14 Goals for 2014: One Month Progress Report

I started off with 10.  But 10 soon became 11.  And I couldn't have a list of 11 because that seemed like an odd number.  So, here are my 14 goals for 2014.

I fully intended to post them at the beginning of the year, since that's when I wrote them.  But who has time for blogging these days?  Since I'm posting them one month+ late, I'm giving myself a one-month Progress Report to see how I'm doing so far in each area.  

In no particular order....

1.  Eat less (sugar, carbs, etc) and move more.  I know this is the obvious one that everyone does.  But I would really feel much better in my body if I could lose 5-10 pounds.  My goal is to exercise 3 times a week and to make better food choices.    
Progress: I started doing an exercise dvd on M, W, F (I'm two weeks in).  So far, so good.  But, I have almost no discipline when it comes to exercising so please feel free to ask me how I'm doing with this one especially as the weeks turn into months.  I have also started eating more salads, avocados, eggs, etc for breakfast and lunch and less breads.  Hoping I can keep up with this goal.            

2.  Limit facebook.  I was one of the last people I know to join facebook and now I act like I can't get through a day without checking it 5000 times a day.  My goal is to limit it to just once or twice a day and to not use it on my phone.
Progress: So far, I'm totally failing at this goal.  There are other ways to get on facebook from your phone even when you delete the app.  Dang.  Help!   

3. Figure out church.  There are many things that we love about our church.  But after a year, we still don't feel like we have "community" there and that's an odd feeling.  I want to consider if it might be time to make a change (or not).
Progress:  We visited a different church two Sundays in a row last month and it was really positive.  We'll see!  Time to pray for discernment.    
   
4.  Make a family budget and track our expenses this year. 
Progress:  I started working on the budget.  Does that count?  It's about half way done.  Would like to finish it by the end of Feb.    

5.  Continue with counseling.  I began counseling last fall and I'm starting to make some good headway.  So, I want to keep those appointments a priority - 2 times per month.
Progress:  Yep.  Still going.  

6.  More communion with God (through prayer and other spiritual disciplines).  Since starting Community Bible Study last fall, I've been studying the Bible more which is great.  But now I find that I'm praying and journaling less.  There's got to be a good balance to be found. 
Progress: This is tricky now that I've added a new job to the mix and all of the other things I'm doing on my days "off."  Feel free to ask me how I'm doing on this one. There is definitely room for improvement.  

7.  Plan times with the college-aged girls from The GreenHouse and figure out what those relationships might look like moving forward.  Since ending my position at The GreenHouse last June, I've been trying to figure out what my role/involvement at the GH would look like moving forward.  In the fall, I decided that I would not remain on the board of directors.  It's just not the right time for that.  So, that leaves me with some freedom to pursue something I've wanted to do for a long time....a discipleship group with young women from The GreenHouse.  My goal is for us to meet together every-other month.   
Progress: Check!  We had our first Young Women's Life Group meeting last weekend.  It was a long-time dream come true and it made my heart very happy.  We meet again in April but will be checking in with each other regularly until then.  Stay tuned for a blog post with more info about this exciting new group.         

8.  Be prepared for an emergency.  That might sound like an odd one for the list, but it's something I've wanted to do for awhile.  We don't even have flashlights that work in our house!  And even if I wanted to call 911 from our land line, I couldn't because the batteries in our home phones are all dead.  My goal is to have a kit with flashlights, batteries, and whatever else you need in an emergency.
Progress:  I haven't started on this goal yet.  I think this might be a one or two day project so I will set a deadline for the end of March.  

9.  Start photo organization projects.  I've got photos coming out of my ears.  In boxes.  On various hard drives and computers.  GreenHouse photos.  Family photos.  Childhood photos.  I dream of having them neatly organized into photo albums or computer files.  This also includes keeping up with blogging, since that's the only real "photo album" my kids will every know.  I'm thinking 1 day a month while my kids are at school (and on days that I'm not working or volunteering at the school or at CBS or at counseling, etc, etc) I could work on photo organization stuff.
Progress:  I haven't started on this goal yet.  There just hasn't been time yet.    

10.  Date nights with Steve - once a month. 
Progress:  We went on one day in January - yay!  We saw a movie and got ice cream.  

11.  Learn (and use) a new vocabulary for parenting and discipline that doesn't include words of shaming.  Learn to stay calm and understanding when dealing with extremely difficult impulsive and hyperactive behavior.  Take a Positive Discipline class with Steve in the Spring so we share a common vocabulary.
Progress:  The progress here has just been in making the goal and being more aware.  We are hoping to take a Positive Discipline class in the spring.  

12.  Develop a new friendship with someone that is different from me and go out more with the friends I already have.  My goal is to plan a fun girls night out once a month.  I need to accept that people might not be able to go (and not take it personally).  But I can at least try to plan them and see what happens.
Progress:  Needs work.  

13.  Start a new job.
Progress: Check!  Started four weeks ago!  Perhaps this could be another blog post as well.   

14.  Practice contentment, particularly with our housing situation.   I'm not sure how to measure contentment but I think I'll start with giving thanks for the house that we are in and remembering the story of how God provided it for us at just the right time.  (and then remembering that again tomorrow....)
Progress:  I'm doing better.  But I still check the MLS for houses that are for sale and get depressed when I see the quality of houses here that are in our price range.  I am not exaggerating when I say that I feel like I am living in a war-torn land when I drive around Oakland looking for houses in our price range.  It's really quite depressing.  

I am clearly going to need to keep these goals at the forefront of my mind this year if I am going to keep at them.  Thus, the blog post.  How about you?  Any goals for 2014 that you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear and help keep you accountable!