Make 2009 My Best Year Yet

Wow. Good month! Mostly greens.:)

Become a licensed acupuncturist
This month I made progress on my ‘taking the boards’ fund. It’s now at $150 and counting. So December, I’ll continue to contribute to the fund. Although, I’m a bit sad that I won’t have the goal accomplished this year, I’m also happy that it’s under way now, and feel more hopeful that it will eventually happen.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
PT ended and I had one appointment with the doctor to follow up. The next step is to get an MRI which will happen in January due to insurance reasons. I stopped eating gluten and almost immediately started to feel marvelous. I skipped some stretching, and I don’t know if this is such a bad thing, but I’ll continue on with it through December. No dance related event this month, but I must say that I feel more like dancing than I have in a long time.:)

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
See above.:)

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
I went to see Julie and SweetMK in Milwaukee and had a really fun day with them! Possibility of a day trip in December…not sure where though. Ikea? Ottawa?

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
A good month!

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Well..I started to track expenses on Mint.com which is easier to use than Wasabe because it tags expenses automatically. I didn’t consolidate the loans this month and will work on it in December.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
I was doing great the first week, but relaxed quite a bit. I guess I could say this goal is green and red like a Christmas tree.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
Good with meetings. Still haven’t seen my therapist. Hmm… Doing EFT most mornings, too, and I like how this seems to be a great way to begin the day.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
November has been fun in this regard…appreciating the opportunity to play with someone, even though he is far away. But not so far away, like another continent far away, or across the ocean far away, or from another planet far away. My frustration is not having the funds or time to take to visit. And at the same time, it’s great fun to play right now.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
I had a job dialogue this month, and got glowing reviews all around! One of the things she said is that I’m doing great on the timeliness factor.

A lot of this month felt like it was spent consolidating certain things, stretching my shoulder, and preparing for a job interview that I had in the beginning of November.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
Another month of not doing much except for preliminaries. I interviewed for another job, which would’ve brought in more income, thus I’d be able to swing the cost of the whole process, but didn’t get the job. And I have started putting some money into a savings account for the process. I ran into another acu student, and asked her if she wanted to study with me so that’s a possibility as well.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
Was in PT each week for the whole month. No dance event. Feeling a little better. Yesterday the therapist said I tested positive for a labral tear. November will be more stretches and a follow up appt. with the orthopedist. Don’t want to go dancing, at least partner dancing, because I don’t want to constantly explain… Maybe a performance somewhere. Would like to do some upper body strengthening this month.

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
See above.:)

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Began planning a trip to Milwaukee to see Julie & Sweet MK in November.:) Plan another day or weekend trip for December, possibly.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
Great happiness with this one. Thinking about the idea of ‘holding a space’ for a person in conversation.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Got the consolidation form and made a payment. November, I’ll fill the form out and make another payment.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
October wasn’t so great. In November, I have a goal to do every mission for the month.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
Continued on with the meetings. Community support was very strong this month. I haven’t seen my therapist in a couple of months, and feel a little weird about it…like I’ve dropped the ball. I need to write her a note and change this feeling. This element of support and healing is very important to me.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
October has still been a solitary month. I did have fun flirting with someone who (go figure) is in another country.:) I feel like I’m still consolidating things here, and although I’m open to something new, I’m not necessarily pursuing it actively right now. Probably due to the holidays, and all that comes with it. So my goal this month is to continue being open, getting to know people/persons, turning it over..

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
A good effort, although at times I felt like I was going by the seat of my pants.

A ‘contracting universe’ month. I felt like I spent a lot of this month in reflection and paring things down to the bare essentials.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
An odd month. Another slow month requiring me to be exceedingly frugal. This goal looks like it may not happen this year. I’ve begun to figure that I may need to relax around it and just focus on enjoying the rest of my year. I am thinking about deferring this goal to next year. Another option is hiring a coach to help get me through this. But of course, there is still the issue of money.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
In September, my shoulder started to feel quite a bit of pain. At the end of the month, I visited an orthopedic surgeon, and he prescribed 5 session of physical therapy which will begin on Wednesday. No dance event in September, and a little bit of qi gong. In October, I look forward to the pt.

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
Massage and doctor’s visit for shoulder pain in September, and pt throughout October.

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Not much in September, and will think about possibilities for October. I did go to Ikea this month (doesn’t really count, I know, but it is outside of Chicago). And I bought two new tires for my car (and should buy two more), and this will be really helpful for potential road trips.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
This seemed to go well this month. It was relatively drama free.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Waiting for the loan consolidation form, and made a payment arrangement for the tickets.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
September was a good month for this. As I sit here and look around, my place is looking quite nice.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
The EFT sessions went well, and I’m still tapping on my own. And going to meetings. The EFT therapist mentioned that she felt like my shoulder pain could be around my fear of moving forward in my life, and we tapped around the pain and it did lessen by about 50%. I can see that could be the case. There is some stuff left over from 2007-8 that I’m still grieving and trying to work through, and in a way, felt oddly grateful for the shoulder pain.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
September…I saw I. for about four days at the beginning of the month, but it went as expected, unfortunately. I spent most of this month reveling in my own space, and enjoying that my time is my own. I marked this green because I felt like it was good for me to choose to be on my own this month.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
Another good month. On to October!

Become a licensed acupuncturist
Wow. August was a ‘slow money month’ and September will be, too, as far as I can see. I may not be able to make this October goal, but I certainly will try. This is very important, so I will eat ramen noodles if I have, too. I haven’t been able to put money away towards this goal yet, but I will see how to stash away some. I’ve been studying, though.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
This goal was fallow again in August. September, I’d like to work on my energy level, and possibly talk to a personal trainer about aerobic activity. My knee feels great, though. This is a 180 degree difference from last year!

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
Knee is still feeling great! Left shoulder is hurting a bit. Seeing Rudy for that. I still haven’t gone to the dentist or optometrist. I went to the doctor this month, though. Maybe once a month is enough, aside from my chiro appointments.

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Not much here. I took out some travel books and joined a destination travel book club meetup. This month, I’ll read the book and attend the meetup.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
This is going well. I resolved a major conflict a couple of days ago with someone. I’m also going to be working on more of this issue from now on for awhile. This month, I’d like to be aware of when I’m tempted to speak about someone in a judgmental way, and try to refrain from this. I want to be a more accepting person, and I’d like to see this reflected in my speech.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Did some wreckage clearing this month. Argh on the parking ticket issue. I’d love to go on a parking ticket diet. I made another payment arrangement to add in the more current tickets, but I’d like to avoid getting tickets altogether. I will be in the free and clear in six months. This month, loan consolidation will be good to get out of the way.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
August was a bit of a messy month. It’s a worthy goal, right? I will work on doing the routines as soon as I walk in the door, before I sit on my duff. It seems as though as soon as I sit down, an hour can pass me by without my noticing.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
I found an EFT therapist to work with on a short term basis, and we began working together a few days ago. I’ll continue to work with her through September for 2-4 more sessions. I’ll continue to go to meetings and cultivate community.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
August was a sad month. I found out T. is married, so it was a bit of a crumple. I was sad that a person was pursuing me who had no intentions of being someone who could be there for me, so I spent a few weeks in August learning the truth, processing it and pulling back from this goal. September starts out bittersweet for me because I. is back here for two months, and we haven’t spoken in that amount of time. And I am ambivalent about contacting him because our dynamic was so frustrating for me. So, it’s confusing to me. Do I see someone I care about who also is painful for me to be around, or do I let it go entirely? I wish all of this were easier.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
This went very well for August. I’ll keep it up for September.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
Still strapped financially. Have been working a bit on the ‘financial wreckage’ goal, so I think I may not be able to make real progress until September. But!, I did receive a raise, and will receive another one in November, so finances should be easier, thus I’ll be able to afford paying for the boards. I have a letter saying I can sit for the boards anytime, so at least that’s out of the way.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
Not much with this goal in the last two months unfortunately. I’d like to step it up in August (no pun intended).

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
Knee is feeling great! Left shoulder is hurting a bit. Seeing Rudy for that. I had a weird right sided pain that felt like it might be a gallbladder attack, but I did a liver flush, and am now taking a liver cleanse supplement with dandelion, bupleurum and milk thistle, and I feel great! Taking digestive enzymes and those work like a charm for digestion and joint inflammation. And took 5htp for moodiness and insomnia, and it works great for me. In August, I want to go to the dentist and get an eye exam.

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Not much in June/July except for thinking about going places. Maybe in August, I could take a trip to Milwaukee. Possibility of visiting N. Michigan, but I won’t hold my breath.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
Feel close to my community and most people around me these days.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Deferred all three loans. Next step will be to consolidate. Neglected Wesabe a bit. Will move toward more consistent tracking in August

Keep my home clean and beautiful
This was about 50% and I think that’s okay. My floors are mostly clean. Would like to aim for 75% in August.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
Still feeling very lucky and grateful to be surrounded by so many loving and supportive people in my life. Will continue in my commitment with this goal. It’s so very rewarding. Also, the therapist I found has been working out great. She is a great resource of information, and is gentle and wise.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
As I’ve written elsewhere, I. is gone now, and I began dating a new person, but he is a bit too much of a mystery for me. He was wonderful at first, but soon he became very uncommunicative and I feel like it’s left the relationship pretty uneven. I’m going to stay open, and possibly explore online opportunities, and socialize as often as I desire.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
Some slipups due to sleeping through not one, but three alarms. I must’ve been really tired. I improved by the end of the month but it only showed me why being on time within reason is so important for me.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
May was a bit financially strapped again, too. I plan to sit in June (this month) and plan out the whole process timewise and financially.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
Still wrestling a bit with lower energy, but I did run once this month. Yay! And I attended a student Flamenco recital that was great, and seriously considering taking classes which will start this Saturday.

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
Knee is still not bending completely. Got the insurance credit card but doesn’t have much money on it ($350), whereas the deductible is $1200. I’ve had a funny eyelid that may need surgery, so should visit the doctor before next years regardless of the cost, but kind of pissed that my incredibly progressive company has such high deductible insurance. (Maybe should focus on gratitude that they provide eyeglasses and dental for free, too.)

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Did have a brunch this month, and towards the end of the month went to the Flamenco recital which was courtesy of a couchsurfer.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
I did a lot of good stuff with my mood chemistry. Was feeling a bit down and followed some of the advice from the book “Mood Cure”. Would like to continue feeling happier. The supplements really seem to help.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
I played a little bit of ostrich this month, although I did great continuing to track stuff in Wesabe.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
This went a little bit south. My apartment has stuff strewn around.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
So important for me! I am blessed with a wonderful community. I still feel a lot of sadness and regret over my family and other losses. I pray for healing in this part of my life. I feel like this is such a big wound for me.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
I love someone who I’m not certain is the right person for me for many reasons. My therapist suggested that I write a list of qualities that I want in a person. She said this would be good because the men in my life have generally been setting the ‘standards’ for the relationship, and I have just been going with it, like I’s desire for an ‘open’ relationship, and E. constantly texting even though I expressed that I am not a fan of it. So, this month, I will write that list, and continue to be open, enjoy my life, read that book, etc. Regardless of whether he’s the ‘right’ person, I have been grateful this month for learning from him things that I wouldn’t have learned before.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
It was pretty good this month.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
April was a financially strapped month. I did receive a letter stating that I can sit for the board exams, but I still want to transfer my app so I can take the herbs test, too, in case Illinois gets approved and acknowledge herbology on the state license. I think my poverty feelings in April have helped me be more motivated to get this process over and done with, as having my license will allow me more opportunities to increase my income and be of greater service. For May, I’d like to set some money aside, and start doing the practice tests online or in my books.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
This one really went to the wayside, although I did go dancing with some friends. For May, I’d like to get in better shape (gym 1-3 times a week), as I got pretty tired out this month.

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
Saw chiro 4 times in April. Still can’t bend my knee entirely, but joints feel a lot more flexible. May schedule a doctor’s appointment in May if I get my flex spending card. Continue to see Rudy in May.

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Hung out with couchsurfers in April, and read travel magazines. In May, I’d like to plan one CS event, something simple, like brunch.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
April was a slippery month, but they seemed to be things beyond my control. Work became a little strange, and in my effort to get clarity, I needed to talk about specific people. Hopefully May will be a more harmonious month.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Cleared up some parking ticket stuff in April. In May, I’d like to defer the loans for once and for all, go to court for the tow, contest parking tickets, and go to the Daley Center for free legal advice.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
This went especially well at the end of April when I started doing my FLY routines as soon as I came home. I will keep this up in May.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
In April, I attend 1 to 2 meetings a week, and saw the therapist twice. I received additional support, too.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
I, sadly, realized the new guy I was seeing had a lot going on in his life that would make him unavailable for a relationship, along with the fact that he was a textmessageaholic(!). So, I lived and I learned in April. I realized I should take things a lot slower, that in the beginning I still have a lot about the person to learn about, and that a couple incredible dates doesn’t a relationship make. I have been in touch with I., so I am still in a ‘relationship conversation’, albeit long distance, and am still learning about my part in relationships through therapy. In May, I will continue with therapy, and start reading ‘Getting the Love You Want’.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
Again, I need to work on this. I’ve been fine for the afternoon shifts, but need to wake up a bit earlier for the morning shifts, and/or set an extra alarm.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
Alright. Need to raise $275 still to transfer my application from Acupuncture to Oriental Medicine (this includes the herbal examination).

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
I went contradancing with Ruth and it was great fun, although it seems I need to learn contradancing self defense.

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
Very good progress. This guy is really great (the chiropractor/applied kinesiologist).

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
No progress this month. Spent a bit of March recuperating financially from the trip.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
This is going well. It’s good practice.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Deferred a student loan.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
Doing moderately well with this goal. I’m happy when I have clean sheets and dishes to eat off of.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
Attended one meeting a week, and found a therapist I like.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
I began seeing someone new who is kinder, nicer, very attractive and lives in Chicago. I’ve been enjoying getting to know him.

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
This goal could use more work. I’ve been on time but cutting it close.

Become a licensed acupuncturist
Need to get application to NCCAOM (apparently the one I turned in originally didn’t transfer to the new computer system) and they said I’m good to begin testing once that’s in.

Begin dancing again (get in shape, and go to one dance related event a month)
Been going to the gym, and bike about 100 kms in Puerto Rico, so in better shape. No dance events in February, but will make up for it in March. Already scheduled to go contradancing on Monday night with RuthG.:)

Do what it takes to heal my knee (and other medical problems that may come up).
I saw the chiropractor several times this month, and a happy byproduct of his work is that he’s also helped my digestion immensely.

Plan one big trip this year, preferably overseas, and 1-4 short trips.
Went to Puerto Rico.:) How quickly it came and went.

Begin and end all conversations on a positive note.
This is going well. It’s good practice.

Clear some financial wreckage, i.e. consolidate student loans, etc. and follow Debtproof living plan.
Not tracking expenses yet, went to Daley center, and have been keeping up with parking tickets.

Keep my home clean and beautiful
I improved on this goal the last week of this month, realizing it wouldn’t get accomplished unless I actually did it.

Seek help in finding peace with myself and my family, while staying close to my community.
Attending meetings in Chicago. It would’ve been nice to check out the ones in San Juan, but they’d probably be in Spanish.

Appreciate the opportunity to love, and find a lover who I truly love.
At times, it was hard to ‘appreciate’ the opportunity but it is easier now. I still wonder if this goal is a bit vague. I remember, at times, in PR, focusing on conscious appreciation and this worked well. The problem I had was with his sarcasm because then I wouldn’t feel like I was appreciated, and then started the downward spiral of depreciation. So, I guess when I show appreciation, the person does ‘appreciate’ in a way, whereas if I tear them down…. Hey, I’m having an epiphany over here!

Be on time for work. Leave an extra 15 minutes commute time.
This has been going well, although I’ve noticed myself cutting things a bit close since I’ve been back.

What if I do BYY backwards? I had trouble remembering last year when I tried to answer the questions a month ago. So… I was thinking, what if I kept a journal for the rest of this year, and have a page for each question, and just keep a running list? (ie- What did I accomplish? What were my biggest disappointments?) I think this is a great idea, because it would make me more conscious of how I am disappointed (in myself or life, or other people) and what makes me proud. Then I can look back and analyze the list and think of ways that I attributed to my disappointments, and ways that I accomplished things that I am proud of. :D