2nd update on my goals
I've backtracked on some of my goals while getting close to accomplishing others. It's February now, and I'm still working on finding my groove. It's early. I'm sure it'll come. I'll just have to keep working at it.
I started off with my living room being pretty close to clean. Now it's got quite a bit of stuff all over it. Part of it is the Valentine's surprise I'm making for Rich. Another part is not being home much. The third is being too tired to clean when I am home. I know I shouldn't be making excuses, that I should just get up and do it. Hopefully I'll be home this Monday long enough to make a dent in cleaning.
I've been plugging away at one book for quite a while now. It's Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. It's think-y and monologue-y and none of the characters in it are the least bit likable. Which, according to Rand's philosophy, is not as important as their accomplishments. They don't exist to be liked, they exist to rise above the baseness of human interaction and emotion. And thus prompting no emotion from me except dislike for every character born out of Rand's Objectivism. Meh. I'm over half-way done at just over 400 pages, but it's going to take a real effort to get through the rest of the novel. I've still only read four books this year, but once I get done with this very dry and unlikable behemoth, I'll be moving on to some much lighter fare. Things I'll be able to get through in a couple of days, like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. That'll help increase my book count and hopefully bring it back up to where it needs to be. I'm 8 books behind at this point!
This year I received a very decent tax refund. I was able to pay off all but two credit cards, with one of those set to be paid off in May/June. I'll have to rewrite my budget for the rest of the year to see where I am, but right now I feel very in-charge of my finances and very happy with what I've been able to accomplish so far. I also hope to pay off my loan from my mom that paid for my last semester of school. I'd definitely like to get that done this year. Mom's not charging me any interest, but I feel I owe it to her to make good on my debt as soon as possible. And after that I want to pay off my car loan and then my private student loan. Once those are done, all I'll have left will be my federal student loan and my last credit card. I can't wait to be debt-free. It's only going to take a few years, if everything goes right!
I've lost 2 lbs. It's not much, but I'm trying not to dwell on numbers right now. I've been working out every morning, burning 100 calories or so, depending on what my time frame is like. I've been making better food choices and drinking a ton of water. Rich has been exercising alongside me, and we never hang out to play video games or sit down to watch a movie without doing at least 15 minutes of cardio first. I'm feeling very optimistic about losing weight this time. It helps a lot that he's willing to do this with me. I understand that this is all a process and will take time, but I'm willing to follow through. For one thing, I refuse to buy the next size up in pants. Absolutely refuse. And since I only have 3 pairs of work pants that fit right now, I have to do something!
Hopefully I'll have more progress to report next month. Hell, even if I don't, I'll still write another update. :)
I started off with my living room being pretty close to clean. Now it's got quite a bit of stuff all over it. Part of it is the Valentine's surprise I'm making for Rich. Another part is not being home much. The third is being too tired to clean when I am home. I know I shouldn't be making excuses, that I should just get up and do it. Hopefully I'll be home this Monday long enough to make a dent in cleaning.
I've been plugging away at one book for quite a while now. It's Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. It's think-y and monologue-y and none of the characters in it are the least bit likable. Which, according to Rand's philosophy, is not as important as their accomplishments. They don't exist to be liked, they exist to rise above the baseness of human interaction and emotion. And thus prompting no emotion from me except dislike for every character born out of Rand's Objectivism. Meh. I'm over half-way done at just over 400 pages, but it's going to take a real effort to get through the rest of the novel. I've still only read four books this year, but once I get done with this very dry and unlikable behemoth, I'll be moving on to some much lighter fare. Things I'll be able to get through in a couple of days, like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. That'll help increase my book count and hopefully bring it back up to where it needs to be. I'm 8 books behind at this point!
This year I received a very decent tax refund. I was able to pay off all but two credit cards, with one of those set to be paid off in May/June. I'll have to rewrite my budget for the rest of the year to see where I am, but right now I feel very in-charge of my finances and very happy with what I've been able to accomplish so far. I also hope to pay off my loan from my mom that paid for my last semester of school. I'd definitely like to get that done this year. Mom's not charging me any interest, but I feel I owe it to her to make good on my debt as soon as possible. And after that I want to pay off my car loan and then my private student loan. Once those are done, all I'll have left will be my federal student loan and my last credit card. I can't wait to be debt-free. It's only going to take a few years, if everything goes right!
I've lost 2 lbs. It's not much, but I'm trying not to dwell on numbers right now. I've been working out every morning, burning 100 calories or so, depending on what my time frame is like. I've been making better food choices and drinking a ton of water. Rich has been exercising alongside me, and we never hang out to play video games or sit down to watch a movie without doing at least 15 minutes of cardio first. I'm feeling very optimistic about losing weight this time. It helps a lot that he's willing to do this with me. I understand that this is all a process and will take time, but I'm willing to follow through. For one thing, I refuse to buy the next size up in pants. Absolutely refuse. And since I only have 3 pairs of work pants that fit right now, I have to do something!
Hopefully I'll have more progress to report next month. Hell, even if I don't, I'll still write another update. :)