July: Week 2 Check-In

JULY 2013 GOALS

Month is currently 45% over.
Overall: 65% complete.

CAREER - 57% Complete

Hit target number of monthly illustrations. - 48% complete.
Number illustrations completed - 38% complete.

Make target income for the month. - 86% complete.

Some notes: Had a fantastic caricature event over the weekend.  Definitely gave me a significant boost in income.  Work's also going very well!

FINANCIAL - 64% Complete

Make target income for the month. - 82% complete.

Keep budget. - 45% complete.
Some notes: Nothing particularly new to say here.  Things are going well!

HEALTH - 65% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 45% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by beginning 5k training. - 120% complete.
Begin training for a 5k and be able to run one mile without stopping. - 30% complete.
Some notes: Put my diet on hold over this weekend given that I dropped a lot of weight pretty quickly.  I don't think 5 pounds in a week and a half is very healthy.  Going to jump back on it tomorrow and see where I'm at.

HOME - 33% Complete

Organize the downstairs closet. - 0% complete.
Organize and sort the boxes in the garage. - 0% complete.
Organize the linen closet. - 100% complete.
Some notes: I've been volunteering a lot, so my schedule's been pretty busy.  Going to check into organizing the downstairs closet this week.
Downstairs closet: Sort boxes; sort filing cabinet; reorganize wedding box; weed out miscellaneous items into a box.
Garage: Buy new boxes; sort into seasonal, labeled boxes; remove unsorted miscellaneous unboxed items.

KNOWLEDGE - 40% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 45% complete.

Continue taking supplements. - 45% complete.

Continue daily mental exercises. - 45% complete.

Read one book. - 25% complete.
Some notes:  Nothing new to say here.  I need to find a good audio book.  Trying to cram in reading has been tough.

PERSONAL - 78% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 45% complete.

Meditate three times. - 100% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by beginning 5k training. - 120% complete.

Adhere to my planner schedule. - 45% complete.

RELATIONSHIP - 50% Complete

Do one date night. - 50% complete.
Some notes: Aaron booked us to see Pablo Francisco this upcoming Friday at the Improv.  Super stoked!

SPIRITUAL - 131% Complete

Meditate three times. - 100% complete.
Volunteer for the local pet shelter twice this month. - 100% complete.
Find a new place to volunteer. - 300% complete.
Manage one COT event this month. - 25% complete.
Some notes: I've really heavily invested myself this month.  I spent 5 hours in orientation for Crossroads Hospice this weekend.  I'm looking in to taking Artie to hospice patients a few times a month.  I'm not looking for a lot of hours there - just enough to branch out from helping just animals.  I also have orientation this upcoming Monday for the KC Pet Project.  And I did my first day of my Cat Caregiver position this past Thursday.  Busy, busy, busy!

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Check List for July

1. Triple up on July's home cleaning chores.
2. Sort out July's home cleaning chores into weekly goals.
3. Be 153.4 by the end of July.
4. Select a new book to read.
5. Decide on a date night this month.
6. Volunteer twice this month.

Some updates and looking ahead!

Let's start with the first major success: I weighed myself this morning and am 3.6 pounds down!  Look at that beautiful number.  I'm nearing the weight I was when I got my driver's license at 17.  Exciting!

Also, here's the completed linen closet in all its glory.  Sorry for the fuzzy picture - my camera on my phone's been acting up.  But you at least get the gist - much more organized!  Ignore some of the lopsidedness of some of the upper shelves.  I'm short and didn't have a chair or footstool to use.

Which reminds me that I still need to purchase my digital camera for being 160 lbs.  And my Wreck This Journal box set.  Because I took June off, I've been trying to build some funds before I make any major purchases.

I have volunteer orientation with the Crossroads Hospice this upcoming Saturday.  The Crossroads Hospice is bringing Artie around to visit residents.  I'm very excited, if not a little nervous, about it.  Artie is fantastic with other people - that's why I signed him up for the opportunity.  He absolutely loves older people and just generally wants to make everyone feel better. That being said, they also want to see his temperament with other dogs.  This is where it gets a little tricky.  Artie is, nine times out of ten, fantastic with other animals. He's friendly, playful, happy and spunky.  But then there's just that one dog that, for whatever reason, he doesn't like.  He's never, ever bit another dog and, because he's small, it's easy to intervene by just picking him up.  Treats particularly help him stay focused.  I just would really hate for his temperament with one dog to ruin his chances at volunteering with people.  I suppose I wasn't aware there'd be so many other animals at the Gladstone location.  If there's just a few, he'll be just fine, but if there's a large group, he might get overwhelmed.  What I signed him up for was the people portion, which Artie will love and be a great help in!  It's just a matter of if he can make it past orientation.  On the bright side, if he does pass, it's once a month, which shouldn't interfere with my other volunteering.

I also have volunteer orientation with the KC Pet Project this upcoming Monday.  It's more of what I've been doing with ESFOA and TARA.  I also begin my Cat Caregiver position with TARA tomorrow.  Excited about that as well.

Looking at how fast I'm speeding through some of my goals got me thinking about 2014 today.  Even it were December right now, I'd feel so much more accomplished this year than I have previously, so I'm definitely going to continue The Progressive Planner.  But what is it that I want to do with 2014?  Here's some ideas that have at least made a pit stop in my jumbled head:

1. Be able to speak basic Spanish again (knowledge).
2. Buy our first tent so we can camp more often (relationship/financial).
3. Learn how to swim (health).
4. Attend one convention related to my career (career).
5. Maintain savings and add an additional 20% (financial).
6. Begin looking into investing money and retirement options as a freelancing illustrator (financial/career).
7. Get my own health insurance (health/financial).
8. Complete a Wreck This Journal (personal).

So what about you?  How are you doing on your goals now that we're more than half-way through the year?  Have you given any thought to 2014?

July: Week 1 Check-In

Running a bit behind because of 4th of July last week, but still fairly on target!

JULY 2013 GOALS

Month is currently 23% over.
Overall: 36% complete.

CAREER - 26% Complete

Hit target number of monthly illustrations. - 25% complete.
Number illustrations completed - 18% complete.

Make target income for the month. - 34% complete.

Some notes: Slowly but surely!  Trying to garner commissions after being absent for two months has been a bit of a challenge, but nothing I haven't experienced before.  It's doable!

FINANCIAL - 27% Complete

Make target income for the month. - 30% complete.

Keep budget. - 23% complete.
Some notes: Nothing new.

HEALTH - 55% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 23% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by beginning 5k training. - 120% complete.
Begin training for a 5k and be able to run one mile without stopping. - 23% complete.
Some notes:  As far as my weight goes, I'm going from the last time I weighed myself.  I'm currently unable to do so right now because of womanly reasons, but as soon as I can, I'll update that.  I'm expecting good results!  Also, I believe I've picked out two 5ks for the year.  The first will definitely be Lawrence Kansas's Color Run on September 14th.  I then will be doing my first mud run 5k by venturing over to St. Louis on October 12th for their Zombie 5k.  You have no idea how excited I am about that.

HOME - 33% Complete

Organize the downstairs closet. - 0% complete.
Organize and sort the boxes in the garage. - 0% complete.
Organize the linen closet. - 100% complete.
Some notes: I haven't gotten a chance to work on these with it being 4th of July this past week, but I can start breaking them down into doable goals:
Downstairs closet: Sort boxes; sort filing cabinet; reorganize wedding box; weed out miscellaneous items into a box.
Garage: Buy new boxes; sort into seasonal, labeled boxes; remove unsorted miscellaneous unboxed items.
Linen Closet: Sort all sheets and blankets; sort all towels and remove ones with holes; sort all washrags and remove ones with holes; move any bags of bathroom items to the bathroom; sort all tablecloths and remove ones with holes.

KNOWLEDGE - 17% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 23% complete.

Continue taking supplements. - 23% complete.

Continue daily mental exercises. - 23% complete.

Read one book. - 0% complete.
Some notes:  Still need to pick out a book for this month.

PERSONAL - 58% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 23% complete.

Meditate three times. - 66% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by beginning 5k training. - 120% complete.

Adhere to my planner schedule. - 23% complete.

RELATIONSHIP - 0% Complete

Do one date night. - 0% complete.
Some notes: We need to plan this.

SPIRITUAL - 70% Complete

Meditate three times. - 66% complete.
Volunteer for the local pet shelter twice this month. - 50% complete.
Find a new place to volunteer. - 200% complete.
Manage one COT event this month. - 25% complete.
Some notes: I volunteered yesterday as ESFOA.  I'm also officially signed on for The Animal Rescue Alliance (TARA) and the KC Pet Project who recently took over the Kansas City shelter.  So I actually added two new places to volunteer!

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Check List for July

1. Triple up on July's home cleaning chores.
2. Sort out July's home cleaning chores into weekly goals.
3. Be 153.4 by the end of July.
4. Select a new book to read.
5. Decide on a date night this month.
6. Volunteer twice this month.

Official July Checklist

JULY 2013 GOALS

Month is currently 0% over.
Overall: 0% complete.

CAREER - 0% Complete

Hit target number of monthly illustrations. - 0% complete.
Number illustrations completed - 0% complete.

Make target income for the month. - 0% complete.

Some notes: Nothing to note here.  Getting back on the horse this month.

FINANCIAL - 0% Complete

Make target income for the month. - 0% complete.

Keep budget. - 0% complete.
Some notes: Again, nothing to note here.

HEALTH - 0% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 0% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by beginning 5k training. - 0% complete.
Begin training for a 5k and be able to run one mile without stopping. - 0% complete.
Some notes:  I'm highly interested in Lawrence Kansas's Color Run on September 14th since I'd have something awesome to bring back from my first run, but I don't know if I'd be ready by then.  The Tri-County Heart and Sole 5k is on October 5th and is right here in Gladstone.  Unfortunately, it's super tiny (pics show 10-20 participants?), but it does support mental health.  I also really want to look into the 5k4MJ in Gardner, Kansas on October 6th.  It supports COPD research, of which my dad has.  Maybe he'll come out and wait at the finish line.  Finally, on November 3rd, there's an Ovarian Cancer run.  My mom had uterine serous carcinoma and beat it, so that'd be worthwhile.

HOME - 0% Complete

Organize the downstairs closet. - 0% complete.
Organize and sort the boxes in the garage. - 0% complete.
Organize the linen closet. - 0% complete.
Some notes: So I'm just keeping this from the last 

KNOWLEDGE - 0% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 0% complete.

Continue taking supplements. - 0% complete.

Continue daily mental exercises. - 0% complete.

Read one book. - 0% complete.
Some notes:  Nothing new here.  Still need to pick out a book for this month.

PERSONAL - 0% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 0% complete.

Meditate three times. - 0% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by beginning 5k training. - 0% complete.

Adhere to my planner schedule. - 0% complete.

RELATIONSHIP - 0% Complete

Do one date night. - 0% complete.
Some notes: We need to plan this.

SPIRITUAL - 0% Complete

Meditate three times. - 0% complete.
Volunteer for the local pet shelter twice this month. - 0% complete.
Find a new place to volunteer. - 0% complete.
Manage one COT event this month. - 0% complete.
Some notes: One of my things on my spiritual checklist was to volunteer at three places this year.  I already volunteer with ESFOA, but I'd like to add a few more organizations to my list.  Time to start looking!

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Check List for July

1. Triple up on July's home cleaning chores.
2. Sort out July's home cleaning chores into weekly goals.
3. Be 153.4 by the end of July.
4. Select a new book to read.
5. Decide on a date night this month.
6. Volunteer twice this month.

June - The Month I Almost Didn't.

I could say something fancy about June being the halfway point, the steep slope at the top of the mountain that I want 2013 to be, but that's really not what caused me to fall behind this month.  And, regardless of what the number at the top of my check-in below says, I really did fall behind.

I think there's an inevitable adjustment period for any major life change.  Even if it's a smooth transition, underlying stress can really bite at you.  That's what I've been experiencing for June.

My biggest problem was work.  I never intended to take June off.  May was my resting month.  June just kind of got tagged on to it.  My biggest problem?  I still feel like Charli and Eric are visiting.  I can't tell you how many times I skipped work to watch a movie or talk to my best friend in the dining room.  Sometimes, just sitting bored here at the desk will get me working, but I'm not even around my computer much anymore.  And it's not for lack of Charli telling me to work.  I just feel like it's rude to hide back here and not talk to anyone.  And that's my problem.

I also didn't get much cleaning done.  Heck, I fell behind on my chores.  Given that I previously did all of the chores on the chart, only having to do a few should free up my time.  Instead, I can't even attack them.  Also my problem.  

In the process, my desk, which was going fairly unused, is also getting cluttered with my things.  It's an easy place to put everything.  We also moved my desk to make room for Eric's desk.  In the process, everything that was on my desk is on the floor.  Still is.  I finally started attacking it today, but it's still a giant mess.

That being said, I have had some successes this month.

The first success is that I not only lost 5 pounds, but went on to lose and additional 1.2.  Look at that bad ass number up there.  Not only am I way overdue for my digital camera, but I'm damn close to my Wreck This Journal box set!  I've also jarred $20 for my thrift store shopping spree.  Super stoked.  

I've volunteered like crazy with ESFOA.  Managing the booth on my own for a little over four hours, I felt like I definitely got the swing of things much better and know more about the organization I volunteer with. I would like to get even more involved and approached Marilyn about it a bit at the event.  I feel like I'm not doing enough.

I suppose I should add this to my volunteer area.  I've been leading the Circle of Open Traditions since September of last year.  We are an open-faith pagan circle who celebrate the Wheel of the Year in a generalized but special way.  There's currently eight of us sans not-of-faith significant others who often join us for celebrations.  This month, we celebrated the Summer Solstice by camping out in my back yard.  You can read more about that here.

In addition to maxing out in the volunteer and weight loss sections, I spent a lot of time with my husband.  His help volunteering this past weekend was amazing.  We ended up eating out that day and I still managed to stay in check with a salad from Ventana.  Not too bad!

So that's about it for June, the month I almost didn't.  I'm going to go ahead and take this moment to bust out my July check-list.

Final June Check-In

June was definitely an off month for me.  Going to post an addendum blog to this afterward.  Here's the run-down.

JUNE 2013 GOALS

Month is currently 100% over.
Overall: 102% complete.

CAREER - 44% Complete

Complete May illustrations. - 100% complete.
Hit target number of monthly illustrations. - 0% complete.
Number illustrations completed - 0% complete.

Make target income for the month. - 75% complete.

Some notes: Caricature gigs sustained me for the month.  I didn't make as much as I wanted to, but I also wasn't very far behind all things considered.  Things have been so strange this month.  Every time I turn around, I'm so busy work isn't even a thought on my head.  Even more so, I've started to consider a career change.  In my attempt to better myself, I've found that I would be proud to be employed at a non-profit.  I've started applying but nothing so far.  I'm not very marketable given my whole background is art.  Something I might look into for 2014.

FINANCIAL - 92% Complete

Make target income for the month. - 75% complete.

Keep budget. - 100% complete.
Contact individual insurance companies. - 100% complete.
Some notes: I need to remind Aaron to contact individual insurance companies.  Also, from the rain over the weekend, we had a bit of flooding in the basement.  A lot of the things I was going to donate/garage sale got soaked.  I need to go through them and see what's left.

HEALTH - 108% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 100% complete.

Lose 5 pounds by switching to restrictive hypothyroid diet. - 124% complete.
Doctor's appointment. - 100% complete.
Some notes: According to my doc appointment, I definitely have Hashimoto's and the medication is starting to work.  They upped me again to 125 mcg.  I've taken seeing an endo off my plate until I get my blood work back from the next test.  In addition, my tooth stopped hurting after I switched to the limited diet.  I'm still going to see a dentist, but things look much better there.

HOME - 0% Complete

Organize the downstairs closet. - 0% complete.
Organize and sort the boxes in the garage. - 0% complete.
Organize the linen closet. - 0% complete.
Some notes: LOLNOPE.

KNOWLEDGE - 100% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 100% complete.

Continue taking supplements. - 100% complete.

Continue daily mental exercises. - 100% complete.

Read one book. - 100% complete.
Some notes: Nothing here.

PERSONAL - 94% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 100% complete.

Meditate three times. - 100% complete.

Lose 5 pounds by switching to restrictive hypothyroid diet. - 124% complete.

Adhere to my planner schedule. - 50% complete.

RELATIONSHIP - 200% Complete

Do one date night. - 200% complete.
Some notes: Aaron joined me in volunteering this weekend.  We had dinner up in downtown Excelsior Springs, which we counted as a date.

SPIRITUAL - 175% Complete

Meditate three times. - 100% complete.
Volunteer for the local pet shelter once this month. - 250% complete.
Some notes: I volunteered for seven hours this weekend helping out with the ESFOA booth at Waterfest in Excelsior.  Since my normal volunteer shift is a little under three hours, I counted it for one and a half.  Technically, it's over two, but I thought 300% was a little excessive.

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Check List for June

1. Triple up on June's home cleaning chores.
2. Sort out June's home cleaning chores into weekly goals.
3. Be 157.6 by the end of June.
4. Dentist appointment during June.  No longer a major issue.
5. Doctor's appointment during June.
6. Endocrinologist appointment during June. Unable to until after next test.
7. Select a new book to read.
8. Decide on a date night this month.
9. Volunteer once this month.