"there is one path for all, but each must walk it in their way"

for years i've had problems with goals. i used to be very good at ignoring my lack of follow through. recently, my quasi-add has really become more noticeable and has begun (i think) to affect my future.

the advent of my blog(s) has made me recognize my shortcomings in this area of personal development. we worked on goals in the portfolio course and of course it was a tough thing for me to work on and elucidate. i'm all over the place. one minute i want to go back to school and take my master's degree. another minute i want to work in a funeral home (long story). or i want to stay at home with andrew and work on my crafting business. it goes on and on for me. sometimes it feels like if i make a goal (ie. to make a post on my blog every day or exercise so many minutes a day) then it's the very next day that it all falls apart. how do i stop this? are my goals too vague? too specific? too unrealistic? too random? too everything?

i have worked on some stuff, and i thought i'd share it.

Craft Corner

In six months to 1 year I will have opened an Etsy Shop and created and launched a website for my business. I will also have researched owning a small business.

In 1 to 2 years I will have achieved 100 sales and instructed classes on how to make the plarn bags and frog a sweater. I will have also written a business plan for success!

As a long term goal (5 years plus) I will be on the road to doing this as my full time business.

In The Now Career

In six months to 1 year I will have completed my portfolio and identified which areas I am interested to pursue as full time employment (this includes recognizing any education or training I might need, any practical experience that I will need to gain, and a plan on how to go about the achieving the above).

At this point I am hesitant to make any more goals until I really know what I want to do. I wish to pray and meditate more on this subject. I want to ask God how I should be discerning.

Money Matters

In six months to 1 year we will have completely eliminated the need to use the overdraft. We will have well established our emergency fund and will have well established a fund to be used for big ticket items (ie. car repairs and house repairs.) We will not use credit anymore.

In 3-4 years well will be consumer debt free. We will have paid off our credit cards, car loan, and consolidation loans. We will also have begun an aggressive Retirement savings plan for Steve as well as myself.

Gail talks a lot about being financially fit--and in this area this is my long term goal--to be truly financially fit. We will maintain our lifestyle of not having or incurring debt, by being prepared with savings that will cover a variety of issues. We will be on a plan to pay off our mortgage quite early (20 years vs. 40 years).

Healthy Living Bandwagon

This is probably the hardest section to write. I make promises to myself all the time. Every minute of every day I am waging a war with my insides about what to eat and how to move and when to weigh myself.

In six months to 1 year exercise will become a part of my daily routine. Just as I surf the internet and watch tv, taking a walk or doing aerobics will become like that.

In 1 to 2 years I will run a 5KM race. I will have learned to run and will be healthy enough to run that distance for that length of time.

As a long term goal I will run a half marathon.

These goals need to be re-evaluated every month I think. I need to stay focused, I need to be checking in to ensure I am still on track and breaking large goals down into smaller, more manageable ones. If I accomplish a goal early, I also need to remember to set another goal to fill it's place! I don't want to not have a path to walk.

I need to recognize and appreciate the fact that things will change and my goals might change as well. Life is fluid. Nothing is set in stone.

Jehovah Shalom.

This weeks plan to keep making good choices and stay on the bandwagon-

• Drink 8 glasses of water a day--maybe this will make me full(er) and to not want to gorge on food everytime FIL mentions how expensive Canada is.
• Walk Home from work 1 day this week--i think about an hours walk, delaying the inevitable of returning home to the land of in-laws where beer flows like water and salad is consumed without dressing.
• Be the best daugther-in-law--I promise to be kind, understanding, patient, wonderful, & senstive for the duration of their stay.

I will do this. I will do this.

ftr--my ILs are not that bad. I'm just an only child who is not used to sharing their space with others and is not used to mumblers.

That is all. :P

PS. This morning I weighed 269.8. I am down 4.2 pounds since January 1st. Slowly but surely!

I used to work in schools as a Teacher Assistant. One thing a lot of the younger grades would do is “This Week At School” or TWAS for short. It was always very cute. This week at school…I ate pancakes and played outside and X is no longer my friend. Priceless stuff. Good times. I was doing this on my old blog. It’s a nice tradition that I would like to keep up.

This week at life.

1. We’re going for sushi tonight. It’s all you can eat sushi and I’m EXCITED. My only goal is to stop eating before I feel sick though.

2. Tomorrow I’m giving blood, going to a used kids stuff sale, and going to the used book sale at St. Vital shopping centre. I’m going to be a busy bee.

3. Work has been…okay. I’m here. I do things. I went to another location yesterday and I’m going to be helping them out at least one half day a week…hopefully more.

4. Gails Magic Money Jars have been working for us. We are not following them exactly. There is niggling room in our budget right now for the odd lunch out or other fun things. But it has been over 1 week since we have gone into the overdraft. This alone is huge for us. We have also been making sizeable payments on our utility bills. By the end of this month the balances should be Zero. That is sweet.

5. I’ve been thinking of getting back on the weight loss bandwagon. For the past 6 months I have been weighing myself everyday & for the last 6 months I have maintained. I have fluctuated between 5 pounds down and 5 pounds up…but mostly hovering around the same weight. I’d like to see that number go down and stay there….without becoming obsessed about food and eating and dieting. Maybe lots of fruits and vegetables and lean proteins and good carbs—and NO JUNK FOOD. If I could exercise a little bit and not have chips and candy and cake and tacos then I could probably get somewhere (maybe?). I’ve got to do something about my weight. Really, I need to lose 100 pounds to be even ‘normal’…130 to be ‘thin’. My dream is to be able to shop at normal person stores and buy clothes at superstore.