take the Spring Goal Challenge

to be done by July 1:

1. Make a list of 40 things I want to do before turning 40 – done
2. get in shape – 3 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight.
3. read 30 books in 2008 – read the 3 three I planned in June, putting me halfway to my yearly goal of 30.
4. catch up on my magazines – gave up on this goal and cancelled my magazine subscription.
5. think about buying a house – still thinking. also waiting for the seller to set their price.
6. drink 43 types of tea – done

1. Loose the weight – Go away, extra pounds! Run! Be free!lose 10 lbs. I maybe lost a couple of pounds.

2. Get more exercise – Get back to the gym – at least 2 times/week; cardio exercise – walk/bike/nustep, etc. – 5 times/week. I didn’t make it to the gym – rising gas prices made the 40+ mile round trip not such a good idea. I have been walking, though. YAY ME!

3. cycle 5000 miles in 200850 miles on the exercise bike. Since I didn’t make it to the gym, I didn’t even do one mile on the exercise bike.

4. Plant my gardenFinish planting after danger of frost; plant second crop of lettuce/spinach; mulch. The garden is looking good (if you can see past the weeds).

5. Fix up my house – clean, organize, repair, maintain, decorateThis is the big one: finish hanging sheers in LR; paint and finish walls in kitchen; work in yard at least 2 hours/week; straighten/clear back room; work in basement at least 1 hour/week. Didn’t do much on this, except for the yard work part. But that was a lot, so I’ll give myself a (little) break.

6. Scan all of my family photos and make a scrapbook of my lifeSpend at least 5 hours organizing and scanning pics. Got my 5 hours in, maybe more. Worked on sorting and got about 100 pictures scanned.

7. Find and carry out 43 adventures that Rose and Flirt can do together!!!Plan and carry out at least one adventure. We tried to plan an adventure, but Rosie’s work schedule prevented it. We’ll keep trying.

8. create a vision boardSpend at least 3 hours working on this. Hmmm…didn’t do much on this.

9. the Sisterhood of the Brazen HussyDo something that actually qualifies as _brazen (at least for me)._ I gave up. :-(

10. Write a letter to my kindergarten teacher DONE!!!

11. Shamelessly ask my 43 friends to help support and sponsor Segsy in the 2008 Take Steps for Crohn’s and Colitis Walk. Make donation and post 3 entries encouraging others to donate. DONE!!!

12. date Smarter Go on a date (if I can find someone smart enough to date me). HA!

13. Develop lasting organizational skills Post thoughts/ideas and progress (not really measurable, but it’s at least something. Even though I still need to make a post on this, it’s going pretty well. Not an A+, but maybe a B-.

Although I didn’t finish my entire top 10, I knocked off the most important 80% and finished a number of other goals unexpectedly (some big, long-term ones – like 43 loans through Kiva or going to our first drive-in).

I’m feeling as if a newfound dedication to exercise & accountable eating is helping a lot physically while a new family budget is improving our financial life. Socially/creatively things are swimming along too, so there seems to be a good balance of progress across all areas.

I’m hoping to make even more headway over the Summer.

I’ll call this a success. I didn’t get a ton done, but with a new baby just getting through the day is a major success! Overall, it was a great Spring, and I’m ready to move on and enjoy a wonderful Summer.

2. become a certified New Orleans tour guide Visited the Historic New Orleans Collection and Chalmette Battlefield.
3. donate a gallon of blood Done!
5. read 90 books in 2008 Up to 32 thanks to 3 weeks off between subbing and Teach Greater New Orleans.
9. develop a sensible disaster plan and survival kit I’m ready, all I need to do is buy a little more food and get a Louisiana driver’s license by August.
13. cook 10 delicious meals and post pictures My camera’s broken, so I opted to just post a list of some of my favorite meals and call this one done.
17. do 50 consecutive pushups No progress made here.
20. be an exceptional teacher Accepted into TGNO and applying for teaching jobs in the New Orleans area.
21. get caught up on reading back issues of Marathon and Beyond Completed through January/February 2008. Taking this one off my list because they serve as good bathroom reading and keep me motivated, so I don’t want to run out of issues to read.
34. exercise 300 times I need 212 more, will use gym at UNO once TGNO classes start 6/11.
36. visit every parish in Louisiana Gas prices have put this one on hold for awhile, but I have made it up to Baton Rouge twice and out to Lafayette for the International Festival at the end of April.
39. ride my bike as often as possible I bike up to church every Sunday and will keep doing that until the heat makes it unsafe. I also use my bike for shorter trips, such as down to the Quarter to go to a museum or to the Iron Rail library. With no A/C in my car, riding my bike is actually more comfortable than driving.

yes it’s still spring in Alaska.

to be done by July 1:

1. Make a list of 40 things I want to do before turning 40 – no new progress
2. get in shape – 5 lbs down, 5 to go.
3. read 30 books in 2008 – read an additional 1 book (somewhat disappointed by this) leaving three to go.
4. practice mindful consumption – no new progress
5. read all of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels – no progress
6. promote scientific literacy / catch up on my magazines – uh, i have half of one magazine read…see book goal above. my reading time is pretty scarce it seems.
7. think about buying a house – I’ve identified two promising prospects in Fairbanks, but not ruling out rentals yet.
8. drink 43 types of tea – up to 38.
9. go 24 hours with no internet – doing this pretty well.
10. Keep a clean ship – finally established some routines I can stick with. some days i do better than others.

a. Call loan lady again, fill out form, and send it off (they were closed for Memorial Day)
b. Make a plan for getting a restaurant job(Here’s the plan: Go fill out applications at 1:00, turn in applications and do interviews from 2 until 3, or Thursday if necassary)
c. Submit application for UTA admission, ask Kim about using a check
d. Wash the sheets, make the bed in the guest room, tidy the bedroom and the office, put away my clothes, wash a few loads.
e. Borrow money from Mom and buy more meds

Become a musician

• Practice “I Got a Woman” for an hour (I practiced for half an hour: I’ll try to squeeze in another half hour tomorrow)
• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises

Make beautiful martial art

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes
  
  • Work on the yard for a half-hour with KimIt actually took three hours.
  • Do handstands for twenty minutes, meditate for fifteen minutes, and do fifteen forms (three hours is plenty of exercise. I’ll do this routine tomorrow)

• Help Kim around the house
• Make five deposits into our marriage’s emotional bank accountI rubbed her feet, helped in the yard for three hours, cleaned up the bedroom some, and went to eat with her.
• Call Latifah
• Call Munir

4. USE MY GIFTS of intelligence and curiosity to serve others

Become a polymath

• Spend twenty minutes getting an overview of nueroscience. What do I want to study in grad school? What do I want to study over the next six months?

a. Call loan lady, fill out form, and send it off
b. Print out tax return
c. Pay Sprint
d. Pay ADS
e. Call Kenny
f. Work on my website (a. draw a flowchart of the site b. sketch some layout ideas)
g. Call the Solana healthclub

Become a musician

• Do ten minutes of vocal exercises on SUNDAY and MONDAY
• Practice for two hours

Make beautiful martial art

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes each day
  
  • SUNDAY: walk two slow miles with Kim, practice handstands, do upper-body weights and bodyweight exercises, meditate
  • MONDAY: walk two miles in thirty-five minutes
• Plan the next week of training
• Get a phone number for Brother Sharief

• Go hang out with my family for a few hours on SUNDAY and MONDAY
• Text Hanan
• Call Danny
• Do something REALLY NICE for Kim

4. USE MY GIFTS of intelligence and curiosity to serve others

Become a polymath

• Spend an hour reading about philosophy
• Read two Wiki articles on computers
• Spend an hour getting an overview of psychology. What do I want to study in grad school? What do I want to study over the next six months?

Take the Spring Goal Challenge – Print goals, write up plans, print for book. (check)

Be a good mother – look into local toddler group, keep up with library, walks, parks, etc.

Find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it every day for a year – Keep up with daily entries

Go out on “date nights” with my spouse on a regular basis – Anniversary (check), get out alone more

Keep in better touch with friends and family – Entry. Plan BBQ, another clothing swap, bowling, etc. Keep making plans for visits

Clean/Declutter (Maintain gumption) – Come up with a daily plan to get ahead

Deal with this – Plan something for anniversary of death, do something on list, open coroner’s report, start sorting boxes, contemplate spot for ashes

Do my taxes – DONE!

Hone my curves – Keep up with morning workouts, walks, yoga, family sports, curb the sweets

Relax – Entry re. exercise, mindset, walks, yoga

Read a book a month in 2008 – update with recent/current reading

Write Haiku on Fridays – Keep up with weekly entries

Fund 43 loans through Kiva.com – goal: Finish 43 by anniversary on site

Donate platelets – Make appointment for June

10,000,000 / Free rice team – Aim for 10,000 weekly

Control my temper – entry, goalpost?

Fix my camera – Find paperwork (check), call (check), take in to shop

Post more pictures to flickr – Upload at least 3 days per month, update to current month

Display my photos in a public place – Look into printing, framing, matting, old laptop into digital display? Ask M about borrowing mat cutter again.

Self publish on lulu.com – Make plans for photo/haiku book, meet with S about potential art grant

Potty train my son – Make up a new chart/plans for more regular use, ask more?

Practice Yoga – Keep up yoga at least 2-3x weekly

Take my cat to the vet – appointment & ride

See the Cure live – Double check with Norm about babysitting

See a movie in a drive-in – Maybe this week?

Go to the aquarium – Go!

Fingerpaint – Do it!

Go bowling – Go!

Knit a Dr. Who scarf – A winter project

Get a picture published by Jones Soda – Heard from staff, write back to see if they received photo release

Watch VHS tapes and get rid of them – Set aside a day to pull them all out, start sorting again, toss 10 min

Help Sister Golden Hair’s Journal travel the world – (waiting for journal)

Catch a West Coast train – (waiting for plans to gel)

Get a laptop – DONE!

Get my driver’s license – on hold

Marry the love of my life – start looking at ring design, plans

Buy a house – pick up buyer’s guide from brother

$ – work on budget, apt with financial adviser?

a. Ask Dad about Latifah staying over here
b. Help Kim clean the house (help clean the carpets, clean the guest room, clean the bathroom)
c. Swap chains on bicycles

Become a musician

• Do ten minutes of vocal exercises
• Listen to all three Ray Charles songs

Make beautiful martial art

• Workout for an hour and fifteen
• Ride bicycle twelve miles
• Meditate for a half hour

• Text Munir
• Call Latifah
• Text Hanan

4. USE MY GIFTS of intelligence and curiosity to serve others

Become a polymath

• Spend an hour reading about philosophy

4. DO GOOD work

Rock the concierge position

• Write two apples (Don and someone else)
• Catch someone doing something good – tell them about it

Follow my strengths-plan

• Read two Wikipedia articles
• Take two iLearn quizzes
• Learn the specs for the white macbooks
  (I tried really hard to do these things, but I couldn’t concentrate for long enough. I ‘ll have to figure out another approach.)