Resolutions – June 2012

Here’s how I did in June:

Every Month Goals:

stick to my new budget

I was just getting back on track, up until the last week of June.  I don’t know what gets into me, but it’s like I just go nuts or something.  And it’s often about the food, really.  It’s like I’m rebelling against the budget and the diet all at one time.  I buy food and sodas when I know I don’t have any more money in my budget for that.  And I get this kind of “I don’t care!” attitude about it.  It’s like a temper tantrum with money.  “It’s my money!  I want a soda!  I’ll buy a soda with my money if I want to!”  *Mental foot stomp*  How ridiculous.  

I need to decide what it is that I really want.  Do I want that soda, or do I want financial security for my future?  And I have to ask myself that question every time I get a purchasing impulse.  The thing is, it’s not that one soda.  It’s all the sodas, all the credit (which is almost paid off!), it’s the accumulated financial mismanagement that I don’t want to follow me into the future.

The good news is that my written budget is up to date, and that is really the first big step toward getting truly back on track.  If you don’t know what your money is doing, then you can’t keep control of it.

spend time with family or friends I rarely see

I went to pick up a few more boxes from my Aunt Mart in the middle of the month, and she took me out to dinner.  Because she’s super nice like that.  After we ate, we stopped by my mom and dad’s house and visited with them for a while.  It was a very pleasant evening!

My sister had a cook-out this month, where I got to spend a little bit of time with a family friend, Fran, who is a very lovely person.  Also, my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Joe were there, so I was able to see them for the first time in a really long time, and that was super nice.

go someplace different or go to an event (in other words, get out of the house!)

I didn’t go anywhere this month – at least not in the sense of doing something different or new.  I did spend another weekend at the river, and that was very nice and relaxing.  I went to my sister’s for that cookout.  And I went to my nephew Logan’s graduation.  Those activities don’t really fulfill the resolution in the spirit that it was intended, but I’ll put them on here anyway.  At least I was out of the house 😉 

do something randomly nice for someone

I spent a lot of time this month thinking about what this really means, and how to achieve a goal like this.  I’ve decided to drop this item from my resolution list for this year, and pick it back up again next year.  I am spending the majority of my emotional energies on failing to stick with a budget and healthy eating, and a majority of my physical time and energy on de-cluttering my house.  That doesn’t leave much time to focus on some of these other goals, and when you throw uncertainty into that mix, it makes for a bad resolution.

Once I can get through the house cleaning, and into a good place with the other resolutions, then I will put some concentrated effort into coming up with a plan that I can follow.  And an idea of what “being nicer” actually means for me.

Resume:

Being Thankful

I am finally caught up with posting the thankfuls on my blog.  I am going to continue posting weekly thankfuls, but I want to go back to focusing on thankfulness on a daily basis.  I will start a daily list again, but I haven’t decided whether or not I will post it. 

writing more substantial blog content

I am also dropping this item from my list, as it just adds another, unnecessary, mental pressure.  I’m not in a position to post more often; also, I’m not entirely sure what “more substantial” means at the moment.  When I wrote this resolution, I was filling the blog with a lot of fluff, and I don’t feel that’s necessarily the case any longer.  I also had a vague idea in my head that I used to post many more essays.  Looking back over that first year, however, I see that there was a real mix of material.  I still feel a pull in my heart toward essays, but they take a great deal more time to write than I have right now.  The only thing that I worry about now, is that the posts are less diverse than they once were.  I feel that I’m putting such an emphasis on personal growth that it’s maybe getting boring.  I don’t know.

the Queries

I’m getting closer to posting a new Query, but I just can’t seem to get it off the ground.  Maybe when I’ve gotten through with this yard sale, then I can devote more time to Queries.  I’d really like to get back to a twice-monthly Query schedule.

To Do:

adopt healthier eating habits

As with the spending, I am struggling with my will power still.  I don’t have much to speak of at the moment.  I’ll be perfectly honest: I love the idea of healthy eating, but I’m not entirely keen on giving anything up – for the second time.  I love how the healthier diet made me feel.  I enjoyed the cooking, even.  But I’m being held back by just an unwillingness to restrict myself.  I’m not feeling very motivated right now.  I feel like I want to eat whatever I want to eat.

Looks like I’m going to have to fake some motivation and just get tough on myself.

exercise

I won’t let this one off my list, but I haven’t done anything about it, yet.

de-clutter my house

This is where almost all of my energies have been spent.  I have box upon box of stuff packed away for the yard sale.  There are some items in those boxes that I debated about.  Some things that I wanted to keep, but decided to let go.  There are items that I passed over the first time, then came back to later and packed them up.  I have really worked hard at this resolution in June, in preparation for the yard sale in July.  I am proud of myself for letting things go from my life that someone else could get some use out of.  What good does it do me if it’s packed in a cabinet or a box, or sitting around getting dusty?

take a photography class

I accomplished this goal pretty early in the year, and I’ve decided on dropping this item from my list.  I doubt if I take another class this year, and I’m not particularly worried about it at this time.  I will probably bring this one back again next year, too.

go to bed at the same time every night

This one is still getting better.  I’ve got myself into a pretty decent before midnight habit, and mostly before 11pm.  Also, I’m not letting myself sleep later than 8:30am no matter what.  So that’s working.  I think I only stayed up to 1 or 2am twice this month.  It doesn’t sound like much, but that’s progress for me.  I’m not feeling completely rested yet, but better than I felt before.  Really, what I want for myself encompasses more than just sleep, but I’m not ready to tackle the extras I have lurking in my head quite yet.

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Okay…six months down, six to go!

♦