We are one-third of the way through 2013 so it’s time for my first resolutions check-in. I like to make a lot of resolutions for the following year with the understanding that I won’t achieve them all but they give me a good basis to work from. I am a very goal-oriented person by nature, so I just love making resolutions and then setting goals toward achieving them. So let’s see how I’m doing right now, shall we?
Health and Fitness
> Lose 50 lbs. No progress made so far.
> Train for a 5K, and set a new personal record. I’m on a running hiatus for now, since I realize how much I just don’t love it. I was hoping to run Iron Girl this month and try for a new PR but decided against participating. Maybe I’ll come back to running one day – but I’m pretty sure I need about 35 sports massages for my messed-up leg muscles before it’s possible to run pain-free.
> Get my wisdom teeth removed. I haven’t made any progress with this goal and my wisdom teeth haven’t been hurting at all. I know I should get them removed, but unless they’re hurting, I don’t really see the point.
> Eat less meat. This goal is always on my mind. I really want to get to a place where I’m more comfortable with meatless dishes and not so dependent on meat for my protein source. And I’m still traumatized by the chapter on how meat is produced in Skinny Bitch.
> Quit soda cold turkey. Success! I went 30 days without it earlier this year and my body has rid itself of its dependence on caffeine. I used to be someone who could drink caffeine all the time and still sleep like a baby, but now if I have anything with caffeine after a certain time, I’m up for hours. I still drink soda, but usually caffeine-free beverages and not nearly as much as I used to.
> Complete the Spartan 1,000. I’m not ready for the full Spartan yet. Maybe later this year!
Money
> Put myself on a strict budget and evaluate how I am doing on a monthly basis. Success! I’m starting to pay more attention to my spending habits and I’m doing well in adhering to my budget. (Though my cruise has halted some of my goals for now.) While I could certainly do better, I’m really happy with the way I’m handling my finances this year.
> Save at least $83 per month to have $1,000 saved by the end of the year. Eek! I did well in January and February but had to use some of my savings to book the cruise. This is still an area I need to work on.
> Pay off my last credit card. Success – paid it in full in January! I really worked to get my credit card back to its limit, because it was something I struggled with last year.
> Set up a payment plan with the collection agency holding my ER visit bill. Not yet. It’s something I keep putting off because I really don’t feel like dealing with it, but I know I just need to bite the bullet and make the call. I know I’ll feel so much better about it once I do!
> Spend less than $100 on Kindle books. Success! I have spent less than $10 so far this year. Of course, I did have a $25 Amazon gift card from Christmas to use up, but I’m doing well with this goal so far.
Writing
> Write and edit a novel. No progress made yet. I’ve been too busy writing guest posts and posts for this blog to even think about fiction writing right now.
> Participate in NaNoWriMo 2013. I can’t wait! I had such a blast with NaNoWriMo last year and I hope I can mimic my success this time around.
> Get at least 3 freelance articles published. No progress made on this goal yet.
> Write 50 guest blogs. I added this resolution late, when I decided to write 50 guest blogs in an effort to become a better writer and grow my portfolio. Currently, I have written 22 guest posts. Almost halfway there!
Independence/Social
> Buy a car. Success! Purchased in February – she is a beauty and I’m so happy I have my own wheels now! It feels amazing.
> Go to 3 social events per month. I’m not keeping track of this goal as I should be. I’m attending book club (missed February’s meeting but went to January’s and March’s) and have been on a few coffee dates with friends, but that’s about it. I don’t mean to be such a hermit, but sometimes, it’s just easier to stay home than put myself out there with people I don’t know. I need to figure out a way to make this goal without driving myself crazy.
> Travel by myself to visit a blog friend. Still planning on doing this one – somehow! I’m really itching to visit NYC this year so I will figure out a way to make that happen.
Other
> Get a tattoo. I know exactly what I want to get and where. I’ve been thinking about getting this tattoo for almost a year now, so I know it’s something I really want – not just something I’m doing on impulse. My next step is to just do it!
> Complete Project 333. Planning on starting this in June. I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to talk about it more!
> Send one piece of snail mail a month. UM. Completely forgot about this goal. So.
> Read 100 books. I have read 25 books so far. I’m 1 book behind schedule, but I think this goal is entirely doable.
> Memorize 24 Bible verses by participating in the Siesta Scripture Memory Team. I’ve fallen off track with memorizing my Bible verses. I memorized the first two with no issues and then just fell apart after that. I should be on Verse #7 right now so I have to do some catch-up on this goal!
***
Completed Goals: 5
Goals I’m on track to complete: 12
Goals that will take a LOT of hard work to complete: 4
Goals I completely forgot about/not so sure about completing anymore: 2
Only a third of the way into 2013 and I would say I’m doing okay! I’ve already crossed off five goals (or I know I’ll be able to cross them off by the end of the year) and I’m on track with 12 other goals (which include goals I just need to do like getting a tattoo and completing NaNoWriMo). Then there are four goals I will need to work really hard at to complete (losing 50 lbs and saving $1,000 by the end of the year make the list) and two goals that I’m not so sure about anymore.
I don’t make these resolutions with an attitude of having to cross every item off my list, but with the knowledge and understanding that these are goals I want to achieve and there are a lot of them so even being able to cross out half of this list will be deemed a success. Plus, goals are very fluid and change over the course of twelve months so nothing is set in stone.
Looking forward to the next three months, I want to set five goals to achieve:
- I want to lose 20 lbs.
- I want to call about my ER bill and set up a payment plan.
- I want to get a tattoo.
- I want to get back on track with memorizing Scripture.
- I want to have one freelance article published – paid or not.
How are you doing on your resolutions? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed yet?
I think you’re doing pretty well with your goals! I didn’t set any firm resolutions or goals this year, except to fit into my overall theme of “shimmer,” and part of that is giving myself the freedom of not having a lot of little goals – so far it’s working well!
I’ve had my wisdom teeth out – if you’re getting all four it’s not really big deal – they’ll put you under and you wake up and it’s done. The best advice I got from my doctor sounded ridiculous but really worked! The first day (start when you’re still numb and sleepy), take a pair of pantyhose and cut off the feet part. Tie them together at the ankles, slip a bag of ice in each leg, and then put the ice against your cheeks, tying the ends on top of your head. I KNOW. It sounds insane – but you keep ice on your cheeks without having to hold it or it melting all over, and I had no swelling or bruising whatsoever!
Bookmarking this advice! I will have to see what my dentist says when I go in for my cleaning (and I probably should have them removed if they HAVE hurt in the past) but I’m not looking forward to getting them removed. I have heard such horror stories and I am a WIMP when it comes to pain!
I got my wisdom teeth removed two at a time. One side and then the other side (so i can eat. because I love my food. haha)
You’re doing well! I’m always so impressed by how much reading you get done!
I’m doing okay with my goals. I’m behind my blogging and working out goals but they were made to just get me motivated and blog more/work out more.
I think you are doing really well with your goals! The finance ones are HUGE so I consider those a big win right there.
Re: the spending on the books you definitely shouldn’t count the gift card you had!
STL is always a plane trip away and we have custard 🙂 . I suppose it doesn’t count that you are traveling to Orlando to meet me next weekend? Which reminds me I need to figure out the plans for that day so I can tell you =)
Keep up the great work. Accomplishing any goal you set is impressive to me!
I think you’re doing great with your goals! Fifty books read so far this year? That’s amazing. I’ve only read one (my goal is 2 a month :P).
I’m doing pretty well on my goals. I’ve paid down one of my credit cards significantly and bought my car. Now I just need to focus on losing weight and writing and blogging more.
Oh, no! I’ve “only” read 25 books so far this year. Not 50! I would be very impressed with myself if I had read 50 books so far this year. 😉 I spend a LOT of my free time reading so that’s how I manage to read so much. (And I have a lot of free time, ha!)
You are doing well with your goals! Paying down a credit card & buying a car are two monster goals so congrats on achieving both! Woohoo!
Careful with the wisdom teeth! A friend of mine didn’t have his removed because they didn’t hurt him, & now, a couple years later, he’s in terrible pain because they’re impacted & one has somehow become sideways. He had to have a bone graft in his jaw as part of the removal & was on a liquid diet for a week! Super-scary.
Oh, that is scary! They haven’t hurt in months, but I guess just the fact that they HAVE hurt in the past should be enough to get them removed. I just hate surgery of any kind – even something simple as a tooth extraction.
I should probably review my resolutions too since I… kinda forgot I had them. What a year this has been! Sheesh! You’re doing awesome though. I like your five goals for the next few months. You got this!
Thanks, miss! I love doing resolution check-in’s because it helps me to see what I am accomplishing. You might find out you’re doing better than you thought! 🙂
I think the year is off to a good start for you! You have made progress on a lot of your goals so far! I would be putting off the wisdom teeth thing, too… I had mine out when I was 16 and still on my parents insurance policy. If I had to pay for the deductibel/etc, I would probably put it off too.
That’s another thing holding me back from getting them removed: the cost! I know my insurance will cover some of it, but definitely not everything and I worry a lot about the cost. I mean, I had a visit for a specialist orthopedic in September which ended up costing me almost $300! And that wasn’t even surgery – just a visit to examine my x-rays. It’s something I need to look into… but I just keep putting off.
Holy crap that is a ton of goals for one year. And such huge ones too! Write a NOVEL, lose 50 lbs, memorize 24 verses, read 100 books, 50 blog guest posts??? Ahhhh!!!! (hides under a rock). This would make me dive right into the Chunky Monkey for solace. :0)
For myself, just maintaining my favorite weight takes quite a bit of time for shopping, food prep, exercising, food logging (sometimes), motivation-finding, etc. Maintaining a relationship with God takes time daily, as does keeping up friendships and a full-time job. Add in a few smaller goals like a book goal (mine is 25 books per year…ok, I’m not a fast reader plus the time exercising takes away from reading…) and decorating a room and perhaps running one race or something and I am maxxed out. And I’m a high-energy person!
Not meaning this to be offensive or anything. I just don’t know how it’s all possible for a single human in one year. Phew! :0)
Oh, it’s probably not possible! 🙂 That’s why I mentioned my goal isn’t to cross out every single resolution I set. I make a lot of goals (this is the 3rd year I’ve set 20+ resolutions) and manage to cross off about half of them, which is a success for me! I’m just a very goal-oriented person by nature so it’s fun for me to set a lot of goals and see how many I can complete. 🙂
I like what you have done; you have created some goals that are easily attainable and others that are more difficult. We need this! We need to be able to cross some off and have some saved for next year. It’s good to look forward and try, even if you don’t always get them all done!
As for the ER bill, some words of advice: You should be able to get a pretty big discount. They totally inflate the prices on those and then the insurance only pays about 20%, so you should tell them you will pay cash, but you want to pay the same amount the insurance company pays. If that doesn’t work, you should still be able to get at least 30% off of the total bill.
Well, the problem is that this bill is from 2010 and I didn’t have insurance then. If so, I probably would have only had to pay a $300 ER co-pay. Sigh. I’m sure I will be able to get some of the price knocked off once I call and set up a payment plan but it’s something I keep putting off!