The Power of "I"

Inservices - you've got to love them.  Okay, not really.  One particularly "fun" inservice was about the power of an "incomplete" over a "zero" grade in the grade book.  Without going into the entire six hour inservice, let's just say that I'm giving myself an "I" for this years mini-goal resolution thing I had going on from January through June.  That's so much better than giving myself an "F," right?  I know... I made goals for July too, but I completely and utterly failed at even getting remotely close to accomplishing either of them!

So I now have an "incomplete."  You know what?  I can live with that.  In fact, I HAVE to live with that.  Every day I will wake up with stuff to do and I will go to bed with stuff to do.  I will never be done.  Until I die.  Then I will have a "completed."

Of course I will still make goals.  Goals help drive us.  In fact, I do have a new goal.  It's a big, scary, and exciting goal.  And that's all I'm saying for now.

July Mini-Goals

Okay, time for a couple of real goals this month.

My first goal is to walk for 20 minutes 3 times a week.  All the walking at the Minnesota Zoo, Science Center, and Mall of America count for July 1-10.  (I took a walk yesterday too!)

The second goal is to learn 31 American Sign Language signs.  I took a couple sign language classes at a church during college, but never stuck with it.

June Mini-Goals

Half-way through June and I haven't posted my mini-goals yet.  Instead of making mini-goals, I'm going to make a list of things I've already accomplished.  I've been so busy and have lots of things I still need to do.  Making mini-goals seems pointless this month since I seem to be crossing things off my invisible to-do list everyday.

What I've accomplished in June so far...

1. Worked on decluttering my classroom for an extra day.
2. Helped at Mikayla's field day.
3. Met with someone to discuss hearing loss.
4. Planned and executed Mikayla's birthday party.
5. Took Girl Scouts to Haven of Rest and Children's Hospital to drop off donations.
6. Got a second opinion on my hearing loss.
7. Went to dentist appointments for myself and Mikayla.
8. Went for a medical check-up.
9. Volunteered for VBS snacks.
10. Scheduled and attended a ceramics class with the Girl Scouts.
11. Scheduled an overnighter at the zoo for the Girl Scouts.
12. Did some decluttering and preparation for a yard sale.
13. Started plans for our summer vacation.

Here's what I still need to do before the end of June...

1. Have a yard sale.
2. Take Mikayla to the orthodontist.
3. Have dental work done.
4. Finalize plans for the zoo trip.
5. Finalize vacation plans.

I have been so busy this month.  I wonder how I do everything I need to do during the school year when I'm working.  Somehow I get it done though.  Where's my summer vacation going already?!?!?

June Goals - Stick a fork in me... I'm done!

May Mini-Goal Report

Goal 1 was successful.  I posted scripture as my status on Facebook.  I think it was positive for me and it helped me keep my focus.  Goal 2 was not as successful.  I will give myself half credit.  I wrote out 16 verses and most of them are hanging around the house.  I need to post a few more still.

This week has been interesting since I am out of school and Mikayla is still going.  It has been busy and I can't believe it is going so fast.  I have been very tired in the afternoons and needing a nap.  It seems my body needs to adjust like this every summer.  Time to start thinking about June goals!

May Mini-Goals

About half way through the month... time to post some goals, huh?  I truly wasn't sure what to make my goals until yesterday.  May is always a busy month, with the end of school at hand.  This May started out with a strange glitch though.  Several days before May started, I woke up not being able to hear from my left ear.

I quickly made an appointment with the nurse practitioner and started antibiotics.  A few days later, she called in a prescription for an antihistamine and a couple days after that a new antibiotic and a steroid.  A week later... still no hearing.  I saw my family doctor and he prescribed a higher dose of steroids and said if my hearing wasn't back, I should call them to schedule and MRI.  MRI was scheduled and came back clear.  Exactly two weeks from my initial hearing loss, the ear specialist was wonderful and scheduled and appointment for me QUICKLY!

The audiologist gave me a hearing test and it showed that I had a severe loss of hearing in my left ear.  The specialist said that I have "Sudden Deafness" and I have a 50/50 chance of getting my hearing back.  Yep.  Just like that.  I could hear from my left ear and then not the next.

I'm doing pretty well right now, since I know the immediate course of action, which is a steroid injection in my ear on Thursday.  But at times it can be emotional.  So, back to my goals for the month...

I want to strengthen myself against attacks of depression and negative thoughts.  Hopefully my goals will help me with that.

Goal #1 - Instead of a status on Facebook each day, I would like to post a Bible verse through the month of May (starting on the 11th).  Anything else I want to say, I can add a comment BELOW the verse.

Goal #2 - Write out and post 31 verses around the house.

There it is -  May goals!

April Mini-Goals Report

Mini-Goal 1 already had a bit done when I made the goal.  If I'm honest, I will say that not much more got done than that.  Another way to put it is that my house is a wreck right now.  With that being said, I'm going to count this goal as only half complete.  (The first half of the month, I did some.  The second half of the month, I was a total slacker.)

Mini-Goal 2 is complete... both parts!  I took a trip to Kohl's and managed to buy 2 spring tops, 2 pairs of khakis, and a pair of jeans.  At Wal-Mart, I found 2 pairs of shoes!  One pair of my same old, same old that I like to wear and a pair of sandals that could be worn to work, if I wanted.

Part 2 of the mini-goal was to make a doctor's appointment I didn't want to make.  Well, I'm happy to say that on April 30th around 4:20 pm (10 minutes before the office closed), I called to make my appointment!

It's hard to believe four months of 2010 has already past!  On to month five!

April Mini-Goals

Okay, I'm slacking.  It's over mid-way through April and I still haven't posted my goals.  So here goes - and yes, I'm going to cheat a little.

Goal 1 - Declutter a couple piles of junk.  (This is where the cheating comes in.  This goal is very general and I have already done some decluttering this month.  Oh well, I'm over it.)

Goal 2 - Make a doctor's appointment I don't want to make and buy some clothes I don't want to shop for - specifically one pair of khakis that reach below my ankles, two spring tops, and a pair of shoes suitable to wear to work.  I made two parts to this goal, because I already cheated on the other one and the first part of this goal only requires a phone call.

Now I'm ready to make one of my May goals.  It can be to ACTUALLY GO to the doctor's appointment I don't want to go to!

March Goals Complete with Pics to Prove!

Taxes are done!  This is the first year in a long time they've been done this early.

Also, all three areas of my kitchen are decluttered.  Much of the junk has been thrown away!

Lots of things were in the wrong place.  The mixer was transferred to its place next to the microwave.  Girl Scout cookies were delivered and several things from this spot were thrown away.

Okay, so there's still not any bread in the bread box and I'm not telling what is!

One of the shelves in our cupboard broke and that why all the bottles of stuff were on the counter.  The sugar and flour containers were moved back to where they belonged and LOTS of stuff in this pic were thrown away, including old cocoa mix, valentine cards, candy, granola, and some papers.  I also filled up a small box of stuff for the garage sale I hope we have someday.

What an improvement!  I hope I keep it this way!

Wow!  The Christmas decorations are downstairs, as well as the big old trunk of junk.  Old cereal and chips were thrown away and all the shelves were cleaned and organized.

Not too bad!  Perhaps I'll need a decluttering/organizing goal for April...

February Mini-Goal Report

February - both goals completed.

The one goal was getting the Girl Scout bank account in order. I balanced the checkbook and wrote down all the transactions that happened before we had the account. I still owe myself money, but I need to get some checks signed by my co-signer, before I can write anymore.

The other goal was to read two books over 100 pages. I definitely exceeded that goal. The first book I read was "But Inside I'm Screaming" by Elizabeth Flock. It's about a news reporter who goes off the deep-end and has to go to a mental institution to recover. It was okay, but I wasn't overly impressed with the book. Impressed with myself - yes! A 316 page book read completely - it's been a while since I've read one that long.

The other book I didn't exactly finish, but I did read over 100 pages of it. It is the book "Succulent Wild Woman" by Sark. I was inspired to reread this book after a friend from college read one of Sark's newer books and posted a blog about it. I enjoy reading Sark's books. I love her positive outlook and bright artwork that accompanies her books. Her view on napping completely coincides with mine! I also like that I have to think about what she writes, because although I enjoy many of her thoughts and beliefs, not all of them align with mine.

On to March...

1/12 of 2010 is over

Life goes fast. A whole month of 2010 is coming to a close in less than 36 hours.

Because this is my life and my goals, I get to do this the way I want. So, I've decided to give myself full credit for the continuing contact goal and half credit for the keeping the table clear goal. After all, I did pretty well with that for about half a month.

What happened the second half of the month with the table? Remember that life going fast thing? I can boil it down to about three things - report cards, getting new hamsters, and Girl Scout stuff. I know, all excuses, but that's how clutter happens.

February mini-goals are in the works. I think I might know what they are, but I'm taking part of the next 36 hours to make sure!

January Mini-Goal Update

Here's a brief update...

Goal #1 of keeping the table cleared off seems to be the bigger challenge of the two. Coming home from work mentally exhausted doesn't help. Of course I want to come in and just throw everything somewhere... and since the table is the first flat surface I come in contact with - there's where it goes. Having this as a goal, however, has made me more aware and the table is more clear on a daily basis than before.

Goal #2 is why I write. I'm quite excited to say that I found out what I need to do to get a continuing contract. I've met most of the qualifications already. In March, I will have to write a brief letter about my current contract and then I can wait for board approval of the continuing contract in April. As far as January is concerned, I've done everything I can do for this goal!

Now to start thinking about February's mini-goals...

January's Mini-Goals

So here goes for the first month...

Mini-goal number 1 is to keep my table cleaned off and decluttered for January. Right now it looks absolutely beautiful. There is not a single thing on it. It's been close to clear for about a week. We had a Christmas party on Sunday and I cleaned it off for that. Since then I've tried to keep it cleaned. If you've ever heard of FlyLady, my table is what she would call a "hot spot" - places that collect clutter - a dumping ground for whatever we lug into the house. (I read the FlyLady book and website a lot a few years ago, but not much anymore - I still find many of her concepts extremely helpful though.) Keeping it cleared off would be a beautiful thing!

Mini-goal number 2 is to get my paper work in to get a continuing contract for my job. This goal is about my tendency to procrastinate. This is not something I HAVE to have done in January. It could be done any time this year, the next, or even never. However doing it now will definately benefit me!

Well... there it is the first two goals!

Happy 2010 everyone!

New Way of Doing Resolutions

This year I think I am going to try something a bit different with my New Year's Resolution. I think goals are very important to accomplish things in life, but this year I'm not sure of a big resolution to make. Sure I could say, "eat better, declutter the house, and exercise" but would I do it? Probably not.

Here's how I am going to set up my New Year's Resolution this year. Each month, I will make 2 mini-resolutions or goals. That way, I will have 30 days to accomplish them. At the end of the month, I can decide if I even liked the goal. If I did, I can keep it for the next month. Maybe I've worked it into a routine and don't even need to make it a goal for the next month. Or maybe it just really didn't fit into my lifestyle and I can chuck it altogether.

That's 24 goals or accomplishments for the year of 2010! I like that idea, over having a resolution that may never be completed. (Of course, I did accomplish my 2008 resolution. That's was awesome!) But wait! I want to give myself a way to not have to be absolutely "perfect." I've decided that I want to complete this resolution with 83% accuracy. This means 2 things... 1. I only need to complete 20 out of 24 goals and 2. If I mess up, I don't have to quit the whole thing because I "messed up."

Many mini-goals have been rumbling through my head, from decluttering a specific room or area to completing a chosen devotional. Not knowing what my goals will be each month makes it even more exciting... who knows what I'll accomplish in 2010! Stay tuned for January's mini-goals. I think I know what they'll be!