Hey! Here I am!

Ok, it happened again. Life grabbed me, and I stopped blogging. For shame. Although, given my track record, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

However, it's nearly summer, which means more time! Hooray for some TIME! I'm on a 3 day weekend already, which is "summer lite".

I took a peek at my 101 goals in 101 days list, and I have some updates to make. Since that list was the reason for starting the blog, it seems fitting to resume contact via the list. Here we go:

101 in 1001
Start Date: January 2, 2009
End Date: September 29, 2011
Legend:
Not Started
In Progress
Completed

Health and Fitness
1. Eat vegan 1x/week for 2 months
2. Take a prenatal vitamin nightly for 2 months
3. Do yoga 2x/week for 2 months
4. Get pregnant
5. Lose 20 lbs before getting pregnant (5/20)
6. Complete Body & Soul’s healthy challenge
7. Set a new fitness goal—and meet it—for 12 months (not necessarily consecutively)
8. Record all food eaten daily for 3 months
9. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily for 1 month
10. Private :)
11. Floss daily for 4 consecutive months
12. Reduce coffee to 1 cup/day
13. Eliminate coffee from diet
14. Add tea to diet
15. Track my monthly cycle
16. Use that information to better understand my moods and cravings
17. Perform monthly breast exams (3/32)
18. Find a naturopathic doctor (I have found a D.O. It remains to be seen, however, if he will stick as my doctor. He may just need a bit of training ::wink::)
19. Eat nothing after 8 p.m. for 2 consecutive months
20. Private :)
21. Get braces
22. Reward myself with something sensual each months that I meet a fitness/nutrition goal (ex: pedicure, manicure, massage)
23. Learn CPR
24. Private :)


Finances
25. Build up $1000 mini-emergency fund ($800/1000)
26. Pay off debt (2 of 6 cc's paid off.....still have student loans, car notes, and mortgage :sigh)
27. Build a 3 month cushion
28. Put all extra $$ (bonuses, raises, gifts, etc) towards financial goals
29. Eat out on special occasions only (birthdays, anniversaries, last day of school, etc)
30. Sell this house
31. Have a monthly finance meeting with J
32. See a financial planner
33. Open retirement accounts for J and myself
34. Make a Christmas budget
35. Keep the Christmas budget!
36. Live on one income for a year to simulate the actual experience
37. Use a cash economy
38. Add to P’s college fund monthly ($5/month is ok!)
39. Donate $2 per each goal NOT met to a charity of my choice
40. Set aside $5 per goal MET to do something fun at the end of the 1001 days


Love Life
41. Have a date night with J once/month
42. Private ;)
43. Private ;)
44. Private ;)

Social Life
45. Have a potluck dinner
46. Throw a dinner party

Travel
47. Take a cruise
48. Go on 5 day trips alone (1/5) I'm counting Dallas since I went by myself, and it's a drive!
49. Visit 5 Texas attractions
50. Camp for a weekend at the Ren Fest
51. Go to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday!
52. Take 3 day trips with P
53. Take 2 overnight trips with P
54. Leave the country!
55. Visit Galveston 4x/year (2/10)


Getting the stuff you want….priceless
56. Get a tattoo (A cool hippie star on the back of my neck, under my hair)
57. Find the most perfect pair of black boots and buy them, no matter the cost.
58. Find the perfect Little Black Dress
59. Get a vitamix


Being a good person
60. Make 2 positive parent phone calls/month for 4 months—2 now, 2 next year
61. Explore volunteer opportunities for P and I
62. Volunteer with P once/week during the summer
63. Give blood 6 times
64. Give 10 compliments to strangers
65. Pay for the person behind me at a drive-thru
66. Obtain no new plastic bags for 3 non-consecutive months

Spirituality
67. Buy one book about paganism and one about Wicca and read them both!
68. Meditate 30 min, 3x/week for 12 non-consecutive months

The House
69. Replace carpet in house with wood floors
70. Complete 6 home improvement projects (1/6)
71. Create a “work-week home management plan”
72. Follow said plan for 3 months!
73. Set a new household goal for 12 non-consecutive months

So Creative!
74. Update blog 2x/week for 3 months
75. Practice guitar 3x/week for 3 months
76. Knit a scarf
77. Make 3 things using my sewing machine
78. Create an altar
79. Create a gift book for J
80. Make all handmade gifts for one Xmas
81. Dress up for the Ren Fest
82. Create a wardrobe that I adore—no “meh” clothes allowed!
83. Create a family cookbook
84. Finish t-shirt quilt or throw t-shirts away!
85. Do a craft project 4x/year with P


Foodie Love
86. Make one new bread machine recipe per month for 6 months (1/6)
87. Learn to make sushi
88. Make one new recipe each month (5/32)


Miscellaneous
89. List those things in my life that I do out of a sense of duty, not love or desire.
90. Reduce that list by half
91. Make “sucks/rocks” lists every 6 months (1/5)
92. SAH w/ my kids
93. Develop a homeschool curriculum for P
94. Meet with a life coach
95. Get life insurance
96. Read 101 books
97. Complete “Brenda’s Wardrobe Companion”
98. Take a class (I'm taking a bellydance class!)
99. Write my will
100. Turn off computer nightly for 2 consecutive months
101. Be fitted for a bra and only own bras that FIT!

Well, clearly I have my work cut out for me. In some cases, I need to start setting aside the money for charity since it ain't gonna happen, like the Body and Soul Challenge. But in other cases, I'm bettering my life and can set aside $5 per goal to have a blast! Whee!

February Recipe

I know! It's only Feb. 1, and here I am, with my new recipe! I can't help it, I love to cook! (Also, I like to update my blog a lot at once, and then ignore it for a while. It's how I approach exercising, too)

I made Orecchiette with Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts from Real Simple, except that I had to use pecans because I had thought that my pecans were walnuts, and when I recipe calls for 1/2 cup nuts, you can't leave it out.

It was exceptionally good! The garlic gets all roasted and yummy, and this broccoli would make a really excellent side dish on its own. This is the first time I've had orecchiette (except possibly at a restaurant) and I feel very sophisticated!

I also feel cool because while everyone else is currently gorging themselves on hot wings, pizza, chips and dip, and any number of foods that make ya fat and sluggish, I'm here eating this lovely light pasta! I also made some Italian greens, which basically means chop up a bunch of garlic, saute lightly in some olive oil till golden, remove with a slotted spoon, add greens of your choice (I had kale) and saute till kinda crispy and good. All right, all right. I could give a better recipe. And if you want it, let me know in the comments. :)

Plus, I did Pilates today and took stuff to the thrift store! Hooray! It makes up for eating a piece of pizza and half a Reeses Whipps at 9 p.m. last night.

Love is in the air in February!

Which means that I get to fulfill my "goal" of making a new recipe! Hooray! What should I cook? Oh, the possibilities are endless! I scored an Alice Waters cookbook today (she of the famed Chez Panisse and just an amazing person who emphasizes fresh, local ingredients that are simply prepared) for $1! Holy cow! Can you believe that? Barnes and Noble was having a big sale, and I promised P that we'd head to the mall for some Thomas fun (never mind that he has a train table at home).

While at the beloved book store, I grabbed the February issue of Vegetarian Times to peruse while P played with the trains. The trains, as you may know, are located in the kids area, so unless I want to read a kids book (not so bad, but I like to pretend I'm an adult sometimes), I gotta grab something QUICK before I'm dragged by a surprisingly strong almost 4 year old to the magic area.

Let me tell you something about Vegetarian Times. Every single recipe made me want to eat it. NOW. Wow! I had never looked at that mag before, and it was definitely cool to have every single recipe be meat-free! I'm not used to that, as I'm used to more mainstream mags that will always include chicken, fish, beef, and pork and since "times are tough" and we're all "trying to eat healthier" may include some token vegetarian recipe, usually with a butt load of olive oil, probably to make it "taste good" since it doesn't have any meat. (Can you sense my sarcasm? Sorry. Living in Texas is NOT conducive to a vegetarian lifestyle, illustrated by the fact that I am ready to shove the next person who tells me that they couldn't NOT eat meat, or who asks what I could possibly eat! All right, all right! I get it! You like meat! Now shut up and leave me alone with my kale)

I simply had to great the magazine. I had to. And fortunately for me, I have slightly more money than I thought, due to a budgeting error that worked in my favor (when does THAT happen??), so I could afford this little splurge! You see, I've decided that getting out of debt is a gigantic goal, and I've been doing exceptionally well at avoiding extras. But bookstores are my kryptonite. So, I suppose I should be glad they were having a sale!

Leaky tub, no more!

One of my goals was to complete 6 home improvement/home repair projects. Well, I'm ashamed to admit it, but my tub faucet has been leaky for the better part of a year. Oh, what a bad hippie I am. Horrible! Finally, yesterday I decided it would be fixed.

We removed the panel out of P's room to turn off the water to the tub. What a surprise! There was no water valve, just wall. What??? Apparently, the shoddy construction of this house never ends. I assume there is a valve behind the wall, it's just closed it. Sigh. So, we went outside and opened the other panel, only to discover a hole that had literally been punched in the wall, giving us access to the main water valve. Wow. Just wow.

After I got over my anger towards the now defunct Royce Builders (who went out of business for good reasons, obviously), we turned the water off and removed the faucet handle. Yanked HARD on the thing-a-ma-jig (which is why I can never be a plumber. My lack of technical terms) to get it out and commenced to the hardware store to get a new one. Oh. Except that people decided to crash into one another, completely shutting down a major highway and forcing us to take a scenic detour on a two lane road. And it was dark, so the detour was not all that scenic. When we finally reached the store, long after we should have been home, we could not find the exact part. What we found was pretty darn close, so we crossed our fingers and prayed. Also, we hoped for a good return policy.

Back home, things were uneventful as the part fit, we put everything back together, and turned the water back on. Ta-da!

The most beautiful part was when I woke this morning and did NOT hear the drip-drip-drip of water from the tub! Ahhhhh. A good steward of the Earth, am I.

And I'm completing goals in the process. Yay!

Concluding Week 1

Well, I haven't been around both because this week has been a bit of a whirlwind, but also because part of my detox week was a media detox, meaning that I was supposed to limit my various media intake, including the lovely 'net.

I didn't follow ANY aspect of the detox week 100%, but I don't feel bad. For once, I'm giving myself permission to do something without having to do it 100%. Whew. That feels nice! Who knew that you could actually cut yourself some slack! So, let's do a recap, shall we?

Diet: Low fat, vegan. Steamed veggies, little seasonings, brown rice, etc. I effectively eliminated coffee from my diet and replaced it with an equal amount of green tea (1 traveler's mug). That was not an issue in the slightest, surprisingly enough. I do miss coffee....the taste and the ritual.....but I think I am going to try to keep my coffee drinking limited to the weekends, when I can savor my cup. During the week, I think green tea is a smarter choice that I can easily live with.

Breakfast was oatmeal with fruit and a bit of cinnamon, and this was bland, but doable. Kept me full, too. And oatmeal is supposed to help you lose weight, it's heart healthy, and keeps ya regular, so really, there are no problems there!

Lunch was supposed to be steamed veggies, a whole grain, and a legume. Equal parts of each. Well, I started the week eating a delish black bean stew with tons of veggies. It was low-fat and high flavor, thanks to the beauty of those ugly little chipotle peppers, so that got me my legumes and veggies. Now, I broke the rules because I think it was more highly spiced than it was supposed to be, but whatever. It wasn't a double cheeseburger, right? I added brown rice to complete the trifecta. When the stew was gone, I switched over to that Chickpea-Broccoli casserole I had made, and while I was able to eat it, last night I threw away most of it. This stuff was just WAY too "health-food" for me. It was chickpeas, broccoli, carrots, onions, veggie broth, and bread crumbs, baked together. Yeah. That doesn't sound like the best casserole ever, does it? I mean, it WAS good, in its own way, but after a while I began to shudder when I thought of it. Oh well. I tried.

Dinner was more veggies and whole grain. I did this, but instead of steaming my veggies, I had baked sweet potatoes, or sauteed kale, or saurkraut. I also had some steamed broccoli. So, my veggies were a tad more flavorful than I think they were supposed to be, but I kept with the program, and that's important. Steamed veggies may have made me go AWOL. Also, I made some prepared cous-cous that had seasonings. Whole grain? Yes. Plain? Not so much.

Snacks: I snacked on fruit, raw veggies, and nuts (cashews, almonds, and macadamia nuts. It doesn't get better than that). I probably went overboard on the nuts, but that's what I do! I'm nutty! Hee hee!

My thoughts on the diet: I feel great! I feel level headed and I didn't get so angry with my classes as I normally do. Now, I did make two classes do silent book work, but that was more because they need to learn how to act than me flying off the handle. However, I struggled with wanting junk food and thinking that this diet is boring. It really isn't, and every time I ate I thought my food tasted great, but my brain kept wanting tortilla chips, or chocolate, or whatever other junk food might pop into my head. This may just be a habit. However, it's a life-long habit, and it's STRONG. I'm hoping that this week has helped to weaken that habit somewhat.

Media detox: Well, this wasn't that hard. Partially because I was busy at school, and then P got sick and I got a UTI (ugh! Is there a connection?), so I was often quite tired and ready to go to bed by 7:30 (which we did on a few nights). I did listen to the radio somewhat, but it was public radio, so there are few ads and I am only able to listen during times when the main programming is music, so I felt like it wasn't a huge conflict. P watched movies, and so I saw them, too, but again, I'm not sure that is the media that is meant. I think that media meant news, ads, etc. Obviously, all media is stimulating and part of the goal was to reduce stimulation, but movies are definitely better than tv shows that are laden with fast-paced, loud, bright commercials. Talk about OVER-stimulation! Not watching the news in the morning helped me move a bit faster and feel less stressed. That was surprising, although it makes sense that I would move more slowly as I watched the news.

My thoughts: I'm going to continue limiting my screen time of all sorts during the work week, as I need a lot of sleep to be fresh and clear headed. This was painless for me.

Exercise: Ok, here's where I ought to hide! I didn't exercise one lick this week. Like I said earlier, P got sick this week. In fact, he's still sick! And he doesn't get sick often, so when he does, he does so in dramatic fashion. In addition, I got a UTI (which had been a-brewin', but I chose to ignore the tell-tale signs of slight discomfort while urinating and waited till I felt like I needed to pee WHILE peeing. Sigh). Further, I had various after school duties AND P had a dentist appointment this week (and he has a cavitiy, boo!). With all of that, I just couldn't find the time to squeeze it in. This is a weak spot for me. I like to exercise, but I can't find the time. I really need to start doing small things in 5 minute increments. I'm just not quite there yet. Oh, and my iPod broke, so now I have no music or podcasts to listen to while I exercise! Boo-hoo!

Next week of the Body and Soul Challenge focuses on diet. Adding more fruits and veggies (I currently have about 12 grapefruits thanks to a co-worker!), whole grains, herbs and spices. Yum! I can't wait!

Starting the Body and Soul Challenge!

And I've gotta say....I'm tired! lol You can find the Body and Soul Challenge here, and the first week consists on a slow and lovely detox, which means cutting back on caffeine! Dear me, can I do it? Last night, when I set up my coffee pot to make only 1 cup of coffee, I was quite upset. That tells me that I need to cut back on caffeine! However, having only one cup of coffee, combined with the continuous effort of watching my crazy teenage students and keeping them from trashing my room, has left me exhausted!

This week, I will be cutting back on caffeine, abstaining from alcohol and junk food, limiting my sugar to that which is found in fruit, and eating a low-fat, vegan diet. As we speak, I'm baking a Chickpea-Broccoli casserole from my current fave, Vegan with a Vengeance. I'll also be doing a bit of a media detox, limiting my TV, internet, and newspaper habits. This won't be that hard, since I'm generally so busy that by the time I get P to bed, there's only enough time to keep the house from becoming a hovel and preparing for tomorrow before I collapse into bed.

I have done the Master Cleanse before, where all you drink is a strange (and strangely GOOD) lemonade sweetened with maple syrup and spiced up with cayenne pepper, and while that detox was AMAZING, I can't afford the time and side-effects of that kind of a detox right now (side effects including fatigue, moodiness, and lots of time on the toilet!), so I'm very excited about this gentle detox regime. This is also one of my 101 goals, so scratching another goal off the list always feels great! :)

I'm currently relaxing with a cup of herbal tea, and I feel very serene and like the hippie I strive to be. So, go brew your own cup of tea, cuddle up to your lap top while I keep you posted, or, better yet, join me in the challenge! What have you got to lose?

Trying a new recipe!

Aka #86. Hooray! And heck, it's only the 4th. Good job, me!

This morning I made "Lemon Corn Waffles with Blueberry Sauce" from Vegan with a Vengeance, which is a great vegan cookbook. I'm not vegan, by the way, although I do get a smug little feeling every time I eat vegan, but I really enjoy cheese. Anyway, this recipe ALSO allowed me to use my new waffle maker, which is another neat thing! I'm not great with waffles, apparently. Mine didn't look so great, although they tasted nice. Next time, I'll add a bit more flour to thicken up the batter a bit, and I will put MORE batter in the waffle holder-cooker-thing. Oh, and I de-veganized this recipe by using cow's milk and yogurt, and I'm sure that's forbidden. So, let's keep it between us, ok? Thanks.

These waffles were really yummy, with a bright flavor. I used Meyer lemons, since that's what I had, and it was very hard to zest these since they have such a thin skin. Keep that in mind! Also, the blueberries were kind of icky (they were frozen, WM brand...probably the problem right there). The sauce tasted good, but I imagine that was due to the fancy Whole Foods syrup and organic vanilla extract (wow! I'm such a yuppie!). Also, the sauce called for arrowroot powder, which I don't have. So I used corn starch, and that worked just fine. I subbed it in a 1:1 ratio.

In summary, I would TOTALLY make these again. I would make the sauce, too. Heck, I would eat the sauce over ice cream! But I would use better quality blueberries.

The list!

I did it! It took about a week, and I have a few more categories than I originally intended. But that's ok. :)

Making this list has been an interesting activity. Some of the goals came to me so easily and readily. Some were shy, hiding behind louder thoughts and only peeking out when I was quiet or otherwise occupied. While reading other lists for inspiration, I realized that this list is very telling of a person's character and personality. I didn't expect to expose so much of myself by making this list. You may notice that some of the entries are marked private. Those entries expose more of myself than I am willing to share here. However, I may write about them upon completion. You never know! You may also notice that one of my goals is to update this blog. I am hoping that this helps me actually CONTINUE to post, even when life gets crazy.

So, without further ado, may I present.....the list that will guide my next 1001 days.

101 in 1001
Start Date: January 2, 2009
End Date: September 29, 2011
Legend:
Not Started
In Progress
Completed

Health and Fitness
1. Eat vegan 1x/week for 2 months
2. Take a prenatal vitamin nightly for 2 months
3. Do yoga 2x/week for 2 months
4. Get pregnant
5. Lose 20 lbs before getting pregnant
6. Complete Body & Soul’s healthy challenge
7. Set a new fitness goal—and meet it—for 12 months (not necessarily consecutively)
8. Record all food eaten daily for 3 months
9. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily for 1 month
10. Private :)
11. Floss daily for 4 consecutive months
12. Reduce coffee to 1 cup/day
13. Eliminate coffee from diet
14. Add tea to diet
15. Track my monthly cycle
16. Use that information to better understand my moods and cravings
17. Perform monthly breast exams (0/32)
18. Find a naturopathic doctor
19. Eat nothing after 8 p.m. for 2 consecutive months
20. Private :)
21. Get braces
22. Reward myself with something sensual each months that I meet a fitness/nutrition goal (ex: pedicure, manicure, massage)
23. Learn CPR
24. Private :)


Finances
25. Build up $1000 mini-emergency fund
26. Pay off debt
27. Build a 3 month cushion
28. Put all extra $$ (bonuses, raises, gifts, etc) towards financial goals
29. Eat out on special occasions only (birthdays, anniversaries, last day of school, etc)
30. Sell this house
31. Have a monthly finance meeting with J
32. See a financial planner
33. Open retirement accounts for J and myself
34. Make a Christmas budget
35. Keep the Christmas budget!
36. Live on one income for a year to simulate the actual experience
37. Use a cash economy
38. Add to P’s college fund monthly ($5/month is ok!)
39. Donate $2 per each goal NOT met to a charity of my choice
40. Set aside $5 per goal MET to do something fun at the end of the 1001 days


Love Life
41. Have a date night with J once/month
42. Private ;)
43. Private ;)
44. Private ;)

Social Life
45. Have a potluck dinner
46. Throw a dinner party

Travel
47. Take a cruise
48. Go on 5 day trips alone
49. Visit 5 Texas attractions
50. Camp for a weekend at the Ren Fest
51. Go to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday!
52. Take 3 day trips with P
53. Take 2 overnight trips with P
54. Leave the country!
55. Visit Galveston 4x/year (1/10)


Getting the stuff you want….priceless
56. Get a tattoo
57. Find the most perfect pair of black boots and buy them, no matter the cost.
58. Find the perfect Little Black Dress
59. Get a vitamix


Being a good person
60. Make 2 positive parent phone calls/month for 4 months—2 now, 2 next year
61. Explore volunteer opportunities for P and I
62. Volunteer with P once/week during the summer
63. Give blood 6 times
64. Give 10 compliments to strangers
65. Pay for the person behind me at a drive-thru
66. Obtain no new plastic bags for 3 non-consecutive months

Spirituality
67. Buy one book about paganism and one about Wicca and read them both!
68. Meditate 30 min, 3x/week for 12 non-consecutive months

The House
69. Replace carpet in house with wood floors
70. Complete 6 home improvement projects (1/6)
71. Create a “work-week home management plan”
72. Follow said plan for 3 months!
73. Set a new household goal for 12 non-consecutive months

So Creative!
74. Update blog 2x/week for 3 months
75. Practice guitar 3x/week for 3 months
76. Knit a scarf
77. Make 3 things using my sewing machine
78. Create an altar
79. Create a gift book for J
80. Make all handmade gifts for one Xmas
81. Dress up for the Ren Fest
82. Create a wardrobe that I adore—no “meh” clothes allowed!
83. Create a family cookbook
84. Finish t-shirt quilt or throw t-shirts away!
85. Do a craft project 4x/year with P


Foodie Love
86. Make one new bread machine recipe per month for 6 months (0/6)
87. Learn to make sushi
88. Make one new recipe each month (1/32)


Miscellaneous
89. List those things in my life that I do out of a sense of duty, not love or desire.
90. Reduce that list by half
91. Make “sucks/rocks” lists every 6 months (0/5)
92. SAH w/ my kids
93. Develop a homeschool curriculum for P
94. Meet with a life coach
95. Get life insurance
96. Read 101 books
97. Complete “Brenda’s Wardrobe Companion”
98. Take a class
99. Write my will
100. Turn off computer nightly for 2 consecutive months
101. Be fitted for a bra and only own bras that FIT!

How's it going?

With the 101 in 1001 project? Well, I'm on 66, so I'm doing well. I've been perusing other lists, and honestly, I want to make sure my list is more reflective of my desire to grow as a person than to acquire, as some of the lists I have seen seem to be.

So, it's coming. Be patient. (Yeah, I'm not good at that, either)

101 goals in 1001 days

Hmm. So, the way this works is that instead of setting one or two NY's resolutions that I am likely to break, I should set 101 goals that I will be less likely to break? Huh. Let's learn a bit more, shall we?

From Day Zero, the official home of the project, we get this:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Ok. Well, that clears things up a bit. And doggone it, I just love to bite off more than I can chew, just to see how long I can keep the balls in the air before they come crashing down onto my upturned face, so you know I am down with this! Party time!

I don't have all my goals yet. In fact, I don't have a single goal. But I will! I have narrowed these 101 goals into 4 categories, each of which will contain approximately 25 goals. Handy, eh? And good with a calculator, too.

My four goals:

1. Health

2. Finances

3. Love Life

4. Personal

So, you can see that these four categories are relatively free to interpretation.

1. Health includes my weight, what I eat and do not eat, HOW MUCH I eat, medicine, dental, working out, gaining flexibility, preparing my body for a new pregnancy (eek!!), and self-care, too!

2. Finances. Oh, what to say about these little lovelies? Paying off debt, saving money, practicing being income free next year by living off J's income alone, saving for a vacation, selling this house!, having a baby!

3. Love life. Titter! Getting my marriage back on track (it's there right now, or at least moving swiftly in a good direction, but I feel like it's on a ledge), date night. Hmmm. Is this one going to warrant 25 goals? Maybe I ought to let J help with this section.

4. Personal.....the hodge podge category, if ever there was one. Spirituality (I think I want to explore pagan/wicca traditions again!), self-growth, education, career, meditation, learning to play the guitar, updating a blog, etc!

Over the next few days, I'm going to create my list. If you have any suggestions, feel free to chime in!

Warmly,
bella