June Goals: If I Write Them Out, Maybe I'll Stick to Them

Goals for June:

1.  To not complain about the heat on a public forum

2.  To read a book

3.  To blog at least 5 out of 7 days each week

4.  To cook dinner for my family at least 2 nights each week

5.  To take Howard the Hyper Hound (he's actually a boxador) on a walk of at least a half mile every day 

6. To begin attending trainings in preparation for returning to work

7.  To clean out the room that is supposed to be my office but is instead sort of a catch-all for everybody's junk

8.  To teach Gabrielle how to say "Mama" before any other word ;-)

9.  To stop drinking Coke

10.To be more social

11.To like myself more.

  

I guess in July, we'll see how I did ... and I will have a new list of goals for that month.

Follow these three hosts to get involved: My So-Called Chaos, A Peek at Karen's World, & Jenee Thompson

The Things-to-Do-Before-I-Hit-35 List

I guess a lot of people have a "things to do before I'm 30" list.  Well, since I'm already 30, I guess I missed the boat on that one ...

And creating a "things to do before I'm 40" list seems a little depressing.

So while I know that it's not realistic to make a "things to do before I'm 35" list considering I'll be hitting that particular milestone in a matter of months, I'm at kind of an interesting juncture in my life right now.  I've finally developed some guts, have come a long way with following through on things, and ... well, if I say I'm going to do something, I'm at a place where I'll at least give it my best effort.

So, with that being said, here it is.

Things To Do Before I'm 35
1.  Read at least five "classics" that I've never read.

2.  Get at least one piece of writing published in a place that is "legit" (in other words, not me posting my writing on this blog or on a place like Wattpad, which is a cool thing to be sure, but not the same as being actively solicited ... um, that sounded bad ;-))

3.  Fly in an airplane.

4.  Make amends with people in my life that I've disappointed, let down, or grown apart from.

5.  Lose 20 pounds.

6.  Organize my clothes.

7.  Be in a normal, healthy, happy relationship with a nice guy.

8.  Do a random act of kindness every day.

9.  Go out socially at least once a week.

10. Learn how to walk in high heels.

Considering that the deadline is October 26, 2011, I have a lot of work to do ... but at least now I've verbalized it.  And in a public forum, no less, so that means that you, my lovely readers, will have to hold me to it.

Which of these do you think is most likely for me to pull off?  Which isn't (or aren't) going to happen?  

Coming Up 8s: Suddenly got a Focal Point for My Writing

I have been directed to do this by several of my blogging colleagues. Although it pretty much reminds me of something I'd do on Facebook, I found it to be fun and surprisingly enlightening. I'm not going to recommend that specific people post it or anything like that ("tag" in the Facebook parlayance), but definitely read through it and change my answers to yours, even if you don't write it down.

I've found that I'm feeling much more focused now. Weird : )

8 Things I Look Forward To

1) Going to see Addie's show this weekend
2) My nephew, Edward, being born
3) Getting a pedi, eyebrow wax, haircut, the whole beauty shop treatment--I usually act like a girl for one day or so in the spring, and I'm starting to feel it's really necessary
4) Belle sleeping in her own room (although part of me will miss her terribly when she decides that a crib mattress on the floor of her parents' room is not exactly where it's at)
5) My cousin Terrie's wedding
6) Hitting the beach every day this summer : )
7) Teaching Act II scene iv of Romeo and Juliet tomorrow : )
8) Last but not least, getting my manuscript published : ) : ) : )

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1) Drank coffee from Dunkin' Donuts
2) Scored schoolwide writing prompts
3) Read around fifty pages of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
4) Edited several chapters of the most recent work in progress. Tried to smooth out some rough transition. Eh ... it's still a work in progress : )
5) Taught some of my students a valuable lesson in the fallibility of teachers
6) Finally paid one of my students the $40 I owed him for a fundraiser (this sounds funny, but it wasn't the money ... I just kept forgetting to bring the check in)
7) Cooked dinner for my mom. (Well, Pythagorus cooked ... I just ate)
8) Put Belle to bed (well, to cracked crib mattress on the floor of my bedroom)

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1) Ease the suffering of others
2) Get on an airplane without having such severe anxiety attacks that it's just not worth the trouble
3) Make my house look as beautiful as it has the potential to do
4) Learn how to set writing goals for myself. Since writing has been somewhere between a passion and a hobby until fairly recently, the thought of trying to harness and control it is new to me.
5) Write Addie's rough draft for her (she just got back from Florida, has had rehearsal until ten all week, and shows are tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday). However, I have a moral issue with parents doing homework for their kids. Helping is okay. Doing is not. And Addie is a writing prodigy, so she doesn't need my help.
6) Eliminate any potential health problems for my nephew Pete (although, knock on wood, he is doing great : ))
7) Create a wonderful garden with Belle this year. She is very interested in the idea of growing vegetables and flowers.
8) Learn to trust Pythagorus again.

8 Shows I Watch

1. "NCIS"
2) "CSI: NY"
3) "Law and Order: CI"
4) "CSI: Miami"
5) "CSI: Vegas"
6) "The Smurfs"
7) "Saturday Night Live"
8) "Antiques Roadshow"