Life Update Sunday, er Monday, (v. 2.3.14)

I apologize for this coming late.  I haven't been feeling the greatest since yesterday evening.  I'm thinking I overdid the gluten yesterday afternoon and I'm paying for it.  Stabbing stomach pains and dizziness, among other things you really don't want to hear about.  I spent most of the morning sleeping on the floor of the bathroom.

Loyalty is a dog that stays with you despite his fear of being closed in the bathroom.  Usually, when Artie's in the bathroom, even with someone, he shakes.  This comes from when he had an allergic reaction to a medication and, again, with his weird stomach thing the other week. Having to lock him in the bathroom has scarred him for life from liking that room.  Yet, when I had to sleep on the floor for fear of making a bigger mess in the bedroom, he stayed with me, without shaking or whining, to keep me company.  I typically hate cuddling or being touched while nauseated but honestly, his warm fuzziness was good for my irritated stomach.

Zeus ended up in surgery on Tuesday for his cracked tooth.  Poor guy.  They took the root out, but apparently there was something already wrong with the tooth to begin with.  They checked him for periodontal disease, but the rest of his teeth are clean.  So now my Zeusy is missing his bottom right canine.  You can't really tell, but if he opens his mouth, it's kind of strange.

Bringing him home on Wednesday was an absolute disaster.  Apparently, Zeus refused to use the litter box at the vet, so the minute he got into "safe territory" (ie the crate) he wet himself.  I was told I couldn't bathe him because he had dissolving stitches in his jaw.  Because Aaron was working late, I was completely by myself on trying to give him a sponge bath.  After many scratches and two hours, I still couldn't get the smell off of him.  Once Aaron got home, we ended up bathing him anyway.  The stitches are safe (we kept his head well away from the water) and everything is fine.  He's just so damn stubborn.  He likes baths, but hates sponge baths and I was trying to give him one one-handed and stressed out.  What a mess.

They also gave him a liquid antibiotic in replacement of pills since he's hard impossible to pill.  Yes, try shoving a foul-tasting liquid down the throat of a cat who doesn't like to be force-fed anything.  I would have rather had a pill at that point.  Ugh.

Lil Bits (Apollo) learned a new bad habit this week...  Yes, that's exactly what you think it is.  I don't know why he has this sudden obsession with water.  We gave him a bowl in the bathtub to play with, which has helped a bit.  I moved the primary water bowl to the kitchen so it's on tile but, being a galley-style kitchen, it's kind of in the way.  I'm going to have to get a rubber mat for his new little trick.

Also, I have video.

On the bright side, the rest of the week was fairly uneventful.  I mostly worked myself into the ground.  With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I'm booked up to my eyeballs in commissions - because nothing says "I love you" like "Hey Honey, look at your monstrous nose!" Nonetheless, it's kept me busy.

Apparently, this week was also "Sleep on Mom While She Naps Week."  I missed the memo.

Finally, I celebrated one of my religion's holidays, February Eve, this weekend with our local Lushede Grove.  I took some pictures which should be posted over at Witchy Words sometime in the next few days!

And with that, I need to do a grocery run before the predicted 6-10 inches of snow comes in.  Catch you later!

2014 Spiritual Goals: Becoming More Active

In 2013, my two spiritual goals were to volunteer and meditate.  While I now actively volunteer at least once a week, my meditation goal kind of went out the window with my whole autoimmune eye thing.  Jumping right into it, my first goal for 2014 is obviously to begin Meditating again.  I'd like to do so twice a month to start, then slowly up it as I get into the habit.

Both of my last two spiritual goals involve becoming more publicly active with my religion.  The first is to Attend Six (out of eight) Public Lushede Grove Sabbat Rituals.  This gives me a little wiggle room from attending all eight.  I couldn't make it to the Yule one this month because it iced and snowed five inches that night.  If I put the stipulation of all eight, I would sink myself before I started!

The second of those two is to Attend Four Coffee Covens, which is 1/3rd of them since they're held every third Tuesday of the month.  I keep meaning to go.  I put it on my calender every month.  Then I fail miserably.  Maybe it's because I have a bit of social anxiety, or because I don't really know anyone there, but I really need to get outside of my comfort zone and just do it.

Simple.  To the point.  Those are my spiritual goals!

So let's put together the FINAL GOAL CHART:

And the last section of my monthly goal template!

SPIRITUAL - 0% Complete

Meditate twice this month. – 0/2 Times – 0% complete.

Attend one sabbat ritual by Lushede Grove (if applicable). – Done | Not Done – 0% complete.

Attend one Coffee Coven (if applicable). – Done | Not Done – 0% complete.

Some notes:  None.

And there you have it!  The compilation of my 2014 goals.  

Next time on The Progressive Planner:

Picking Out my Planner & My "Big Three" Goals

Question for my readers:

What are your 2014 spiritual goals?

Looking Forward

My husband has been in Michigan all week for training.  In just two short days, he'll be back home, even if "home" is currently the most temporary thing in our lives.  When I asked him how he likes his job so far, he told me he actually really loves it.  Music to my ears, particularly during this chaotic week.

I'm currently sitting here sweating at my desk.  The AC in the rental house is out again for the third time.  I can't wait to live in a place where I can just call a maintenance guy.  And, honestly, even if maintenance isn't fantastic, I can figure an apartment AC out a lot better than the archaic thing we have in the downstairs boiler room.  I honestly wonder if that thing is even powerful enough to cool the house we live in.  Wait, no, I know it isn't because my roommates live on the top floor and it's always sweltering up there.  I think it breaks down so much because it gets overworked.  Despite that, it's significantly cooler tonight.  Not looking forward to packing the kitchen tomorrow in the heat, but I'll cope.

I'm also coping with packing and working at the same time while Aaron's away.  It's tough.  I feel like I need a spare me to get everything done - particularly my commissions, which no doubt are suffering from goingtobelateosis.  I don't like being late on anything.  It makes me feel unprofessional.  Of course, I always give notice and my commissioners have always been so understanding.  Couldn't ask for a better job.

So while I'm in the middle of a bit of chaos, albeit optimistic chaos, I'd like to take a moment to look forward to the future.  Since Aaron's job seems to be working out well, we have some things on a list that we're in desperate need of replacing.  One of them is a part of one of my major goals this year - we need a new mattress, box spring and set of pillows.  Aaron and I have spent the last few years duct taping springs back into his decade old, or maybe even older, mattress.  A couple months ago, I got jabbed to the point of blood.  Never mind that some of the pillows I have came from my grandmother who passed away when I was 12.  You can feel the cotton in them clumped.  I spend many a night sleeping on our futon or my roommate's couch than I do my own bed because it's not comfortable, nor does it feel sanitary given its age.  However, because our previous finances, a mattress just never seemed possible.

Not getting a new mattress was one of the many financial "sacrifices" Aaron and I made every year.  We'd take a look at our budget every year, try to work it in, and then something would explode and we'd scrap the idea.  Not this year.  Instead of moving our old, worn out and broken mattress to the new apartment, we're trashing it and getting a new mattress the first week.  I'm super excited to sleep on a fresh, clean, comfortable mattress!

In addition, my digital camera failed me last December.  This was something I'd had on our list of things to buy this year but scrapped it to pay for car repairs for Aaron.  I'd like to get something decent but still point-and-shoot.  Something that would work great for photographing sabbat celebrations for Witchy Words.

After getting the new mattress and camera, we'll probably batten down the hatches and hold out for late November.  During that time, we'll be able to save up more than I've ever thought possible - in fact, I anticipate having our target savings for the year completed by the time Aaron rounds out his 90 days.  In addition, I really want to make sure this job is a good fit and that his company views Aaron as an asset.  We'll know that by the end of November.  And what better way to celebrate it than participating in our first Black Friday ever!

A few years ago, I invested in a cheap laptop.  The lemon of a thing maybe lasted me 6 months before I was mailing it off for repairs.  When I got it back, it was in even worse shape.  I've taken with me on long trips and dealt with its issues, but it's to the point now where it's not even feasible for me to work on it.  As it is right now, it works to watch workout videos but pretty much nothing else, and that's when you can get the stupid thing to turn on. I desperately need a new laptop.  Being able to work away from home or, hell, even in a different room of the apartment, would be fantastic.  It's something I'm regretting I don't have right now while I sit here in the heat.  I could be downstairs if that damn thing worked.  So there's something I'd like to invest in this year.  This will be my Christmas gift to myself.

Something's wrong with our TV's RCA connection.  Has been for about two years.  We haven't been able to hook up anything that requires it, like a DVD player or some of our game systems, because you don't get sound when you do.  It'd been a problem we've dealt with by simply avoiding it.  This year, I'd like to get a simple, cheap flat screen that actually has working hook-ups!  That will be my Christmas gift to Aaron.

The final thing I'm wanting this year is something I wanted ever since Aaron picked up our first cat, Nyx: a cat tree.  A nice one.  Something tall that Hermes can climb up and hide near the ceiling.  Something that has a stern base so Zeus can take his claws to it.  Something that I can hang toys off of, or drench in catnip.  Artie, my dog, has all the toys in the world and more sweaters than I can even count.  It's time I do something for the cats more than bell balls, feather toys and the occasional catnip dump in the entry way.  That will be my Christmas gift to my fuzzy babies.

And of course there's a few small things sprinkled into all of that.  The pets have their yearly vetting coming up this September/October.  I'd like to find out what I can do for Zeus's asthma and get Hermes a blood test - he hasn't had one since we first got him.  I'd like to go to the Six-Week Slim Down course for the fall session.  I didn't last year and my weight suffered.  I'd also like to invest in some wall shelves for my spiritual room at the apartment.

So quickly and for future reference, here's some items I'd like to have purchased before the year is over:

• Mattress Done!
• Box spring Done!
• Four pillows Done!
• A new sheet and comforter set Done!
• A digital camera
• Laptop Done!
• TV
• Cat tree

The last month of the year will be light.  All the Christmas gifts will be bought and we'll be back to saving again.  Heck, even buying everything I want to buy, we'll still have some spare to save.  At the beginning of the year, I'd like to reassess our finances and our savings.  If we have spare money, I want to throw it at the higher interest student loans Aaron has.

Previously, I made a list of things I want to do next year.  Some ideal goals to achieve for 2014.  I'd like to bring that back and add some things to the list.

Become an active participant in the KC Pagan Community (spiritual).

Attempt to attend all sabbat rituals led by Lushede Grove.

Attend at least four Coffee Covens.

Attend at least two Mystic Treasures classes.

Get my own health insurance, either through Aaron or myself. (health/financial).

Begin looking into investing money and retirement options as a freelancing illustrator (financial/career).

Buy a dining room table (home/financial).

Begin thrift shopping again and update Thrifty Difty (personal).

Make an effort for a weekly post.

Begin a balcony/indoor garden growing the following (health/spiritual).

Herbs: Basil, bay, mint, sage.

Vegetables: Cucumber, carrots, leaf lettuce, tomato, spinach.

Fruit: Blueberries, lemon tree.

Other: Aloe, garlic.

Buy our first tent so we can camp more often (relationship/financial).

Swap all of our storage items and memory boxes from cardboard to tupperware and reorganize (home).

Be able to speak basic Spanish again by taking two courses at the local community college (knowledge).

Spring: Elementary Spanish 1

Fall: Elementary Spanish 2, Latin American Humanities.

Continue in 2015 by taking Intermediate Spanish 1 & 2, and interpreting courses.

Learn how to swim (health).

Attend one convention related to my career (career).

Get a set of armchairs (home/financial).

Maintain savings and add an additional 20% (financial).

Complete a Wreck This Journal (personal).

Pay off 1/3rd of Aaron's student loans, starting with the highest interest (financial).

Crapstorm 2013

2012 knocked on my door about two weeks ago.  Nearly every catastrophe that happened last year is happening again.  Losing place to live?  Check.  Huge four-digit car repair bill? Check.  Bad, costly health news?  Check.

Where to begin.

I've always been aware that our living situation was temporary.  I've never been more grateful for what we've got.  Unfortunately, the ride is over.  About two weeks ago, we got word that we would need to be out by the end of August.  Aaron and I have been trying to scrape together every penny to make a successful down payment on a decent place, and we would have had it too if his car hadn't bitten the big one.

Only a day after getting that news, we got stranded in the airport terminal trying to pick up a friend because his car randomly wouldn't start.  A tow truck, a lost terminal card and $1400 later and it's fixed.  There was obviously a lot more than just the starter wrong - some of it we knew about and just had fixed anyway.  Nonetheless, there goes the down payment on a place to live.

Not that that matters much.  The top place on our list decided they no longer take huskies, after telling me on a phone call and  in person the first time I saw the place that they did.  Turns out, next-to-nill townhouses with adequate space in the KC area take huskies.  That's a huge problem since my best friend owns one.  We've started looking at renting houses, but the monthly rent is just too high.  Townhouses here tend to stay just under 1k, but houses almost immediately jump to $1200.  Seems freaking impossible.

On top of the costs, my yearly auto insurance bill came in, so that's another four-digit chunk out of my account.  And I finally went to see a dentist.  That's getting pretty costly too, since apparently I neglected the hell out of my teeth and our dental insurance doesn't cover as much as I wish it did.  Every visit is around $150 for what I need.  Ouch.  That and I do actually have my wisdom teeth.  They're completely impacted.  Insurance only pays 50% of that costly surgery.  That's completely and totally out.  Not happening.  Can't afford it.

A few nights ago, a spring in our mattress poked through.  This isn't the first time it's happened.  We've already flipped our mattress for an impossible spring pop and it's full of duct tape patches.  Aaron patched it last night, but this morning, it ripped through my PJ pants and stabbed my leg.  It wasn't bad enough for an ER, but there was quite a bit of blood involved.  That also means we need to officially buy a new mattress.

With what money?

So I started applying for a second job pretty much anywhere a week or so ago.  I don't know what else to do.  I had a pretty successful few interviews the past week, but of course none of them are anywhere near my field.  Everything in my instincts tells me to just buck it up.  That 80 hour work weeks won't be that tough and that it's really the only option at this point.

But is it really worth it to lose everything?  Right when I was beginning to love my life and get involved with things that make me happy, I suddenly have to cut it all off.  The volunteering, the Circle, the exercise.  When will I have time for it?

If I get a call back for any of these jobs, I have a big decision to make: to turn it down and continue with the goals I've set for myself this year, or to take the job and risk losing everything due to stress and lack of time.

This also includes being unable to complete my needed dental work since they're only open Monday-Thursday 10-5 and I'll have to work then.  It means not going to see an endo because I won't be able to take a few hours off.  It means sacrificing not only my spiritual and emotional happiness but my health as well.  How worth it is that?

At the same time, all Aaron and I have ever done is splashed around in the water, bobbing up just enough to catch a breath before being raked under again.  It'd be nice to get on a raft during this flood.  A second job could provide that.  But at what cost?

I will do a check-in as soon as I can figure out how to manage this explosion.

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?

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.

I got a volunteer position!

I have to give a giant shout-out to this website.  I went from no research and no opportunities to a volunteer quite literally overnight!  Here's the story.

After posting my journal entry here last night, it was weighing on me that I've done absolutely nothing about researching volunteer options.  To jump start my research for later this week, I decided to do a very fast Google search: "How to volunteer at a pet shelter."  The third link down was this website.

Now I've signed up for websites like this before without any chance of response, but I thought it might be a step forward.  What's the worst that could happen - I sign up, hear nothing back and have to track down individual shelters like my original plan?  No big deal.

So I filled out the form.  It was very to the point and had a multitude of check boxes for anything you could think of doing. I submitted it last night before I went to bed assuming that'd probably be the last of it.

Then I woke up to an e-mail from a local pet shelter.  They have pet adoption events at an even-more-local store every first and third Saturday and wanted to know if I could help out.  Within just a few hours, I was already a volunteer and my first shift is this Saturday!

So, if you're looking for a volunteer opportunity, love pets and don't know where to start, give AdoptAPet.com a shot!

My Volunteer Ideas

This is Nyx.  She's feisty and I often refer to her as my little heinous bitch.  She has all the boys under her control because she is the queen.  It's that Tortitude, but that's what I love about her.  And she's technically not my cat - she's really more my husband's.  He's the one that attempted one winter evening to soothe a meowing outside cat with a box and a blanket only to return with her in arm.  Suddenly, we had our first pet. Nyx and I bumped heads at first - a lot - but I love her with all my heart.

She was a fatal casualty of the horror that was 2012.  Towards the end of a Halloween get-together I was having, I noticed Nyx was cuddling with Hermes, our white Siamese tomcat.  While Hermes had always had a fondness for her, Nyx was always weary of him.  It was a really unusual sight, so I was quite aware something was wrong.  Since Monday of that week, she'd stopped eating dry food.  She was still eating tuna when I'd open a can, so I assumed she was just being picky that we'd switched to diet food.  Sitting there that Wednesday night, I was aware we needed to get her to a vet soon.

The next morning, Nyx slinked off the bed and gagged as though she was going to throw up for a good five minutes.  That was it for me.  Aaron, my husband, took off of work and we took her to our vet.  They said that her liver was failing and that they needed to hold on to her for 24-48 hours to see if they could reverse the problem.

We called every day for almost four days but no change.  I then took her home from our standard vet and took her to an emergency vet.  They told us that she needed a feeding tube when they first found out her liver was failing, but now her body was too weak to sustain the anesthesia.

They recommended we put her to sleep.

It was an intense set of days.  When we got home, I walked for an hour, then had to call Aaron because I had no idea how to get home.  I'd blanked the whole time from grief.  We'd only had her for two years, and she was only six years old - just a week or two from her seventh birthday and the anniversary of finding her. Nothing about it seemed fair and, on top of it, we now had $1000 in vet bills to pay.

And the worst part was, this was pretty typical of 2012.

My husband and I know we want to adopt again eventually.  We actually decided to wait out the winter in case a cat showed up on our doorstep.  I actually deeply hoped one would; it would at least make her death make a little cosmic sense.  But here we are, three and a half months later and no cat.  Not even one.  Which is funny because we had, counting Nyx, three who all came from showing up on our doorstep.

There are a multitude of places I would be interested in one-time volunteering at, such as a soup kitchen or the North Kansas City Hospital around Christmas.  But the research I want to do this month is looking into local pet shelters, entirely spurred by Nyx's passing.  I would like to give my time sorting papers, cleaning kennels - whatever it is that they need me to do - to help out animals that they've pulled from the street for a better home.

Because, honestly, that's what my husband and I have done for the past two years.

Hermes and his sister were dumped in the mail room of our last apartment complex.  We took them both in with the idea of adopting them off to caring people.  His sister (on the right) did get adopted (and named Khione, Greek for snow).

We actually ended up adopting Hermes ourselves.

Zeus climbed out of a storm drain during a rainy day to grab my foot.  "Please take me in."  How could I say no?

I picked up Artemis from an owner who abused and neglected him - all because they didn't know how to properly potty train a dog.

And Nyx jumped into my husband's arms before an ice storm on a cold winter's night.

And maybe, just maybe, by volunteering at a pet shelter, I'll find a cat who melts my heart the way all of my pets did.  Whose story and big eyes tell me that they're meant to be with me.  And everything will make sense again.

Meditation

One of my most important goals spiritually is to start meditating again.  It's been something I haven't done for some time and my stress level shows it.  I meditated a few times through January, but that certainly wasn't what I had in mind.  I often noted in check ups how much I neglected this portion of my goals and I eventually started scheduling it in this week.

And what a difference it's making!

I'm fresh out of a meditation session and I feel pretty darn good.  What does true meditation feel like?  Well it's certainly not just sitting in the middle of a room, doing nothing with your legs crossed.  Honestly, as my sense of being fades, my hearing fades and I begin feeling as though I'm rocking.  It's almost as if I'm on water.  When away, it's like a dream - something vague yet very real.  And when I return, there's a pleasant numbness and warmth that fills me.

For those of you who don't believe in meditation, you're simply not doing it right.  There's nothing supernatural about meditation.  We don't truly leave our bodies and float off to another plan - we instead recess to the part of our minds that's filled with light and hope, bathe in it for a short time, and return to the real world.  It's liberating.  I dare you to try it.

Personally, because it's been a lengthy time since I've touched meditation, I've been following guided beginner meditations on Youtube.  I have the advantage of knowing when I'm truly meditating and when I'm just not thinking about anything.  It's made some of the meditations frustrating for me because I want them to catch up, which means I should probably step it up a little.  On my most recent one, I ended up ahead of the meditation but somehow still following it, which I actually thought was a little neat.  That being said, I want to make it through a few weeks of beginner level before I move on.  Having a solid foundation is the most essential key to doing anything.

If I can keep up the progress this week, I'll have no problems labeling meditation as 50% by my 4th week check in, and 100% by the end of the month.  That's a steady jump from 15%.

Do you meditate?  What does it feel like to you?

Climbing the Ladder

This week is all about what it takes to make it to the next rung of my goal ladder.  It's eerily like sprinting towards the finish line after jogging a long marathon.  There's a lot to be done and I plan on seeing it through.

The primary areas that I haven't succeeded in this month are mental exercises, reading and meditating.  I've found these easy to push aside for things like work and dieting.  This week, I've scheduled in extra time specifically to those areas.  I should be able to finish my book by Saturday if I stick to it.  I'll be meditating every other day to make up for not having touched it the past few weeks.  I'll also be increasing memorization and memory games this week.  If I can stick to the schedule, I'll have no problems marking those items at 100% on my final check-in.

As I mentioned in my last journal, I've been unable to weigh myself this past week.  I'm looking forward to Wednesday when I can find out where I am on my diet and adjust accordingly.  This may mean adding in extra exercise hours or cutting down my calories a bit to make sure I hit my goal.  I ate out only once on a night where my husband worked until 10 PM.  As he's the chef of the house, that put us in a tight spot for food.  When I ordered, I cut back so significantly on what I would typically get that I still stayed within my diet.  I'm pretty proud of that.  Otherwise, I've been staying on top of my salads and have been tracking my meals with MyFitnessPal.com.  I wasn't supposed to be tracking my meals until around March, but I decided to start it early in hopes of hitting my goal weight for this month right on time.

Tomorrow I need to call to my doctor's office to find out how much my thyroid lab work is without insurance and how long it takes to process.  Depending on his answer, I could be getting it as soon as the last week of January.  I'm hoping I can push it as close to the 18th of February as I can.  That day marks the last of my levothyroxine.  I'll also need to ask how often I'll need my lab work done.  I know the last time I was there, they were thinking of every three to six months.  That'll tell me how many times I'll have to go to fulfill my goal of keeping up with my blood work.

More or less, here's a quick list summary of the above.  Think of it as a to do list for this week.

1. Meditate every other day.
2. Finish my current book.
3. Use my memory phone application every day.
4. Weigh myself on Wednesday. Weighed early and under weekly goal!
5. Adjust my diet and exercise accordingly. No need.
6. Call my doctor's office about my thyroid tests. Around $40.  Results in the next day.

Also, as we see the first day of February next week, I'm starting to look forward to goals I have specifically for that month.  Here's a list of things I need to do sometime before January 31st to prepare for February's goals:

1. Decide on a theme for my personal illustrations.
2. Sketch out thumbnails for my personal illustrations.
3. Sit down with my husband and our bank accounts to analyze our budget.
4. Divide February's home organization goal of the office into four smaller chores for each week.
5. Get two clear water bottles so I can mark the hours of the day on them to ensure 8 glasses of water a day in February.
6. Get a jar to put money in for each pound lost.
7. Get some loose ones to put in the jar for each pound lost.
8. Select a new book to read.
9. Plan out February date night.

Busy busy.  With that, I think I'm going to bed and getting some rest.  I'm going to need to energy if I'm going to make this sprint towards the finish line of my January goals!

Goals for the month of January 2013

Today, I'm dividing up my goals into achievable steps for this month.  Fairly short and sweet!  Making it a single post will make it easier to access and, come the end of the month, I can tally up my successes as well as not-so-successes.  Expect this post to be updated regularly as I work on these goals.  They will now be updated on weekly check-ins!

JANUARY 2013 GOALS

Month is currently 42% over.

CAREER

Hit target number of monthly illustrations. - 43% complete.

Make target income for the month. - 72% complete.

Draw one illustration for myself. - 100% complete.

FINANCIAL

Make target income for the month. - 72% complete.

Keep budget. - 48% complete.

HEALTH

Begin taking thyroid meds - continue for entire month. - 48% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by eating a salad every day and avoiding take-out. - 47% complete.

HOME

Organize my computer. - 100% complete.

KNOWLEDGE

Begin taking thyroid meds - continue for entire month. - 48% complete.

Begin taking supplements - continue for entire month. - 48% complete.

Begin daily mental exercises. - 25% complete.

Read one book. - 35% complete.

PERSONAL

Begin taking thyroid meds - continue for entire month. - 28% complete.

Begin meditating. - 15% complete.

Draw one illustration for myself. - 100% complete.

Lose 3 pounds by eating a salad every day and avoiding take-out. - 47% complete.

Adhere to my planner schedule. - 48% complete.

RELATIONSHIP

Do one date night: Watch movies in. - 100% complete.

SPIRITUAL

Begin meditating. - 15% complete.

Next time: What happens at Girls' Night most certainly doesn't stay at Girls' Night.

What is one goal you have to be completed in January?

2013 Spiritual Goals: Looking Inward and Giving Back

Before I got swept up in college and the three jobs I took to pay for it, I used to volunteer quite often.  I like giving back when I can and it fills me with a sense of more than just myself in the world.  This year, I'd like to volunteer on at least three separate occasions.  I'm look at once at a pet shelter, once at a soup kitchen and once at our local hospital around Christmas time. 

My second goal is to meditate more often.  I spend so much time in the real world that I often struggle to keep things in perspective.  Having that peace of mind often could truly help when it comes to my stress level, plus it adds to my religious beliefs of harmony and forgiveness.  Since it's a smaller goal and I have a multitude of other goals, I don't see a point of putting a number or a due date on it, but I do want it in there.

Tomorrow: My 2013 knowledge goals!

Do you have any spiritual goals for 2013?