For those who know me, I have (excuse me--had) the biggest sweet tooth. When I started this blog in January 2009 to document my 2009 New Years Resolutions, one of them was to: Manage my sugar intake and get my hemoglobin A1c down from 6.2% to 5.5% (normal limits are up to 5.9%).
I am happy to report that my latest labs show an A1c of 5.8%!
Okay, I'm not quite to 5.5% yet, but I would like to point out that the A1c is an average of blood glucose levels over a 3-month time period. Since Memorial Day (June 25th), I have drastically cut out unhealthy snacks, junk food, candy, unnecessary, unnatural sugars, etc. (albeit an occasional treat of soft-serve ice cream). That's only in the last 2 months. A month prior to that, my eating habits were poor. Therefore, I suspect that with even closer monitoring over a full 3-months time period, my A1c will go even lower. But, man, the important point here is that my sugar cravings are gone. Fucking gone. How amazing is that??
As for some of my other goals......
- Evaluating at least 3 certification programs......well, I haven't done this yet, but let me explain why it's so pertinent that I do: having to face the realization that if I don't specialize in something right now, in a field that is growing, I may find myself extinct one day. It saddens me to think of being in my 50's or 60's, and having a lack of education to pull in a decent income. Education in the right field is the key to having, at least, the opportunity for financial security. I see my mom struggling often to make ends meet on her measly income, and it is scary to think of not being able to make ends meet because of decisions that I made today about my education. Granted, 50's and 60's isn't too old to try something new, go back to school. But it would be easier at age 31, and not 55. So, I've decided that once my little son is born, it will be time to head back into the classroom--some classroom, in order to think about a real career and what I would like to spend the next 10+ years doing to earn a good living.
- Take a CPR class......I'll probably be doing this in September! My work is offering an 8-hour course.
- Create will, durable power of attorney, and other estate planning documents.......Okay, so maybe I didn't start this goal until as of late, but at least I got started on it. I've since drafted up all the documents (or, rather, rough drafts), and my next plan is to contact a lawyer to review them. That is, after we get Kwasi's documents drafted up, etc. Felt good to get this out of the way! Oh, and within all this, I also reviewed my insurance policies (auto and home), and adjusted the numbers to ensure that I have enough coverage. I was under-insured!!!
- Pay off my car.....I'm still working on this goal. It's tough to imagine where that extra money is going to come from, but it's got to come from somewhere. I realized that it's perfect to get the car paid off by December because I will become a Mommy again in December! And with that comes maternity leave and reduced pay and benefits. Having $310 less to come up with during the 12 weeks I'll be off will reduce the overall amount of money I will need to save prior to maternity leave. Plus, daycare costs for the new little baby will cost $190/week. Having no car payment frees up that money to be used for the additonal daycare costs. WHEW....It's really all a numbers game....
- Eliminiate credit card use, and use cash only....I really haven't been able to do this totally successfully. January and February, I was rockin' it. But I slipped in March, and this slip carried on for 4 months. However, July's been a better month. Grocery expenses are down, as is snacking and buying lunch, etc. I could still do better, but it's better than what I was doing the prior 4 months!! I imagine this will always be a struggle.....
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