new year, new goals

I have set some goals for myself for the new year.  Yes, they are resolutions, but I prefer the word goal.

  1. I want to read 20 novels outside of school-related business. Right now I'm reading Catching Fire.
2. I know that graduate school is way more intense/more work than undergraduate and I want to go in with the mindset that after these next two years: it's big girl job time.  I really want to take my classes seriously and do as well as I can in them.
3. I've started doing She Reads Truth and I love it. I blogged about it on Friday and I just started the new plan: Fresh Start. Love it and I want to keep up with their plans so I can spend more time reading the Word and learning about God and what His plan is for me.
4. I've signed up for one half-marathon in March and I would like to do another in the late spring or (most likely) early fall. I miss running!
5. I am seriously going to work on a budget for myself so I stop living paycheck to paycheck.  This means I'm going to stop buying things that I don't really need. Each month I will pick one or two things that I will buy for myself and save the rest of my money for savings or special nights out.
6. I need to get into a workout routine this semester and use our awesome gym while I can still get in for free.  Whether this means getting up early or going after work in the evenings - I'm doing it! I actually love to workout, I just had no time last semester.  This spring, things are going to change and I would like to lose 10 lbs while I'm at it.
7. The backseat/trunk of my car always get messy from papers/trash/jackets.  I'm going to work hard to keep it clean and smelling fresh :) Same goes for my room -- I always try on 100 outfits each morning and whatever I don't wear gets thrown on the floor. NO MORE! Clean room = happy room = happy me
8. Negative Nancy - move aside.  I'm tired of dwelling on the negative side of things/people.  I'm going to work hard to find the optimism in every situation.  If I can't, then I'm going to bite my tongue and watch a Disney movie. Again, less stress = happy me.
9. I've seen so many snail mail writing goals over blogs and I am so ready to join in! I absolutely love stationary and have a huge notecard collection. I love to write letters! They are much more meaningful than an email. My goal is to write 52 letters - one every week.  If you'd like to receive a letter from me, leave me your email so I can get your address :)
10. Last semester, Sunday was usually my only day to sleep in and so I always skipped out on 8:45 mass.  I never even made it to the 11:30 because I was just plain lazy.  This semester I want to make it to mass each week physically possible.  If I miss the morning masses, I will try and go to mass on campus in the evening.  I've never been on campus but I have heard the priest at my church when he came as a guest and I really liked him.  I need to get over my awkwardness about going alone and just do it!

What are your 2013 goals? I'll try and do an update in June and see where I am with them! Happy Wednesday! :)

Keeping Strength

This quote, which I found on Pinterest, is perfect for something I am working on. Too often I find myself worrying over things that are coming, things I know will happen in the future, such as someone having to leave town, a doctor's appointment or a big test, among other things.  I'm definitely a worrier. I am desperately trying to keep those anxious thoughts from my mind until I need to be thinking about them.  There is no point in me getting upset that someone is leaving in a couple of days when I could be living up the time that we have in those last couple of days. Whatever is meant to happen is going to happen, and while I can't change a lot of things, one thing I can change is my attitude.  I know that God's plan for me is right, I just need to give it time to unfold and make sense.  I need to stop trying to change His plan for me -- I know he won't put anything on my path that I cannot overcome.  Especially because worrying doesn't change anything.  Worrying won't make those "not-so-fun" events disappear, it will only make them harder to deal with. I'm going to (try) and stop my unnecessary worrying because it is starting to take toll on my relationships, health and overall happiness.
This is one of my new year's resolutions!
Any advice to control stress, anxiety, worrisome thoughts? Anything you're trying to work on for the new year?
Have a positive day! :)

2012 Goals

First of all, I'm currently blogging from my Mom's new iMac! It's gorgeous. I am definitely an Apple girl...I love my macbook, love my iPod touch and love my new iPhone! I just love the technology & I've never had any problems (knock on wood) with any of the products.  By the way, thank you all for the phone advice earlier. I am loving the phone & encourage everyone to get one! Still on the hunt for a case, though...

Earlier this morning my Mom & I were chatting about how a lot of people are saying 2011 was a terrible year. This may be true for some, but I think I had a great year! However, I am ready to start fresh with 2012. To be honest, I was never one to write resolutions.  In fact, I don't remember ever sitting down and writing them.  Now that I'm 21, though, and feeling more like an "adult", I decided it was time. Here are some of my 2012 goals/resolutions!

1. Save/manage my money more effectively

I always seem to use every penny of every pay check.  This has got to stop! I'm going to graduate and have no money saved up - that would not be good.  There are also some big girls purchases I want to make in the future that I will need some money saved up.  I've decided to take my Mom's advice and set up automatic transfer at the beginning of every month so X amount of dollars will go into my savings account where I can't touch it!  I'm also going to set up a monthly budget so that when I get my paycheck & LOFT just happens to be having a sale I don't run & clear out the store!  Plus, like that quote says, I need to step back more and realize just how much I have and be thankful for it.

2. Plan [at least] 5 serious races / make time for exercise

By "serious" I mean I'm going to race, not jog.  In high school I ran cross country & track and I absolutely loved it.  Running is my favorite form of exercise, besides Jazzercise/Zumba.  Now that I'm in college, and have been for three years, I've been slacking when it comes to running. After a day of classes & work it's easier to settle in for the night with my homework instead of hitting the road for a run. I did run a half marathon during my freshman year and it was by far the best run of my life.  I want to get back to that point.  This year I plan to schedule a 5K, two 10Ks, a 10 miler, and a half-marathon.  I think I'll run the same half marathon that I did previously - it's in the Outer Banks. Anyone who likes running & lives on the east coast - I highly recommend this race! GORGEOUS setting, 99% flat and lots of fun! Usually ran in November.

3. Read more books

I love that Ashley & Crystal set up the book club because that will help me with this goal.  I want to read more books for me.  It's definitely more difficult to read during the semester when I should be reading my textbooks, but there isn't anyone stopping me from not sleeping in on Sundays and, instead, waking up to read! I think for this goal I might choose 15 books - one a month, plus an extra 3 during the summer.

4. Decide where I want to go to graduate school

Believe it or not, next fall I'm going to be a senior! CRAZY! That means one thing - more applications! My degree is going to be in Human Development with a Childhood & Adolescent Development concentration.  However, I am completing the classes necessary to enter an Elementary Education graduate program in the state of VA.  My school, unfortunately, does not offer the 5 year degree + licensure program.  Right now I'm thinking about applying to all the graduate programs in VA and then narrowing it down, rather than only applying to a couple. (I would love to not have to move though...so fingers are crossed for Tech & Radford!)

5. Keep my room clean

Not my desk, but I want mine that clean!

When I had three roommates who often were bouncing in and out of my room, I kept it pretty tidy.  This year, I have one roommate who I hardly see.  This, plus my schedule of late classes & busy football weekends, has resulted in one messy room! I hate it! Being in a cluttered space is very frustrating for me, but rather than take the time to really clean it up (which I figured was time I could be doing homework) I would just escape it to do work at Panera or at home.  This year I'm going to spend one hour - that's all it should take - each weekend to tidy up my room.  This also goes for laundry...I need to keep up so it doesn't pile!

6. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

This goes for assignments, blogging, trips, meals, etc.  I'm a list-maker freak but I sometimes make too many lists.  I need to create a nice weekly spreadsheet separate from my agenda that includes everything I need/want to do each day.  I am going to start doing my assignments the day they are assigned, rather than the day or two before they are due.  I have fallen into this trap too many times.  I am going to start planning my blog posts for the week on Sunday that way I don't find myself sitting in front of my computer with writer's block.  I am going to plan out my trips to see Steven, my brothers, my Dad, etc ahead of time so I can make sure I'm caught up on work so that I can be on the trip stress-free.  However, in any schedule, you need to include time for people. I'm going to schedule in walks on the Huckleberry with Mom & Sadie!

7. Learn a better method of grocery shopping/meal planning/cooking for one

I live off-campus so I'm usually making myself breakfast, lunch and dinner unless it happens to be that I'm on campus with a break during one of those times.  This past semester was kind of rough - I was scrambling to find something quick for breakfast in order to catch the bus.  Lunch worked out pretty well, but cooking for one at dinner time proved to be difficult!  To be honest, I usually bought lots of Healthy Choice frozen meals since they are really easy to "make" - aka heat up in the microwave.  While they are good, for a frozen meal, not only were they getting a little too expensive but I started to get tired of them.  This year I'm going to do my research, talk to my Mom and actually plan meals (that I make) that are inexpensive, healthy and made for one.  If anyone has any tips on that, feel free to share :)

8. Go somewhere new

I love to travel, and although I know I'll have a busy spring semester & probably spend a lot of the summer working and watching baseball in Martinsville, I want to go somewhere I haven't been before! I've never been to Atlanta and my Mom has an Uncle that lives there who us begging us to visit. We are trying to plan a mid-May trip there :) On my list is to go to the aquarium & the Coca-Cola factory! Y'all know I love my Coca-Cola classic...

I want to thank all of my followers for a great year of blogging!

Cheers to 2012!

xoxo,