Goal Love

I am determined to stick to the goals I set for myself for this year. Several other bloggers I follow do a monthly check-in with what they have accomplished over the month and what they hope to accomplish in the coming month. I thought I'd do a one and a half month check in and just focus on the progress I have made toward my goals. We don't really celebrate V-Day around these parts since we try to love and show appreciation all 365 days (and buying more stuff isn't in the budget) so I apologize for the unrelated post. 

• Continue to eliminate clutter from our lives and improve our financial security.
• 3 bags of clothes donated!
• Recovered from the Christmas financial slump - besides all the costs associated with the holiday, DH also had an unpaid week off work
• Applied for a sweet job (fingers crossed) timing would be perfect and it is in my field!

• Continue to find meaningful ways to give back to my community. 
• From the above clothing, I did set aside a bag of more current/good condition clothing for the local women's shelter. Although donation is always seen as good, I think it is important to ensure that donations are going to those who need them most.  
• As I mentioned in the previous post, I did take that lactation consultant course (at a student rate), I also went for an interview and will start volunteering in March with a local organization that supports young parents. 

• Immerse myself in my thesis research and give it my all. 
• I have really starting to narrow down my research proposal. It has been difficult since I have such a heavy course load for grad school this semester. 

• Cherish the little things 
• I am still keeping my daily highlights journal. I don't write every day (maybe every 2-3) but I do have an entry for each day and therefore also reflect back on highlights when I have to retroactively fill in dates. I find this therapeutic. 

• Act on the fact that "life is short". 
• My best friend K moved last year to Edmonton, Alberta to be closer to her boyfriend who is working out there. Usually she is surrounded by many friends to celebrate her birthdays but since most of her friends are back here, I figured she'd be missing the usual festivities. I scrounged up some photos from birthday parties past, got B to make her a card complete with stickers and scribbles, and we strung her name onto a string with a bead kit I had kicking around. It was fun and she had no idea since we asked her boyfriend for her address.
• One of my girlfriends sent out an invite to a ladies only better sex workshop. Usually I say no to these kind of outings... you know.. kids... family, life. But after looking through old photos for my project above and realizing how much fun I used to be, I committed to go. Besides.. it will be fun to meet new people. Ladies night here I come!

Someone else in this house is also working hard at something: