how did I fare?
1) Lose pregnancy weight (25 lbs left to go) + 7 to reach weight of 120 lbs
2) Work towards teaching certification by taking appropriate classes / exams
3) Begin working towards Master's degree
4) Baptize BabyBug
5) Begin active discernment of possible vocation to third order
6) Find part-time job that will help pay off debt and will allow for flexible scheduling for college courses
7) Begin training for marathon / possible triathalon in 2009
8) Begin learning some art that will serve as a hobby to replace the Internet
9) Teach BabyBug infant sign language
10) Become more involved in community by volunteering
11) Rebuild self-esteem by icing the negative voice that lives in my head
12) Make new friends and get to know the old ones better
Boy, was I ambitious! And quite sincere. But, the year got away from me, really, what with raising a fussy baby and everyday living and all.
I did manage to complete some in their entirety:
4) Baptize BabyBug - for those of you who are new to the journal, this refers to my son Dante. He was indeed baptized on Divine Mercy Sunday (March 30, 2008), and he was perfectly behaved until Fr. Dean anointed him with the chrism. Then, he objected a bit. But not too much. I even managed to plan and execute a party afterwards, complete with food and cake. ilpostino made a fine godfather, and quite a devoted one, too, just so you know.
Well, ok, that's just one in its entirety. But I did manage to complete partially a few more:
1) Lose pregnancy weight (25 lbs left to go) + 7 to reach weight of 120 lbs - I was doing really well - really well - was down to 134 by Thanksgiving and had just started doing yoga twice a week at work (one of the IT staff is a certified yoga instructor) to whittle off the rest when suddenly, without warning, my weight became pregnancy weight all over again. Those of you who read heavenincognito are already aware, but I am 9/10 weeks pregnant with my second child this New Year's. We call this one the "dark horse" pregnancy.
5) Begin active discernment of possible vocation to third order - "active discernment" denoted actually contacting a group and beginning an aspirancy. It hasn't progressed that far, yet, but I have pinned down with much more certainty that I am called to Third Order Discalced Carmel. I've even found the contact info for my local groups, which was hard, since Katrina caused them to suspend meetings for a verrrrry long time. To my great surprise, I've discovered that the priest who is assigned to shepherd the 3rd order in this province is one I know personally and have a great respect for and rapport with. So, it will make contact that much easier when I finally do pin down the "right time" to begin my aspirancy. Which may have to be delayed due to my second pregnancy. We'll see.
6) Find part-time job that will help pay off debt and will allow for flexible scheduling for college courses - I did find a job. And it does help me pay off our monumental debt. But it's full-time (we needed the benefits), so scheduling college courses will be a little tricky. I've been perusing UNO's spring catalog to see if there's anything on a Saturday that's appealing.
12) Make new friends and get to know the old ones better - One of the benefits of working is that I am making new friends there. Work friends! My team and I get along very well, and I am making some headway among the paralegals who are mothers, especially one who has a son a few months older than mine. But, when I get home, I am such a hermit that I think I've lost a few of the old friends. One of my bridesmaids stopped calling me and now won't return my calls or emails. You'll hear it first from me: I am a lousy friend.
And, well, most I ended up shelving or just not getting around to at all:
2) Work towards teaching certification by taking appropriate classes / exams - Now, this one I did start working on with a ferocity that excited and pleased the heck out of me. That is, until I decided that I didn't want to be a teacher any longer. The way my mother and her co-workers are treated in and by the system is abhorrent, and I don't care to put up with the nonsense. So, shelved, if not trashed, it is.
3) Begin working towards Master's degree - with #2 obliterated, I had to go back to square one in my quest to find out What I Should Specialize In. Currently, the dart is landed on Sociology. It will likely change 2 or 3 more times before my pregnancy-postponed deadline of Fall 2010.
7) Begin training for marathon / possible triathalon in 2009 - this one I was excited about. My plan was to have Dante weaned soon after his first birthday so that I could exercise and train without worry of what was happening to my milk supply. That put the schedule beginning in November. Which is when yours truly GOT PREGNANT AGAIN. So, shelved it is, likely until September 2010, which is when Poppy (as we call Baby 2) will be weaned.
8) Begin learning some art that will serve as a hobby to replace the Internet - ha. ha ha ha ha. ha ha ha. ha. The Internet was replaced, all right. With my fussy never-wants-to-sleep baby!
9) Teach BabyBug infant sign language - I did try my hand (ha!) at this. Dante didn't care. So, shelved it is until Poppy comes along.
10) Become more involved in community by volunteering - see #8
11) Rebuild self-esteem by icing the negative voice that lives in my head - see first part of #8. All that bitter laughter. Yep, that's the part.
Have you made your resolutions for 2009 yet? I'm still working on mine in my head and likely will post them tomorrow.
Happy New Year's to you all. And, happy birthday to Dawn, who I hope is still reading, even though she is no longer posting. I do miss you and think of you and Sage often.