I've gotten rid of all the Goals I had lined up in the side bars.

It was too much and it was hard to keep up with...so instead of trying harder...it just made me stop trying altogether. I make goals that are too big and too abstract and then I can't follow them and I get confused and I will forget about 1 and then it just all falls apart. It also get's impossible because every time I post about new goals I make them bigger and better and shinier and more impossibler for me.

I'm going to start small (for real). & I'm going to keep them small (for real) and manageable (for real). I'm also going to keep them for short time frames (for real) and extend as necessary (for real).

This weeks goals (March 10 to 14) -
1. Mail item for J
2. Bake something this week (maybe banana muffins? or banana bread?)

My mind gets muddled very easily and I get discouraged very easily. Sometimes I need to see success everywhere I turn or else the things I fail at overwhelm me and throw me into a state of non-action/spending/binging/feeling sad/feeling anxious/bitching/whatevers.

Last month's goals didn't work out so good for me, so I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what to include for February. I know my goals for January were good...I just lacked follow through for whatever reason. FD wisely suggested that I have some of the same ones for February again...and I think I will. :)

1. Set a Bill Paying Guide as per Gails Instructions.

I know this one must be REALLY important because it's the one I've been ignoring the most!

2. No crafty purchases this month!!

I need to continue to de-stash. :)

3. Exercise 500 minutes this month.

For real this time!!

4. Find a Part-Time Job.

Since I've resigned from the job at the church I need to find a way to bring in a few extra bucks every month....

5. Investigate and Make a Decision Regarding Refinancing Mortgage.

It's the last day of January and I'm here to check in about my January Goals. January has been a tough month for me. Unfortunately, it's been a series of blarghs and blahs and blechs.

Goal 1
Exercise 500 minutes this month. 500 minutes is better then nothing!

Right this minute I am sitting at 200 minutes of exercise. I am going walking with my friend this afternoon and I expect we will be on the move for about 2 hours today -- so 120 minutes. Still quite short of my goal.

Goal 2
Pay Hydro Bill off completely for this month and previous months.

Negatory on this one. our last bill was for 390 bucks and that is about 1/5th of our monthly income...so it's just not gonna happen. I did pay off the previous months bill completely though--not that that is anything to be proud of. :P

Goal 3
Set Up bill paying system as per Gail's Instructions

This one didn't happen either. In fact I've been doing probably the worst thing possible with the bills--ignoring them.

Goal 4
Eliminate stash by 2 boxes. Crochet stuff!

I have not eliminated 2 boxes. I still have all 4 boxes sitting in the basement and my large bag and my storage unit upstairs full of yarn. The Post Christmas Crochet Blues have really hit me hard this year. I have been plugging at my Round Ripple but progress is slow.

Goal 5
Not make any Crafty purchases.

Hurrah! Success! I have not purchased any thread, cotton, sweaters, buttons, hooks or other miscellaneous craft stuff.

I'm thinking about what I should have for my February Goals.

There's big things on the horizon for us this year. That's what I've decided.

I'm going to break this post up into 2 parts -- 2009 Goals and January 2009 Goals. I am always one to be making goals...it's harder for me to stick to them. This year is going to be different....

2009 GOALS--Short and Sweet and Simple

1. Net Worth to Zero (We are at about MINUS 21K right now)
2. Run 5K (I can't even run 1 block right now)
3. Establish Savings for Home Improvement
4. Follow Through on Goals Set!

January 2009 Goals

1. No Crafty purchases.
2. Eliminate stash by 2 boxes. Crochet stuff!
3. Set Up bill paying system as per Gail's Instructions
4. Pay Hydro Bill off completely for this month and previous months.
5. Exercise 500 minutes this month. 500 minutes is better then nothing!

Did I meet them? Did I do well? How do I feel about December? In a nutshell and no particular order...

1. De-clutter basement.

We started off strong on this one. Very strong. Very good. We worked on putting like things together (ie. Camping stuff, Andrew's old clothes, tools, crap) and we sent 2 big bags of stuff to Andrew's daycare to donate to them and we sent 2 big boxes of stuff to Value Village to re-circulate. We were going through boxes and boxes of stuff that have been in boxes since before Andrew was born (so about 4 years).
We were doing a little every night and then it all kind of fell apart.
I became obsessed with preparing for CEDFH and making the rest of the house look nice and unclutterred. Much stuff was just taken downstairs (including my 4 large tubs of craft stuff, Andrew's wagon, all the boxes that held our Christmas Decorations and lots of laundry). So unless we pull together and work real hard in the next 2 days I don't think the basement will be 100% de-cluttered...but it is a good start!

2. Not buy any more Craft Stuff.

Success on this one! I was quite busy finishing up all my presents and thinking about what to make with my stash that I haven't even thought about purchasing anything new. Which is good, because I realized I have way too much stash. 4 bins and countless bags of stuff is TOO MUCH.

3. Christmas with a smile.

Well, I did smile and my house was clean. I feel very conflicted about how the evening went, but I need to realize that my family is bizarre and they are not going to change. But with good planning and a zillion lists I did not feel like a madwoman and I had a welcoming house.

4. Enjoy Christmas.

I do have to say that I enjoyed Christmas this year. Me and Steve and Andrew were able to spend quite a bit of time together just the 3 of us.
We spent just the right amount of time with extended family. I didn't get all wrapped up in the silly gift giving paranoia beforehand. We gave what we could afford and I don't think we charged a single Christmas related item to our credit cards. Instead, we enjoyed the simplicity of the season. I am quite proud of my son. He is a wonderful child that is so kind and gracious when receiving gifts. He was even excited to open the presents with clothes in them. "Yay pants!" was exclaimed quite a few times. We are truly blessed as a family.

5. Mini Holiday Spending to $300.

Success on this one. The account is sitting at about 320 dollars.

We're halfway through December and I just want to check in with my December Goals.

My Goals for December are...

• Not purchase any more yarn/thread/crafty stuff until i have decreased my stash by 50%.
• Bring Mini Holiday savings to $300 dollars
• De clutter the basement
• Complete all gifts to give to family/friends
• Host Christmas Eve dinner with a smile surrounded by good food and a clean house
• Enjoy Christmas

I did a blog entry 1 week into December to keep myself on track and now I want to write the mid-month update.

1. No More Craft Purchases--Check! I have been working on my cross stitches for Christmas presents that i bought months ago so my mind has not been wandering to buying new stuff.

2. 300 buckaroonies in the holiday account--Well on the way. There is $264.95 in there right now and today I am dropping off some more orders I had so I will be able to add $23 dollars to that account bringing it up to $287.95. Sweet!

3. Clean up the dungeon--We had a good start to this goal but have been neglecting it since the initial heave ho. It is definitely in a presentable state now...just needs a little more work to be fab-u!

4. Finish the handmade pressies--I'm on my last cross sititch. After that I have one more slipper to make for my aunt (1 evenings work). I am going to my Grandmothers this Saturday to work on the felted wreaths. If I have time I want to make nuts n bolts or granola or hot chocolate for people for Christmas...but I'm not panicked to make that happen.

5. Clean House and Smile for CEDFH (New acronym for Christmas Eve Dinner from Hell)--Still hopefully optimistic. As fast as I clean my 3 year old messes it up again, and I never seem to catch up on laundry and there's a layer of drywall dust on everything no matter how much i mop/sweep and i can't find all my serving platters and my 3 year old dropped one of my serving dishes that fits the set that goes on my lazy susan and we have not gone shopping yet and and and and and i'm getting worked up again thinking about it all.

6. Enjoy Christmas!--So far I am feeling zen and enjoying everything. We put up our tree last Saturday and it makes it really feel like the Season is here!

It's been 1 week since I made my goals for December and I just want to check in to so everyone can know how they are going for me.

Not purchase any more yarn/thread/crafty stuff until i have decreased my stash by 50%.
Check! I have not stepped into the craft section of any store. I have been working on ideas to use up what I have.

Bring Mini Holiday savings to $300 dollars
Getting There! I'm pleased to report that our Mini Holiday savings fund is sitting at $209.95. I think this progress will slow the closer we get to Christmas as we will need extra money to put towards purchasing food for Christmas Eve dinner.

De clutter the basement
Getting There! Steve and I worked on the cleaning up/sorting through/decluttering the basement 3 nights last week. I am quite please with how nice it is looking down there.

Complete all gifts to give to family/friends
Slightly Worried. This is one area I am worried about. I have a large list of things I want to complete before Christmas and some of them are very time consuming. I will work on prioritizing absolutes from wants. I have also started bringing my cross stitch to work and doing it during lunch. That has helped.

Host Christmas Eve dinner with a smile surrounded by good food and a clean house
Hopefully optimistic. My father has been over drywalling the living room and kitchen and we hope to paint the living room Tuesday and Wednesday. After that then we will put the tree up. I plan to spend the 2 days I am off work before Christmas cleaning up and preparing as much food in advance as possible.

Enjoy Christmas
Check! So far I am feeling quite liberated by Christmas. I have my menu for Christmas Eve dinner in place. I have asked each family coming to bring something (ie. my aunt and uncle are bringing their homemade wine and devilled egss. my parents are bringing egg nog and a cheese ball. Grandma has supplied us with perogies and perishky already.) I am making 4 gift baskets this year (one for parents, aunt, aunt & uncle, and grandma). We have Andrews gifts purchased/prepared already. I've sent my Hitched Secret Santa gift already. My spirits are quite high.

At this point the only thing I am feeling any stress over is that my husband does not get any time off over Christmas. The only days off he gets are Christmas Eve (because that is his normal day off) and Christmas Day. He will be at work every other day this holiday season. It makes me sad.

I want to make some goals for December that I will be able to keep and will want to keep.

Simply put....

This December I will:

1. Enjoy Christmas
2. Host Christmas Eve dinner with a smile surrounded by good food and a clean house
   
3. Complete all gifts to give to family/friends
4. De clutter the basement
5. Bring Mini Holiday savings to $300 dollars.
6. I will not purchase any more yarn/thread/crafty stuff until i have decreased my stash by 50%.

I need to remember to check back to make sure I'm actually on track...