February Goals Recap

I cannot believe it is already March...February truly flew by! I know a lot of people find the month of February to be a winter-blues kind of month, but I've actually always enjoyed it. It's short and sweet and always brings to mind flowers and various shades of pink (thank you, Hallmark for Valentine's Day).

Since the date on my calendar says March 2nd, it appears it's time for a February 2010 Goals Recap. I apologize if you get tired of reading this every month, but it's the best way to hold myself accountable for my goals:

1. Pay all bills on time. Done and done! My Comcast bill was paid on time for February, as were all of my other, easier for me to remember to pay, bills. Here's hoping this becomes a habit for me...time will tell as to whether or not I relapse into my late-Comcast-paying ways. (+1)

2. Finish the books I've started. I barely managed this one, but I did finally finish a book that has been sitting half-read on my bookshelf for a year: Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson. Whew! Even with one finished half-read book under my belt, it must be said that I am far too friendly with the Library. It is just too convenient to stop in whenever I get the urge (it's on my way home from work)! (+1)

3. Continue to work-out 4-5 times per week. Except for the partial week that I was in Boston, I definitely made this happen again. And, I did workout Thursday, Friday and Saturday after getting back from Boston, plus I did a lot of walking while I was back East, so I'm going to count this one as a success. (+1)

4. Call Grammy more. I only spoke with her once this past month, so while 1 phone call is better than the no phone call month of January, it still isn't great. Technically, yes, I did call Grammy more, but my single phone call is a bit pathetic. (-1)

5. Write to Grandpa and Grandma twice monthly. I actually kind of, sort of forgot about this goal this month and only managed to send one thing: a postcard from my Boston trip. Ooops! (-1)

6. Keep track of the books I've read. I'm still truckin' along on Goodreads, and have to attribute my success with this goal to that lovely website! Loves it! (+1)

So, overall I managed to achieve 4 out of my 6 goals this month. And, once again, the ones that I'm lacking in are really the most important ones. Sigh... As I said last month, I will strive to be better at communicating with my grandparents in March.

How are everyone else's 2010 goals/resolutions going?

On a totally unrelated note, it is sunny, warm and gorgeous in Northern Colorado today!! I took my lunch to a local park to soak up some sun and even drove with my windows down. It's just lovely!

January Recap

Today might end up becoming a 2 post kind of day because I want to do a goals recap for January and I'd like to blog about all of the lovely movies I watched this weekend...but I don't have it in me to do both in one giant post.

So, let's start with my January goals recap and see where I stand:

1. Pay all bills on time. So far, so good! I managed to remember to pay my Comcast on the morning it was due, and it was posted to my account so that counts in my book. Rent, utilities, my car payment and Netflix were all paid on time, as well, but that's normal for me. It's really just Comcast and I that butt heads most months. Oh well! I would also like to note that I bought a plane ticket (with a little help from Mom) and paid for my $60 textbook this month without wrecking my budget; this was big for me because my budget is fairly tight!

2. Finish the books I've started. Hasn't really happened. I had about 6 library books that I've had on hold become available this month and they took priority. I have managed to keep up with my reading (for pleasure, book club and school), I just haven't tackled my bookshelf that holds all of my half-read books.

3. Continue to work-out 4-5 times per week. I'm rockin' this one! My magic number has actually been 5 work-outs per week, but only 4 of them are really good ones. Usually the 5th work-out is one that I barely squeeze in at 9 pm after being out with a friend; it's kind of half-assed, but it's still better than not going to the gym at all. And last week, I actually got in 6 good work-outs! Oh yea, I'm patting myself on the back for that one.

4. Call Grammy more. Epic FAIL! I haven't called her once this month and now that I just typed that I'm sure my Catholic guilt will set in and a phone call will made ASAP. I swear, I really do love my grandmother more than just about anyone and miss her terribly, but I hate the phone and am far too talented for my own good at making up excuses. :-(

5. Write to Grandpa and Grandma twice monthly. If you count sending a thank-you note from Christmas, I did meet this goal. But, since I really don't count that, I have to admit that I only wrote to Grandpa once and just kind of hoped he would share it with Grandma.

Wow, I really kind of suck at being a good granddaughter right now. I vow to do better!

6. Keep track of the books I've read. Success!! I joined Goodreads to better track the books I've marked as to-read and have-read, and it's worked! I'm able to keep track of all of my books online, and can still update my hand-written Book Journal when I take the time. I have a system that is working out just swell for me.

(and yes, I found another excuse to create a Library Catalog Card)

Well, I'm looking at about 60% for this month (I did write to G'pa once), which isn't fantastic, but I'll take it. With any luck, February's recap will be better and I'll have met and kept-up with each of these goals by December. I'm perfectly aware of all that I am capable of, I just need to stop allowing myself excuses. haha.

This and that...

Remember when I said I was going to cut back on my Library usage in order to finish reading some of the books that I've started but never finished? Yea, I do, too. Well, when I took stock of my book situation yesterday this is what I saw:

Yep, you counted right, there are 6 Library books there! And the best part: I actually had 10 checked out at the time, but 2 were in my car ready to make the trek back to their Library home and 2 were sitting on my side table missing out on photo time. So much for starting off the New Year by working on every one of my goals. Haha! Oh well, it's only January...

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On an entirely different note, as per Courtney's request here is a picture of me in my perfect, beloved black cardi from Target (please ignore the fact that I have on black sweats and a bit of a scowl):

This isn't the best pic, but this cardi truly is wonderful! It's warm, flattering and goes with just about everything. I'm obviously smitten!

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And, for my final tangent on this lovely Friday afternoon, I would like to get some feedback on hosting a giveaway. As a few of you know, my mom makes fused glass jewelry (earrings, pendants and the occasional bracelet). Her pieces are gorgeous and I have yet to wear a pair of earrings or a pendant without getting compliments. Well, Mom has graciously offered to let me have a pair of earrings for a giveaway, but before saying yes I wanted to put out some feelers. I don't have a ton of followers (which is fine by me) but for those of you out in Blogland who do read my ramblings, would you all be interested in winning a pair of fused glass earrings? I apologize for not having any pictures of Mom's work, but I'll try to get a few up this weekend. Please let me know your thoughts!

Happy weekend, everyone!!! It's a 3 day weekend for me, so I'm over the moon right now! Do any of you have big weekend plans?

2010 Goals

I am happy to report that 2010 is off to a fabulous start! Granted, I got stupid drunk on New Year's Eve, but even the copious amounts of vodka that I consumed couldn't put a damper on my fresh start in the new year (thank you, genetics, for allowing me to rarely have hangovers). Yes, I was a wee bit tired and legarthic on Friday, but that is to be expected after a night out.

I promise to do a more thorough post about this past weekend once I have a few pics loaded onto my computer. Unfortunately, I do not have any from NYE (Jamie was the picture-taker and, sadly, she lost her memory card with all of the pictures), but I have a bunch from my lovely day spent in Denver on Saturday.

New Year's Resolutions, or Goals as I've apparently decided to call them, aren't usually big on my radar in January. I know a ton of people who set them, and very few who actually keep up with them. Maybe it's this "promise of failure" that I associate with New Year's Resolutions that keeps them off of my radar...or maybe I'm just not a resolution kind of gal! Whatever the reason, what I'm getting at in my long-winded thought here is that I rarely make New Year's Resolutions. Well, this year is going to be different. Due to my negative association with the term "resolutions" I am going to call my list my Goals for 2010. They're pretty basic and should be easy to keep up with, and they're goals that are important to me. So, here they are:

1. Pay all bills on time. Without fail, my Comcast bill is always 1 day late. Every other bill is paid on time, if not early, but Comcast slips my mind until the day after it's due...and I'm not a fan of automatic bill pay, so while it could make my life easier, it's not an option for me.
2. Finish the books I've started. I have a list of several books that I've started but never completed and it's bugging me! So, it's time to sit down, focus and finish those reads! I'm even willing to withhold my own Library privileges if I can't keep myself focused.
3. Continue to work-out 4-5 times per week. This is really becoming habitual for me, which is a good thing, but I want to keep myself focused on it, so it's earned a place on my 2010 Goals list.
4. Call Grammy more. I HATE talking on the phone, which has resulted in my ability to come up with fantastic justifications for not calling my relatives as often as I should. This needs to change and I'm starting with Grammy, whom I love and miss more than just about anyone else.
5. Write to Grandpa and Grandma twice monthly. My dad's dad and stepmom live in a nursing home/assisted care facility and truly love to receive mail and little updates on my life. As with the phone calls, I kind of suck at this, so onto the list it goes! Plus, I actually do love writing them cards, so this shouldn't be too difficult.
6. Keep track of the books I've read. I have a nifty book journal that I used religiously when I first bought it and then I got lazy... I like being able to look back at the books I've read and my thoughts on them. It reminds me why I like the authors that I do, and tips me off on finding new reads. You all may just see me posting my monthly reading list here on my blog as a way to keep up with this goal.

Well, there you have it, my Goals for 2010. I think they're more than doable and I'm looking forward to accomplishing them. Do any of you do the whole New Year's Resolutions thing? And if so, what are yours?

I hope everyone is enjoying 2010 so far!