requesting books I'm really interested in reading, but this does not help me now, as the books due in January and February were requested in December or earlier. For the most part, these are books that I really wanted to read at the time ... I just don't feel like reading them now!
• Are you watching Downton Abbey? If not, why not? Season One just won a Golden Globe last night, and it won several Emmy Awards last year, also. Downton is set in the time leading up to and during World War I. It's in the vein of Upstairs, Downstairs in that it deals with an aristocratic family and the family's servants. Season Two is, so far, a bit toned down from Season One—the "evil" characters are, for the most part, less evil, and much of the family conflict has diminished. I still absolutely loathe Thomas, though ... so much so that I tweeted the following last night:

  Thomas doesn't even have to be on screen for my loathing of him to grow--all it takes is a mention of his name! #DowntonPBS

  Also, I would marry Matthew Crawley or Mr. Bates in a heartbeat. Downton airs on PBS on Sunday nights through February 19, and you can watch Season One on pbs.org through tomorrow or on Netflix.
• Les Misérables— the musical version — is finally coming to the big screen. I was so excited when I first heard — but one of the casting choices has given me pause. Let's start with the ones I (more or less) approve of. Colm Wilkinson is Valjean. However, he's getting a bit old and wouldn't have the draw of someone with the star power of, say, Hugh Jackman, who has been cast in the role. Jackman does have a wonderful voice (see his 2009 Oscar performance here, which also features Anne Hathaway, who has been cast as Fantine), and I'm sure he'll do the role justice, but I still worry about "Bring Him Home." Though I don't know anything about Russell Crowe's vocal chops, I can buy him as Javert. And Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen strike me as the perfect Thénardiers. But Taylor Swift as Eponine? Please excuse me while I throw up. (As far as I know, she hasn't accepted the role yet, but it's been offered.) I'm normally pretty ambivalent toward TSwift, but Eponine? Really? I could see her as Cosette, perhaps, if they absolutely had to cast her (her popularity will probably bring girls to the theater). I shudder to think of what "On My Own" would sound like coming out of Swift's mouth. (Lea Salonga, who in my mind is the definitive Eponine, sings it here.) Was Lea Michele unavailable or something? 'Cause she would be perfect. (Plus, we already know how she would sound singing "On My Own." Fabulous!) ***Update 2-1-12: Taylor Swift will not be playing Eponine. I feel like we Les Mis fans dodged a bullet here!***
• I've discovered a way to get in more steps for the Ja-La-Sta 10,000 Steps Walking Challenge while also keeping up with my commitment to read through the Bible this year— I pull up YouVersion on my computer and listen to the AudioBible! My house is basically set up in a circle with the living room at the front and the kitchen at the back. So I crank the volume on my computer and walk in a 25-step circle for the 40 minutes or so it takes to get through the day's chapters. It's a bit monotonous, but having Scripture to focus my mind on makes the time go faster.
• I've once again been sucked into the trashy world of The Bachelor. (I prefer The Bachelorette because the guys aren't so catty, but I'm enjoying this, too.) Normally, I seek out Reality Steve's spoilers, but I decided that this year, I would just wait and watch the season play out. Then I accidentally ran into a major (MAJOR!) spoiler. I was not happy. My sister Blendy has ended her long blogging hiatus by writing her thoughts after the first two episodes. See her post here and give her some comment love! 
• Southwest Airlines rocks! Low fares. Bags fly free. And now this: Blendy and I got ridiculously cheap tickets to fly out to see Val next month, and a bunch of us decided to go together to buy tickets for our friend Jamie to go with us. Because we didn't get her tickets during the sale, they were much more expensive. Well, we didn't exactly clear the dates with Jamie first (not a smart move, but it was supposed to be a surprise), and she has parent-teacher conferences on the day of our return. So tonight I went to southwest.com to change her itinerary ... and I was pleasantly surprised to discover they don't have any trip change fees! And, since they're currently running a sale, I was able to get her new tickets for less money than her old tickets! Unfortunately, the first tickets were non-refundable, but if she wants to fly anywhere else before next November, she has a $30 credit to work with! 

There's my list of things that have been on my mind. What about you? Any books, movies, or TV shows you're loving? Want to throw things at me for suggesting Taylor Swift may not be right for the role of Eponine? Want to get something else off your chest? Tell us about it in the comments!

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goals for 2012: week 1 update

Last Monday, I wrote about my goals for 2012. I intend to do a summary post each month, tracking my progress. I thought it would be fun to do an "after the first week" update, too ... mainly because I'm doing so well right now, and it may be a different story in three weeks!

1. Read through the Bible. So far, so good. I've kept up with the readings so far. This is helped by the fact that I was assigned a study hall this semester. I just pull up YouVersion on the computer in the classroom and go for it!
   
2. Exercise four times per week. Again, I'm doing well on this one! I have a calendar that I've designated as my exercise calendar, and I track what I did and how long I did it. I've been playing a lot of Wii Sports this week, and I've used my elliptical on four different days. I downloaded an audiobook to listen to while I exercise—I've learned that I don't enjoy reading while ellipticaling, and sometimes it's even hard for me to watch TV. For some reason, an audiobook makes the time fly by! I'm listening to James Patterson's Judge & Jury. It's my first Patterson, borrowed from NebraskaOverdrive, which I can access using my library card. Actor Joe Mantenga reads it, and he does a fabulous job.
   I've also joined a walking challenge—The J-La-Sta 10,000 Steps Walking Challenge. I bought a pedometer and everything! If you'd like to join, click on the link above for details—we'd love to have you!
   
3. Lose 30 pounds. I think I lost about a pound this week. Why am I not sure? Well, I have one of those scales that can save your weight and tell you how much you've gained or lost. When I stepped on for my weekly weigh-in (I've learned not to weigh every day—that can just make a person crazy!), my scale kindly informed me that I'd gained 54 pounds. Seems someone (who shall remain nameless) weighed herself and saved it. And I can't remember exactly what the scale said last Sunday, but I know it was closer to the 200-pound mark then than it was today.
   
4. Travel somewhere new. No progress on this one.
   
5. Complete one crafting project a month. I think I've picked my project out. No idea when I'll do it yet. See it here.
   
6. Learn to say "no." Well, I passed on one book review opportunity this week. And I tried to turn down the study hall assignment, but that didn't go so well for me. So I decided to look at it positively—if the school wants to pay me to read for 55 minutes a day, who am I to complain?

How about you? Did you make any resolutions or set any goals for 2012? How are they going after the first week?

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goals for 2012

I've never really made New Year's resolutions. Never publicly, anyway. I know myself, and I know I will fail. Still, I think it's good to have goals, so I've come up with a list of things I'd like to accomplish in 2012. We'll see how it goes!

1. Read through the Bible. This has been a goal of mine every year for the last ten or so ... and I haven't accomplished it yet! I always start out so well—but one, two, or three weeks in I fall off the wagon and never get back on. I'm determined to make this year different, and I have a new plan, thanks to Tim Challies. He's created the 3650 Challenge, where you read 10 chapters of the Bible each day using Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading System. I've used this system before, but I only made it about 15 days in before I got behind and ultimately gave up. A Facebook group has been set up for encouragement and accountability for those who are taking the challenge, and I'm hoping that being part of a community of believers who all have the same goal will help to motivate me! I plan to do the majority of my reading on YouVersion, as they have a reader that will present each day's readings in a chunk, and I can check off each chapter as I complete it. 
2. Exercise four times a week. If you know me, you know this is a lofty goal—but I'm going to try!
3. Lose 30 pounds. Another lofty goal ... if I can get the exercise thing down, this will be a lot easier!
4. Travel somewhere new. It doesn't have to be anywhere exotic (and seeing how my Europe fund is dwindling, it probably won't be!), just somewhere I haven't been before. Preferably with Blendy.
5. Complete one crafting project a month and blog about it. I've never been much of a crafter, but now that I'm on Pinterest, a whole new world of crafting ideas has opened up to me! I plan to include Blendy in this one, too—'cause she's the crafting brains of this operation!
6. Learn to say "no." I tend to over-commit myself, especially when it comes to book reviews. I'm getting better—I have let a few offers pass me by—but the question I need to ask myself is, "Do you really want to read this book?" If the answer isn't an unequivocal "yes," then I should probably just say no.  

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o tannenbaum!

Today is Saturday, January 22, 2011. If you step into my living room, this is what you will see:

That's right, my Christmas tree is still up, nearly one month after Christmas. Why? Because I just can't bear to take it down. I love the ambiance it creates, the soft glow that lights a darkened room. And there's this:

I always struggle to find time to read the Bible. But the thought of lying on the floor, reading God's Word by the soft glow emanating from the tree beckons to me, and I end most of my evenings reading under the tree.

I know the tree will need to come down soon (a potential house buyer could come at any time), but I think I need to spend a few more evenings under the tree!

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