GOALS REVIEW: January 2012

Well, we're well into the first week of February; actually, the beginning of the second week! And I wanted to take this time to review where things have been. It's amazing how quickly time is going, and how quickly I have forgotten what my goals ever WERE! So let's see how we're doing:

GOAL: Drafting Necessary "Life" Documents

UPDATE: My cousin's 26-year-old wife.....who was 5 months pregnant....just died in a car accident. It's the most horrific thing that could happen to a family; it feels like a sick and twisted Lifetime movie. I still keep pinching myself to see if it's real or not, because it's just so awful that you can't imagine something like this could happen. The accident happened on Saturday, January 28, 2012, when she pulled out in front of an SUV and got T-boned. She had extensive injuries that required her to be on life support--injuries from which she could never recover. She and my cousin have a 3 and 1/2 year old daughter. My heart goes out to my cousin, who lost a wife and unborn son; and to his daugher, who lost her mother and unborn brother; and her dad, who lost a daughter and a grandson; and her sister, who lost a sibling and nephew. I wish I could make it all better, and, as someone had said, "snap my fingers" and make it OK once again.

But I can't.

You never think of these things happening, but they do. And it's times like this that give you a swift kick in the ass to make you see that you don't have all the time in the world to plan for the unexpected. You have THIS MOMENT, and this moment only.

It's ironic that I keep harping about needing life insurance....and needing to get a will and a durable power of attorney, only to witness such an unexpected tragedy right in front of me.
It reinforces me to make sure that we're prepared (well, as "prepared" as you can be for something so awful), in case something happens.

So.......after hearing about the accident, I immediately contacted my insurance agent and get an appointment scheduled for a physical so that I can get my life insurance policy up and going (hubby has already gotten his).

I am also going to make sure that I have a durable power of attorny, so that if I am on life support, I can direct what should be done for my care. I also am going to make sure I have a will, and to name a guardian for our children.

I have started the paperwork and will make it a priority to finish.

GOAL: Get Life Insurance

UPDATE: (See above) I've got an appointment this Saturday to get the physical repeated (since the last one was done more than 6 months ago). I should have coverage by the end of February, at the latest!


GOAL: A Year of Gift-Giving

UPDATE: At the crafting store a few weeks ago, my 5-year old son was sooo thoughtful. We were at our favorite crafting place, Hobby Lobby (OMG, if you've never been, you MUST GO; they have EVERYTHING!). We went into the puzzle aisle and he suggested that we buy a puzzle for Pappy (his great-grandfather) because he "knows that Pappy likes puzzles." What's amazing is that he neeeevvverrrr sees Pappy, so for him to think of him like that, well, no way I could turn him down on that thoughfulness!

So we bought Pappy a cool 750-piece puzzle, drove to my hometown, hand-delivered it to him, and boy was he happy :) Pappy even said he would glue the puzzle, frame it, and then give it back to Kwabena as a gift. Now THAT is awesome!!

Also, this month I saw a homeless woman sitting in the pouring rain, with no umbrella. I offered her my umbrella, and gave her $10.00 to go to the nearby McDonald's to dry out and get some breakfast. Man....it felt good helping someone, especially when I have so much already. I'm truly blessed :)

GOAL: Get Organized

UPDATE: Hmmm....am I organized?? I was trying to do my 31-Day Challenge, but I left off at Day #12 and I have NO idea what happened to the rest of the 31 days! I guess I better revisit that list, huh??

GOAL: Follow-Through

UPDATE: This one is hard for me, because I am a self-started, but a poor-finisher. I've been "hoarding" (the word people keep using) furniture in the garage, for projects that I plan to start/finish that I haven't yet started/finished. Gonna keep plugging away at that!!


GOAL: Lose 30 Pounds

UPDATE: Now that I'm back to work, I can work out at lunch. Yesterday was my first day of work, and I ran for 30 mintues. I plan to do that daily. I'm currently 185 lbs, and I have 26 pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 159 lbs. I would like to be 155, however, so make that 30 lbs to go! My eating habits are okay, but could be improved.


GOAL: Go to Hawaii!

UPDATE: I have saved $100 towards Hawaii!! If I save $50 per paycheck, I should have nearly $1,200 by the time Hawaii gets here in December 2012. Yipee!!


GOAL: Repair and Decorate My House

UPDATE: I could be better with this....It's more so a TIME issue than a PROCRASTINATION issue. Check out my house blog for more updates on this goal.


GOAL: Take a Family Summer Vacation

UPDATE: Haven't talked about this, nor made any plans to make it happen. Summer isn't that far aawwwaaayyyy.....


GOAL: Organize My Photos

UPDATE: Some time ago in January I made some progress with this!! I'm organizing my photos by Year and Month.


GOAL: Take a Woodworking Class!

UPDATE: I haven't even looked into the schedule yet, because I don't have the money yet.


GOAL: Increase My Income

UPDATE: I can totally make this happen! I have sold a few pairs of shoes in eBay (shoes that I have found at the thrift store), but I'm not sure eBay is the best vehicle to do this. The fees add up, and the sales are so small that you would have to sell a LOT of shoes in order to make it worth your time. I have found that buying and selling furniture is going to be the biggest payoff. In fact, I found this dining room buffet last week, and paid $70 total for the purchase and hauling, and someone from Craigslist actually wanted to pay $180 for it!! That's a profit of $110! Well, I fell in love with the piece (haha) and couldn't dream of parting with it, so I didn't sell it. But, OMG, it was all the proof I needed that thrift store reselling can yield me some GOOD money!!! Next steps would be to make a plane on how I'm going to do this....

GOAL: Read One Book Per Month

UPDATE: Eh.....January, no luck. No time! But this month, I have stared Sing You Home, by Jodi Picoult.


GOAL: Buy a Minivan

UPDATE: I've done a little research, but haven't put much time into it.


GOAL: The Year of the Challenges

January - Challenge myself to see how much I can turn $100 into, via buying used items via thrift stores, yard sales, Craig's List, etc., then reselling them. I can also sell items around the house, as well.

UPDATE: I haven't done the calculations yet, but I did sell 2 pairs of shoes on eBay. LOL Big sales THERE, huh? :)

February - Challenge myself to do 200 push-ups per day.

UPDATE: Um....did I really challenge myself to that??? I forgot about that....Better get to pushin'............



Alright!! Headed home from work now. I will write more later, unless I am busying doing 200 push-ups tonight ;-)