I’m a very goal-oriented person. Clearly. I set goals all the time in 2011, and it seemed like each month ended with a bulleted list of reasons for not achieving my goals.  Lesson learned: I know that in order to achieve the goals I set for myself, I need to have a certain level of accountability…

So, here are the goals I set for 2012 at the beginning of the year.

And here’s how I’m doing so far:

Reach my goal weight by June 1

So far, so good! I realize that it may come off a little vain or brainwashed by magazine culture to have my weight at the top of my list of resolutions for 2012, so I want to clarify. This isn’t about me weighing what the gossip magazine and television industry says I should weigh – I don’t want to be a scary skinny bobblehead who survives on, like, kale and pickles and lemon juice. This is about my health, my willpower, and my need to stop eating so much pizza and drinking so much beer.

All that said, I lost 5 lbs. in January. Success!

12 in 12

Mom and I ran the Greenville News 5k, and my official time clocked in at 41:53 with a pace of 13:31. In February, we’ll be running the Frostbite 5k here in Asheville, and my goal is to finish in under 40:00. Bring it, February!

No More Debt

Josh and I are on this new budget system that I heard about on the Elevation Church Podcast. It seems to be working well so far, and I think we’re off to a good start.  The hardest part about a budget is realizing that you don’t get to go out to eat or to a bar every time the mood strikes. We’re learning to bargain with ourselves to see where our “fun” priority falls for the week, which is good—but tough to get used to.

Read at least a book a month

Haven’t you heard about my book club? This month I finished The Weird Sisters, which I’ll be blogging about for the BlogHer book club soon. I’m currently reading The Zookeeper’s Wife for the What Are You Reading? book club, and you’re not too late to join us! Click here to join the discussion on Goodreads.

Build a business

Well, I’m freelancing steadily! I have one major client keeping me in steady work. I’m getting used to setting my own schedule and being my own boss. I work on freelance assignments in the evening throughout t\he week, and each Friday I make myself a cup of tea and shut myself in the office with the dogs to finish up the week’s assignments and invoices.

I’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming for the actual business itself – the name, the website, the services offered, the business plan…it’s overwhelming, but I keep reminding myself that this isn’t the kind of thing you cross off your list in a day. I’m happy with where I am and I’m excited about where I’m going.

Did you set goals for 2012? How are you doing so far? 

Original Article

To make this online book club easier for all parties involved, I set up a group on Goodreads. This way, we can check in and discuss what we’re reading as we’re reading. I’ll still be posting end-of-book recpas on this blog, but if you’re interested in being a part of the What Are You Reading? book club discussions, click this link and sign up.

Currently Reading:

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

Previously:

One Hundred Years of Solitude 
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children 

Original Article

Are you ready, boots?
Start walkin’.  

Original Article

When I saw this post at eef-etc, I knew I had to jump on board this bandwagon. Handwriting has always been very important to me. I was the girl who “tried on” different styles of writing at the beginning of every school year - the way other girls would try on new shoes or new dresses.

My handwriting has always been a big part of who I am. Now that I’m a grown up and I don’t have time for silly things like throwing away sheets of paper because I didn’t like the way my writing looked, I have settled on what you see below, and I’ll take it.

You like how I automatically added the “u” after “q” in my alphabet? Me, too.

If you feel like it, leave me a link to your handwriting in the comments! It’ll be like we’re all passing one big note around the Internet. I like the sound of that.

Original Article

The morning of January 21 was cold, rainy, and generally gross. The alarm went off way too early, I was way too tired and completely unprepared. Honestly, the only thing that kept me from backing out was the thought of having to write a post admitting to giving up on my FIRST 5k of the year. No way. Not acceptable. Not in 2012.

So I rolled out of bed, pulled my bedhead into a ponytail, tied my running shoes, and headed into downtown Greenville, SC for the Greenville News 5k. I think this was the biggest race I’ve ever run - somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 people braved the dreary weather to pound the pavement, and mom and I were right in the middle of the pack.

As I mentioned, I was completely unprepared for this race. No training at all - which is why my hips were aching all the way home, and why I slept for a solid 10 hours on Saturday night. Mom stuck with me (although she could have left me in her dust!), and I probably walked as much as I ran, but I’m happy with how I did. Obviously, I won’t benefit from this resolution at all if I roll out of bed and stumble through each race without any training or work beforehand. I’ve got my starting time and a plan for February, and it’ s only going to get better from here.

January Time: 41:53
*This was the time on the race clock when we finished. It took us about 30 seconds to actually cross the start line after the race started, so this is probably a little inflated, but I’ll count it. 

February Goal: Under 40

February Race:  Frostbite 5k in Asheville, NC

Original Article

Although it took me WAY longer than it should have, I finally did finish 100 Years of Solitude. (You may remember I started reading it five months ago when I started this little online book club.)

By the end of the book, I felt like poor Ursula—and oh, how I loved Ursula—in her old age. All the characters, their lineages, and their stories blurred completely together. It was all I could do to keep things straight until the end, and I definitely relied on help from the family tree printed in the front of the book.

Muddled though it left me, I do feel like I achieved something by sticking it out with this book. I was tempted to overthrow it for something simpler several times, but I knew it was just too big a story to leave unresolved.

In a lot of ways, this book felt a little Biblical. The family tree grew gnarled, crooked, knotted with begats and with roots so long that the ancestors had become more like legends than family members.

I knew as soon as I finished 100 Years of Solitude that I would need to read it again. This first time was really just to understand what I was getting myself into—and I did sometimes feel like my shoes were made of cement or stuck in mud as I slogged through the densely woven web of stories. I’ll read it again, maybe next year, to actually process, understand, and enjoy. For now, I’m just glad I finished it at all.

I’ve got one more book to tell you about before the book club picks up in real time. Until then, what are you reading? Do you have a book to recommend?

If you’re interested in becoming a reader with me, leave me a comment and let me know! I’ll add you to the list.

Original Article