Stephany Writes

Categories: Goals

10 Goals for the End of 2012

If you’ll remember, back in June, I made a list of Summer Goals. Ten simple goals to strive for during summer. About two weeks after that post, I promptly forgot about that list and then got thrown into the hurricane that was my sad season so I had even less motivation to complete these goals.

But I think I needed the time off from striving towards goals and just live in the moment for once. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about how I want to end 2012. It’s been a year of extreme highs and extreme lows. And I want to end the year on a high note, so I’ve been crafting ten goals to lead me through the end of this year.

1. Visit the dentist and schedule a consultation for my wisdom teeth.

I failed to make my second dentist appointment after my first one back in March so I’m a bit overdue for another cleaning. My wisdom teeth seem to hurt me off and on so I know they need to come out, but I’ve been hesitant about making my consultation appointment because of time off and money issues. But I know it’s something that has to be done and I have to stop dragging my feet about it.

2. Lose 15 lbs.

I usually don’t like to put a weight loss number with my goals, but I think this is a good one to strive for and it gives me a solid number to attain over the next 3 months. It’s a little over a pound per week (and in the midst of the holiday season!) but I need this goal to use as motivation to kick my weight loss into high gear. I’ll still have a lot to lose after these 15 lbs, but I’m hoping this will be the kick-start I need to bring me into 2013.

3. Carve a pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds.

I didn’t carve a pumpkin last year, but I did attempt it in 2010. It wasn’t very pretty and then, for some reason, I just wasn’t up for carving another one last year. But nothing really brings in the holiday season quite like carving pumpkins so I’m making this a fun little goal to accomplish in October. Even if the pumpkin turns out horrible, at least I’ll have the pumpkin seeds to console myself with. Mmm!

4. Finish “Twenty Something, Twenty Everything”.

I had to put this goal on the list just because I’m still stuck on that darned journaling passage and I need some type of motivation to finish the book. It’s not like the book is terrible or hard to get through, I’ve just been lazy in picking it up and getting through all the journaling portions. Hopefully, if I set aside time every weekend to read through at least a few pages, I can cross this one off my list soon!

5. Spend a long weekend in Orlando.

I haven’t had a true Orlando weekend since July 2011 and that one was a short one, in itself. I want a true long weekend (3-4 days) there to enjoy the hotel, the amusement parks, and being in Orlando. I love that city so much and since my last foray there was for my mom’s marathon (i.e., NOT a vacation!), I need time to enjoy the city again. I’m hoping to go away for my birthday with my mom. We would leave the Friday after Thanksgiving and come back Monday or Tuesday so I am crossing my fingers that I can get my finances in order to make this happen.

6. Start writing again.

Whether it’s for 30 minutes a day or 30 minutes a week, I want to get back into writing fiction. I have so many story ideas flitting around in my brain on a daily basis (it’s one of my favorite ways to escape when I’m bored!) that I need to just start writing. I’m letting lesser important things take precedence over the biggest dream I have for my life: to be a successful published novelist. My goal for the next 3 months is to just write on a regular basis.

7. Join a book club.

I was going to attend my first book club meeting yesterday afternoon but the meeting fell at the same time as my nephew’s birthday party so I’m hoping to attend their next meeting in October.

8. Participate in The Color Run.

Yep – it’s hitting St. Petersburg on December 15th and you better believe I am finding myself at the starting line of this race! I love the entire idea of this race and even though I’m sure I’ll be super slow, it’s one of those races you just run for fun and I honestly cannot wait. (Any locals doing this race, too?)

 9. Drink more water than soda.

I am slowly trying to break myself from my soda addiction. I thought I had it under control earlier this year but it has once again snuck up on me! I really think my weight issues stem from lack of exercise, drinking too many caloric beverages, and too many sweets. The exercise issue I can’t help right now (I have the OK to do light exercise which is mainly walking, but wearing sneakers puts a lot of pressure on my broken bone) but I can work on drinking less soda and sugary Starbucks drinks (as well as the sweets issue). I know I drop weight easily when I cut down on my sugar intake. And since the cold turkey route doesn’t work for me (I’ve tried it – multiple times), I just want to focus on drinking more water than soda for now.

10. Host an end-of-year holiday giveaway.

I hosted my first-ever giveaway on this blog during Christmas Week 2010 and since then, I’ve tried to plan other giveaways but I never follow through. This will be a fun goal to achieve, I’m sure!

And there you have it! My 10 goals for the last 3 months of 2012. I can’t believe we’re at the last quarter of the year, how did that happen? This is my absolute favorite time of year and I’m excited for the holiday season to kick into gear. I tried not to be too ambitious with my goals, but I’m actually very excited to get back into goal setting and I’m starting to feel more like myself lately. Three cheers for that!

Do you have any goals for the end of 2012? Anything special you’d like to see in my holiday giveaway (I need ideas!)?

Categories: Goals

2012 Resolutions: The Halfway Check-In

At the end of December, I sat down and made a list of resolutions to achieve in the coming year. I love the idea behind resolutions and forming long-term goals to achieve throughout a calendar year.

For me, no goal is set in stone. I’m not the same person I was more than half a year ago. My goals and future plans are ever-changing and I think it’s appropriate to look over my resolutions and make changes where necessary. So, without further ado, my halfway check-in of my 2012 resolutions:

Health and Fitness

  • Get to my happy weight (ideally 115 lbs). Still struggling. I’ll get there. Eventually. The most important part of the process is to keep trying, right? Right.
  • Run an entire 5K in under 36 minutes. This is no longer a goal of mine, as I’ve put running on the back burner for the time being. I have a lot of trouble with my ankles and arches when I run. I have a very high arch which makes me overpronate when I run. I’ve had a gait analysis, tried supportive shoes and specialized inserts, and even saw a sports orthopedic about it. There really isn’t much that can be done and I just don’t enjoy running. Even when I finish, I’m forever beating myself up. I’m moving on from running. At least for now.
  • Exercise 4-5 times a week. Doing well with this goal! I fell off the wagon a bit in May and June, but my exercise has amped up again and it’s something that’s just a part of me now. Exercise comes easy for me. (It’s all the healthy eating that trips me up!) While I’m no longer a member of a gym, I have found some sweet boot camp deals through Groupon and Living Social, go to my apartment gym a few times a week, and have a ton of workout DVD’s to keep me busy! I do miss belonging to a gym and having classes available to me, but it’s just not in the budget right now.
  • End my addiction to soda. Not going well. I was doing well during the first quarter of the year but fell off the wagon when I went on my first cruise and I’ve continued my downward descent into the deliciousness that is carbonated beverages. I want to get back to not buying soda at the grocery store anymore and having it just a few times a week. Basically, I don’t want to crave it anymore and the only way to do that is to take it out of my diet completely.
  • Get up-to-date on all doctor’s visits. Yikes. I’ve gone to the dentist and the eye doctor, but need to make three more appointments for various other visits. I will have this done by the time December rolls around. Count on it!
  • Give blood at least 3 times. (1/3) I’ve given blood once but I want to wait on giving again until I get blood work done, because my iron count is pretty low. (I just made the cut last time!) This one is put on the back burner for now, but I’m still crossing my fingers I can achieve it!
  • Run the Turkey Trot 10K in November. I’m taking this goal off, due to my new hiatus from running. I guess I was really gung-ho about running back in December! I will most likely run/walk the 5K since my mom and I have been doing it for the past 6 years, it’s become a tradition. And it’s just a fun race to do. It’s a perfect environment for a slow runner, ha!
Money
  • Pay off all credit card debt. I’m not where I want to be with this goal. While my biggest credit card is history (yay!), I want to work on paying off my other two. I really want to focus on my money goals for the last half of this year and tighten up my budget.
  • Try as best I can to never keep a balance month-to-month on my two credit cards. Failing. Must do better on this.
  • Pay off my ER visit bill. I’m putting this one off until next year. I know I shouldn’t, but it’s $2,500 and it’s going to take me a while to pay it off. Not having insurance sucks, my friends.
  • Set aside 5% of every paycheck into my savings account. Oops. I forgot about this goal. Again.
Blog/Social Media
  • Switch Stephany Writes to self-hosted WordPress, with a brand-new design. Yup! Finally, a goal completed.
  • Take one break from social media a month. (6/12) I’ve been doing well with this goal. I’ve taken a break every month and I’m looking forward to taking a month-long social media/blogging break in either September or October.
  • Have a weekend away with special blogging friends. This one? Isn’t going to happen this year.
Writing/Reading
  • Write and edit a novel. HAHAHAHAHAHA! I haven’t even started on my novel. I keep letting other things get in the way! This is unacceptable.
  • Read one non-fiction book a month. Going strong with this one! The books I’ve read: What Women Fear (January; 4 stars), Cinderella Ate My Daughter (February; 5 stars), Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (March; 5 stars), Skinny Bitch (April; 2 stars), Stuff Christians Like (May; 5 stars), and 20-Something, 20-Everything (June, not yet finished).
  • Read 75 books. Sitting pretty at 47 books read this year. I’m about 7 books ahead of schedule so I have no doubt this goal will be completed. Yay!
Other
  • Fly on an airplane. Unless the flights to Atlanta over Labor Day weekend go down a bunch, this isn’t going to happen this year. Oh, well!
  • Fully immerse myself in the online dating world. Yes and no. I’m a bit annoyed with the online dating world now. I just want to rewind to 6 weeks ago, honestly. That is all.
  • Join a book club, Bible study, or some type of social group. I did join a Bible study at my church. We’ve been on hiatus for most of the summer and I really miss going! I can’t wait for it to pick back up soon.
 ***
I have completed 4 goals, 7 are currently in progress, and I haven’t even begun to work on 4. I also deleted 5 goals from my resolutions. That’s really not too shabby! I’m happy with the progress, but I do want to focus on a few goals to be able to mark them as complete.
This time around, I want to focus on my money goals. I actually have a post brewing in my head about it. There are also a few goals in the health and fitness area that I think I can cross off by the time my next check-in happens in October. Time to get moving on them!
Categories: Goals

Intentions, the 4.12 edition

March Goals, Recapped:

  • Write for 20 minutes every day. This was a complete and utter fail. I managed it a few times at the beginning of the month, but fell apart towards the end. I don’t know why I’m struggling so much with fitting in my writing. Twenty minutes a day is not a long time. But I am. I’m struggling with finding the right idea, trying to calm the waves of doubts that rush over me every time I open a new document, finding my voice. I think I may start with just free writing for next month. Five minutes a day. Writing from my heart. I need to find my writing passion again.
  • Get my eyes examined and order new contacts. Another fail. But! I did end up making a dentist appointment. It was the first time in four years I had gone to the dentist and while I ended up paying $60 out of pocket for more of a deep cleaning (and have to go again in 2 months for more of a general cleaning), I did get a referral to an oral surgeon to get my wisdom teeth removed (shooting to do this in late summer/fall) and I got my first doctor appointment out of the way. Yay! On tap for April: making an appointment to see a general practitioner where I can get some blood testing done and hopefully get a referral for a therapist.
  • Make a weekly to-do list for home. Fail, fail, fail. I think I did this one week and then just stopped. The to-do list is great for helping me stay focused and motivated during my busy weeks so I need to get back to doing them.
April Goals:
  • Start my Fierce Love course. I was the lucky winner of Becky’s giveaway where she was giving away one free course of Fierce Love by Stratejoy. The minute I heard of this course, I was hellbent on buying it because it’s something right up my alley! The pricing was too much for me at the moment so it was something I was going to have to put off for a few months. So being able to win it was such a wonderful surprise! I look forward to starting April fresh with this course.
  • Adhere to a chore chart. I need to get better at this. I haven’t yet found a chore chart that works for me, so I may need to get creative and make one up myself!
  • Do one small goal every day. Similar to Caroline’s idea of writing down one small goal you want to achieve every day, no matter how little. It helps you break down your goals into small, manageable steps that you can see. I hope this does the trick to help me feel more productive at home!

I’m looking forward to April. I have a trip to Disney planned and it’s my last full month before life gets a little crazy with TWO cruises in TWO months! I am so excited about May and June but I want to take April to slow down and appreciate the anticipation waiting on vacation brings. I know the end of June will be here before you know it and all the fun will be gone. I want to continue taking steps to lessen my anxiety and continue taking small steps to live life a little more bravely. And April also brings the rest of my “no sugar” challenge, which ends the second week of May. Every day gets a little easier and I hope I enter May a lot healthier (and a lot skinnier!) than I entered April.

What are you looking forward to in the coming month?

Categories: Goals

2012 Resolutions: The First Check-In

Back at the beginning of January, I made a slew of resolutions to carry me into 2012. I have wanted to do a check-in on how I’m progressing (because, frankly, I forgot what most of those goals were!) but time has gotten away from me. Never fear! A check-in post is here!

Health and Fitness

> Get to my happy weight (ideally 115 lbs). I have made no progress on this front. It’s disappointing, but all I can do is keep moving forward and trying. I’m determined to take this goal off my resolutions list!

> Run an entire 5K in under 36 minutes. My first 5K of 2012 is coming up soon in April! I don’t hold out much hope I’ll make this goal, but you never know. I’ve been running, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier.

> Exercise 4-5 times a week. Killing. This. Goal.

> End my addiction to soda. Almost! I hesitate to mark it as complete just yet but I am in a much better place today than I was three months ago. It’s exciting!

> Get up-to-date on all doctor visits. I have my first dentist appointment since 2008 scheduled for Monday (and hopefully a visit to an oral surgeon to schedule my wisdom teeth removal surgery! Oh fun.) and I’m planning on making an appointment with a family physician tomorrow. Moving along with this one, albeit slowly.

> Give blood at least three times (1/3). My office park hosts a Bloodmobile once a month so I went in January to try to give blood but my iron was too low. Yesterday, I tried again and while my left finger’s iron count was too low (at 12), my right finger was right on the money at 12.5! Still pretty low, but enough for me to donate. It was my first time doing so and while I’m not going to say it’s fun, I’m very happy I was able to donate.

> Run the Turkey Trot 10K in November. Run the Women’s Magazine Half-Marathon in November. This is a new goal. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it just yet. (Remember this? And this? Third time’s a charm?)

Money

> Pay off all credit card debt. Mostly there. I paid off my biggest credit card in January and the card is now off my credit history. HALLELUJAH! Now I only have two cards, a $800 limit total between the two. Neither is completely paid off, but my Target credit card will be in two more payments.

> Try as best I can to never keep a balance from month to month on my two credit cards. Failing miserably.

> Pay off my ER bill. Failing miserably.

> Set aside 5% of every paycheck into my savings account. Failing miserably. I get paid tomorrow. I am starting this goal from here on out. It’s ridiculous that I don’t have anything in my savings!

Blogging/Social Media

> Switch Stephany Writes to self-hosted WordPress, with a brand new design. Done and done! So proud and happy with my new set-up here.

> Take one break from all media once a month, whether it be for a day, a weekend, or a month (3/12). I took a weekend off in January, one day in February, and just took last weekend off from social media. It’s refreshing to get away and not constantly think of what you want to tweet next! Highly recommend this.

> Have a weekend away with special blogging friends. I’ve made slight progress on this but really want to get the ball rolling on a weekend away sometime this fall.

Writing/Reading

> Write and edit a novel. No progress made.

> Read one non-fiction book a month (2/12). So far, I’ve finished What Women Fear and Cinderella Ate My Daughter, and I’m currently reading Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Doing very well on this goal! (I can’t yet give my recommendation for the last book but highly recommend the first two!)

> Read 75 books (20/75). Actually kicking butt at this goal! I’m ahead of schedule, thanks to January and February being months where I read like a crazy woman. March has been a slower month but I’m still ahead of the game.

Other

> Fly on an airplane. Not yet completed, but if my blogger’s weekend works out, I may get my chance then!

> Fully immerse myself in the online dating world. I have been meaning to start a profile on Match or eHarmony but haven’t gotten around to it. But it’s something I need to do if only to show myself I can put myself out there.

> Find my faith again. I’ve been hesitant to write too much about my faith lately, but I think it’s time I do. A lot has happened since January. And I think I’m finally understanding who I am in Christ again. It’s thrilling.

> Join a book club, Bible study, or some type of social group. Success! I have joined a Bible study and we’re currently in our second series. My mom is in the same Bible study (it’s a woman’s Bible study, for all ages) and I feel so comfortable and accepted there, much more so than when I tried out a twenty-something singles group. I would still like to join a “live” book club but haven’t gone looking for one just yet.

***

All in all, doing very well on my goals for this year! I’ll admit I forgot about most of them, but I see I’ve done pretty well considering. What I want to focus on now is my money goals, writing, and getting more involved in the online dating world. But not too shabby for my first check-in!

Did you make resolutions or goals for this year? 

Categories: Goals

Intentions, the 3.12 edition

February Goals, Recapped:

  • Track my food daily. I would say I tracked my food about 50% this month. Definitely not where I wanted to be and I’m still not in the habit of tracking every day, even on those ugly days when I go over my allotted points by a lot. It’s something I still need to work on.
  • Continue limiting soda. I am very pleased to say this goal is going amazing. I have finally put my foot down and told myself I cannot have any soda Monday – Saturday. Sunday is my cheat day so I’m being lenient on this day, but still want to limit my intake. In any event, I am doing so well at this goal, it makes me giddy. Since I’ve been slowly cutting it out of my life for a while now, I haven’t experienced any withdrawal symptoms, only some extreme cravings for carbonation. This one gets a big fat check mark and it may be the first time I’ve ever been able to do so.
  • Start making to-do lists. Utter fail. I’m terrific at doing them at my job, not so much at home.
  • Budget! I’ll mark this one as complete. I’ve been doing much better at budgeting. This month was a windfall of money with my tax refund and a surprise bonus from work so I was able to pay off my cruise deposit and book our excursions, as well as give an initial deposit for my second cruise in June. I’ve started using Jenny Blake’s Four-Step Budget Template, which works so well for my needs.

March Change: Track my food

Yes, this was my goal for February’s “12 Changes in 12 Months” but I decided it doesn’t make all that much sense to go forward with a new goal when this one is the cornerstone of what I need to work on. To lose weight, to learn to eat healthier, you must track what you eat. I’m not at the point in my journey when I can eat intuitively and since I’m carrying around an extra 30-odd pounds, this is a change I need to hammer into my skull.

Three Small Goals:

  • Write for 20 minutes every day. I have fallen off any sort of writing routine these past few months. (Aside from my blog, of course!) For someone who wants to someday be a published novelist, leaving the words in my head isn’t helping matters. I need to force myself to create a routine and put my novel back on the forefront of my goals.
  • Get my eyes examined and order new contacts! I’m a little overdue for my eye exam (and I love the eye doctor so this is one doctor appointment I am looking forward to!) and I’m ready to take the plunge back into the world of contacts. I wore them constantly all through high school and most of college until I got too poor to afford them. 🙂 And then I just enjoyed wearing glasses. But I’m getting to the point where I want to wear contacts again so this is one goal I’m looking forward to achieving!
  • Make a weekly to-do list for home. Lauren had a great post about beating your Sunday night blues (SNAS? It’s a real thing.) One of her tips was to make out a to-do list for the week, things that aren’t pressing to complete but will give you that little nudge of satisfaction for getting them done during a busy week, as well as setting one intention for the week. I love this idea. I need something to keep me motivated to not turn into a sloth once 5:00 hits every night and this might be the perfect prescription for it!