Goals Update: September

What?!?!  Tomorrow is October?  As each month passes, I am slowly coming to realize I probably won't accomplish all of my goals this year and that even though I've read well over thirty books already, there are still some books on my 2010 Reading List I most likely won't get to finish.  But that's okay.  I'm okay with not accomplishing a goal- as long as I put worth my absolute best effort.  The thing with which I am not okay is not accomplishing something simply because I'm a slacker.  And while the reasons why I won't accomplish some goals are legitimate, I have been quite the slacker in a few select areas...and I know I can do better.  That is what I find disappointing. 

The year is rapidly drawing to a close, but I still have three solid months.  And I intend to live the heck out of those three solid months and to hopefully come a little bit closer to accomplishing my goals.  Here's an update from September:

Become a faithful member of the 5 am club.  Fail!  But I did at least get up about 6:30 this morning...trust me, when the sun doesn't get out of bed until past 7:30, it's difficult to get yourself out of bed...but my friend Heather called me this morning at 6:36, and I was already up and getting my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels.  So...a teensy weensy bit of progress. 

Memorize 52 verses. You see, this is one of those goals that I know I can accomplish if I would just stop being a slacker.  I'm not sure how this one will play out over the next three months...

Memorize (the first half) of the book of James. Refer to my explanation of the previous goal.  Hmmm...

Continue in the SWI program. Check, check, and check!  I am actually going to my final class of this term tonight (although I am super sad because my new beloved friend Julia will not be in class tonight).  We have a week off, and then we return for next term; I'll be taking Baptist Beliefs.
Read through the Bible. Fail.  Again.  This goes back to the being a wretched slacker.

Continue to think through our family traditions. I'd classify this as a success; it's just difficult to quantify it.  With the holiday season approaching, I am getting more and more excited about traditions; I tend not to think of family traditions throughout the summer, but tradition tends to be a big topic around Thanksgiving and Christmas time.

Communicate with our family (and friends) more. I've done well with the emailing, but I've been a bit out of it since getting back from New York.  I'm still playing catch up on some things, and I realized I am in need of some massive reorganization of some files, etc.

Build up our emergency fund. Nada.

Make a huge dent in our car loan. So.close.

Cut our grocery bill. I have no earthly idea.  I still have to meal plan and shop for October, and we all know how much Jenny *loves* grocery shopping.

Develop a consistent and workable cleaning schedule. I have been most pleased with how we've kept the house recently.  It's not perfect by any means, but neither are we!  I usually try to just pick up in the morning and then again at night; I'll do a thorough cleaning once a week, and that's it.

Read 30 books. I've had a lot of books to review lately, and I've also been focusing on the book about genocide.  However, I can't necessarily sit down and read that one for hours on end because I generally find myself wanting to do one of the following: throw the book across the room, sit down and cry, cuss (out loud), or begin packing my bags to move to another country.  I really would like to (start) and finish A Prayer for Owen Meany and Tess of the D'Urbervilles before the end of the year, however.  I think those two classics will be my focus over the next several weeks.

Scrapbook. Ugh.  This one kind of goes back to the slacker issue, but I also simply don't think about scrapbooking too much.  It's not exactly on the forefront of my mind.  I really, really do want to be consistent in this endeavor.  I know that it will be a joy to go through all our scrapbooks with our children someday, so I really need to get on the ball.

Continue blogging. Not too shabby, my friends.  I apologize for failing to comment for the last two weeks.  As I said, I have been playing catch up since getting back from New York.  I'll see what I can do for you this weekend.

So, there is the ugly (and not-so-ugly) truth.  Even though I've been quite the slacker in some areas, it's nice to look back and see what I have actually accomplished thus far.  And it's good to remind myself that it's okay not to perfect, but to see where I need some improvement.  And it's good to realize that I still have a few more months to work on some of these goals.  And it's good to realize that it's acceptable for me to begin these sentences with a conjunction because this is not formal writing.  Students, for the love of all that is holy, please take note of that.

How have you done this month with your goals?