Tsk Tsk

Shame on me. I am a baaaad, baaaad blogger. You can feel free to stick your foot through cyberspace and kick my ass. I know I deserve it...

Three weeks in and I've already dropped the ball on my Sunday goal posts, but, honestly, it wasn't that I forgot or anything. I just didn't do it. Ha! Bet you didn't expect me to admit it, did you? :P And I haven't been blogging about anything else either and really that's more of a public service than anything, because I would have just babbled about nonsense like I am right now, completely wasting your time. My mind has been so preoccupied with writing (I'm actually doing it!!! And not on just one MS, but two!!! Go me!!) and the start of my LAST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL!! Did you know that? That this was my LAST SEMESTER? Because it is. :D

Anyhoo...here's another probably futile attempt (yikes, that's that nasty negativity again, isn't it?) at some goals for the week. I truly promise to be better this week. Time waits for no (wo)man and all that jazz.

• Write 1650 a day. (I only need about 33K by the end of the month, so the numbers work out something like that.)


• Read and complete all the first chapters/units/assignments for school by next Saturday PM, so I can spend the weekend writing again (trying this weekend, too).


• Finish my GOB review by mid-week.


• Exercise 3 times!! I did ask if I could work out at the gym thingy in town here and I got the go-ahead, but then I also got more hours at work and yada, yada...I don't know how it'll all fit into place).


• Cut back on soda and drink more water.


• Color my hair and paint my toe nails (don't laugh...I need to get the sexy back in '09!).

Oh, by the way, I don't think I've mentioned here yet that my bestest I-friend and CP, Moira, recently sold to Samhain. You should go check out her blog and give her kudos. :P

Check-In

Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole week since I blogged last. Sure doesn't seem that long. Hope you didn't miss me too much. LOL J Of course, I was busy doing the holiday thing, as I'm sure everyone was. All in all, things were good, even though it hardly seems like December, let alone nearly the new year. I've decided that this year (well, Christmas anyhow) is pretty much just a wash. It came and went by too fast to enjoy, so there's nothing I can do now but wait for next year and hope it's better. J

So, onto the important stuff…this weeks goals. First, I have to say that I'm not entirely disappointed in what I accomplished last week. I wrote more than 3,500 words, but I didn't write every day. And a lot of what I wrote I already know I won't use. But…those words did help me understand my story better, so I can't say they were a total waste. And I also read some, but not as much as I hoped. That said, my goal this week is to finish up what I didn't do last week and then some.

• Get to the halfway point of East of Eden and then some. Like the 2/3 mark, which would be something like page 475. I think. Don't hold me to it. LOL


• Write 1K a day until Jan. 1, then write 2K a day for Romance Divas JaNoWriMo, or whatever they're calling it now. Yep, I'm out of my mind. Nothing new there. :D


• Read and write my Girls on Books review before Thursday night, since I have to work lots this week.


• Xmas stuff put away by next Saturday.


• Call my boss who owns what used to be an equivalent to Curves (and is now not technically open…to the public anyway) to see if I can work out on the equipment, since my treadmill is jam packed with crayons and Hot Wheels cars and God only knows what else. L

What do you have going this week? Have you made your list of New Year's resolutions yet? (I'll post later in the week about mine.)

Let’s Try This Again

A few months back on my other blog, I tried to set weekly goals for myself, but, much like with New Year's resolutions, I gave up after a week. Well, part of this transformation I'm hoping to make requires me to set specific goals and actually keep them, if you can believe it. J So, that in mind, I'm giving it another go round. Except instead of posting them mid-week, I'm going to post on Sunday. This may very well change once the new semester begins in a couple weeks, because unfortunately my life tends to revolve around school when it's in session.

Anyhow, these are my goals for this week:

• Read to the halfway mark in East of Eden. This would be to page 310 and is 254 pages away. Yikes. But it's gotta be done since the book is due back at the library soon. (So are three others I've yet to open the cover on, but I'll worry about them later.) NOPE...CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
  
• Read half of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This is my second ever self-help-like book. The first was something by Oprah, but since my butt is still huge, I obviously didn't take much away from it. Hopefully this one will be different. Oh, and I'm not counting the books about dealing with unruly children either—I've read more of them then I care to admit since they didn't do a lick of good. NOPE
  
• Read/crit story for Moira. READ, BUT NOT COMPLETELY CRITTED
  
• Write at least 500 words every day. Nope, not a steep goal and not a very productive one either, but it's realistic with all that'll be going on this week. CHECK...KINDA. I WROTE EQUIVALENT OF MORE THAN 500 A DAY, BUT DID NOT WRITE EVERY DAY
  
• Write my review for TGOB as my alter-ego Jolie before Friday morning. Which should be easy since I read that book yesterday. Woohoo! Go me! CHECK!
  
• And last, but not least… Clean, bake (didn't do a thing this weekend), finish shopping, and wrap gifts. Preferably before Wednesday night. CHECK!
  

So, that's what I'll be chipping away at. What do you have going this week other than the holiday mumbo-jumbo?

Get SMART

Why have I never heard that acronym (at least in regard to setting goals) before? Have I been living under a rock or what? Please...don't answer that.

In case you don't know what setting SMART goals is all about, I'll tell ya:

• S - Specific. Set specific goals. "Write today" does not count. "Write 1500 words today" does.
• M - Measurable. Set goals that are measurable. "Read more" is not cool, but "Read 8 books this month" is.
• A - Attainable. Set goals that you can actually achieve. "Lose 50 lbs. by spring" is setting yourself up for failure. "Lose 5 lbs. this month" is much more like to happen.
• R - Realistic. Like above, set goals you can actually do. "Never eat chocolate again"...bwaahahaha! "Eat chocolate only once a week" is a still a stretch, but is also a more realistic goal.
• T - Timely. Give yourself a specific time frame in which to achieve the goal and stick to it! This is perhaps my biggest downfall when it comes to setting and keeping goals.

Revelating

Nope, that is not a word. Or at least Word says it's not, but I happen to love it, so therefore I'm using it. I like to be rebellious like that.

Anyhow, I thought I'd start things out by pinpointing exactly what it is I hope to accomplish—ehem, what I will accomplish—in 2009. Grab a cup of coffee, because this could take awhile…

• Finish my degree. I have only one semester and an internship left.
  
• Find a "real" job and finally make $$$ for my family. And a new wardrobe. And a pair of slutty stilettos.
  
• Get healthy and lose weight. A lot of weight. Fifty pounds would be nice.
  
• Read 100 books, including several classics. Follow my progress in the sidebar.
  
• Write. And write. And write.
  
• Revise, polish, and submit something I've written. Then write some more.
  
• Get a pedicure. Don't laugh. That's a biggie on my list.
  
• Organize and keep my house clean. This means doing the dishes every day. I know…craziness. But someone's gotta do it.
  
• Send birthday and anniversary cards to loved ones.
  
• Chat/email with gal-pals at least once a week.
  
• Read to my kids every day.
  
• Play with the kids every day.
  
• Make more time for Hubby.
  
• Cease to wear my pjs out of the house.
  
• Go to church. At least once a month. (Don't shake your finger at me!)
  
• Go to town board and PTO meetings. Become more involved in the community.