2014

Hello there.

Bet you thought I'd forgotten my little online journal.


Nope.

I've just gotten way too distracted by life.

But, I'm here, now.  And I'm gonna try to stay with it.

It's a time for new resolutions, after all!

That's right!  WELCOME TO 2014 AND THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION POST!

I'm a goal setting kind of person.  I don't get too bent out of shape if I fail to reach them all... I just like to set them and see how far it takes me.  So, here goes!

Last Sunday, the bishop mentioned some advice he'd been giving on setting goals.  He called them goals, not resolutions, because you really should be constantly assessing, adjusting, and setting goals.  It is not just a New Year thing.  Anyways, he said the advice was to set 3 health goals for yourself...  one for physical health, one for mental health, and one for spiritual health.  That sounds like a great idea.

Of course, I have a boatload of PHYSICAL HEALTH goals I'd like to tackle.

For instance, I want to;

• Get to bed 'early' every night.  'Early' means 10-10:30 nightly (as I type this at 11:30 pm).  The problem with that is that I still have a wandering teen in the house to wait up for on occasion.  And, lets face it, I'm a night owl and have to force myself to bed most nights.   Grrrr.  Instead, I want to set a goal to try for 8 HOURS OF SLEEP per night.  I think I can manage that, most of the time.
• Get up at 6 am every school day to MAKE BREAKFAST FOR WILL.  That one is more for Will's physical/mental health than for mine.  I know.  I'm a horrible mother!  Most mornings he rolls out of bed at 7:20 am and leaves for school at 7:30... with no breakfast.  I've never been one of those "let me feed you all the meals" kind of people.  Still, I'm gonna try!  That means I will have to strive for that 10 pm bedtime on school nights if I'm gonna make that first goal.
• BUILD A NEW WORKOUT SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT.  I've fallen off the workout wagon, somewhat.  And by fallen off, I mean I'm still holding on to the wagon and am being dragged in the dirt behind it.  I've struggled all through the holidays.  I'm making it to about 1/2 of my scheduled workouts each week.  I know I can do better.  I know I will feel better if I do better.  So, I will.
• BREAK THE STUPID SODA HABIT!  Here's another wagon I fell off of, people.  Gah!  Stupid, stupid soda!  Why does sugar have to taste so good?!  I feel like this is my Achilles heel.  My willpower battle royale.  So, I will keep up the fight and try again.
• GO TO THE DOCTOR and have the various things taken care of that need attention.  Vericose veins & moles.  I met my deductible this year, so I might as well take care of stuff. ya know?

MENTAL HEALTH Goals

• DE-CLUTTER.  I want to pick one room each month and get rid of as much as I possibly can.  Clear out the accumulation of 13-14 years of living in one place.  You know what I mean.  Things can pile up over time.  Papers and books and nick-nacks.  Picture frames I meant to paint all black, fill with pictures, and hang on the wall; but are instead all piled in a corner of the dining room gathering dust.  The puzzle that was built and mod-podged, but is waiting on top of the dryer for me to find a 22"x24" (or was it x28"?) frame so I can hang it on the wall.  All those random bits and pieces of living that need a proper home, or just simply need to go away permanently.  How is that mental health, you ask?  A cluttered home = a cluttered mind.  I think I could focus better with a more spartan house.
• KEEP UP WITH ROSETTA STONE.  I have been working on learning Spanish with Rosetta Stone.  I work at a Spanish Immersion elementary school, and the administration has provided Rosetta Stone for all the teachers and students to use.  Really such a great resource!  I could have chosen any language to work on, and I was tempted to brush up my French.  But, I want to learn Spanish, for work.  Learning a language should keep my mind sharp, especially since it sometimes feels like some of the gears are starting to slip from time to time.
• KEEP UP WITH MY BLOG.  This is my journal.  I need a place to crystalize my thoughts, and this is that place.  It is such a shame that so many good thoughts got lost over the months that I neglected to write.  I focus my writing on the positive events in my life, and it helps ME to stay positive.  Otherwise, I might let the negative creep in and get too much of a foothold in my life.  Keep your sharing POSITIVE!  Whether in a blog, or on Facebook, only record the positive.  You get back what you send out, so be careful what you send out there!

SPIRITUAL HEALTH Goals

• RENEW MY TEMPLE RECOMMEND.  I haven't held a current recommend in years.  I don't really have a good reason.  Just laziness.  I'm a slacker.  I need to rededicate myself and get back to the temple.  I'm looking forward to some Celestial Room meditations.  
• PRAYERS/SCRIPTURES EVERY MORNING.  That's gonna be part of the getting up at 6 am gig.  I'm shooting for a morning something like this:  15 min. me time (potty, stretching), 15 min. prayer/scriptures, 30 min. breakfast prep., have breakfast with Will (& hopefully Helena), send Will out the door at 7:30, get myself ready for work & out the door around 8:15.

So, there you have it.  I'm not good at the one goal per section kind of thing.  Still, I like my goals and I'm looking forward to implementing them.  Tomorrow I think I'll build that workout schedule!

If you are setting goals this week, I wish you all the best in achieving them!  I'm no cynic about New Year's Resolutions... I've accomplished many of mine over the years, so I know they are worthwhile endeavors.

So, set your goals and chase 'em down!

Cheers to a bright 2014!