last year sucked. A LOT. this year has the potential to suck with a trump presidency, but we're just going to hope for a better one anyway. part of looking forward to a better year is considering my goals a bit more carefully than usual. i like to aim high enough to make me push a bit and edge out of my comfort zone a little. last year just had too many hiccups for that to work. going to select my pushes a bit more thoughtfully. and probably not nearly as many as usual. kind of feel like i need some success under my belt somewhere, which i don't think i really got in 2016.
personal/health ::
~ trying for that 20 pounds again, only this time it includes the 9 i gained last year
~ 15k steps/day
~ get up to 15 pounds for my lifts, legs and dumbbells
reading/writing ::
~ read 45 - got close to this last year, but a lot were did not finish books; want less of that
~ finish chosen draft 1
~ replot shades
~ get tirs submission ready
~ 500 words/day
house stuff ::
~ rebox everything in cardboard into lock crates
~ complete clean up end to end, including steaming and debugging
and that's it. to be fair, with the last bit, it's actually a lot. i'm looking at a complete, deep down, rebox everything kind of clean up. this will include figuring out what is so badly infested it's no longer salvageable, making crates specifically for what can be salvaged but needs to be in a near total bug killer environment (which will include the gel as well as the spray), and getting everything that's okay in lock crates to prevent future infestation as well as to make storage easier. going to de-flea the carpet in addition to steam it. so, yea, this will be pretty thorough. sadly, i have to wait for our tax return before i can get to it: going to need A LOT of crates.
after last year, i'm not falling into the "i will update" trap. yes, i need to, and yes, i'd like to plan to, but to aim for so many times a month? probably not going to happen. there's just too much else that needs my attention first. and if i do make web updates a priority, it probably needs to be my author site (which probably needs a new design since the current one has been there for YEARS, but i just don't have the energy to tackle that right now). and before author site updates comes writing, which was abysmal last year. my total word count for 2016 was my second worst ever since i started tracking in 2006 (my worst year? 2014).
as for that 20 pounds...if it doesn't happen, the bigger goal is better health. not going to say "and not to gain anymore" (as much as i want to): if i'm lifting heavier, then likely any extra weight is muscle weight. that should translate into inches lost, but i have no idea how to goal those, which is probably a good thing.
and, as last year, i need to work on being thoughtful in all things. 2016 sort of devolved into survival and god when will i sleep again (grand baby), and thought kind of went out the window pretty quickly. i tried! but it just wasn't happening.
the only other concern right now is finances. hubs is starting to think about moving on. he's not happy on the line at taco, the management at the coffee shop is driving him crazy, and bold doesn't call him in even when he's available any more. that last means we actually ended up not qualifying for a.c.a. insurance this year because our income falls short without the baby being our responsibility. if he manages to make a move, it'll be scary. we've really enjoyed being a part of fifth group, but somewhere along the way, the experience has begun to slip into a place that isn't where he'd hoped it would go. we'll meet the challenges, i'm sure, but it's distressing that this is a continuing problem. i'm tired of the fight and worry it will get even worse with the cheeto in office.
all that being said, i'm hoping for a lot of good this year. it might not end the streak of suck of the last few years, but having one that sucks just a little less would be nice.
maybe then i can goal even better next year.
~*~
word of the moment: areolation ::any small space, bounded by some part different in color or structure, as the spaces bounded by the nervures of the wings of insects, or those by the veins of leaves
