GOAL!!!!!

I gave up on New Year's resolutions a long time ago. Setting a goal and then spending a year failing at it isn't my idea of a good time. However, for the last several years I have been taking time to pen a few goals. The important difference being that I don't have to flog myself with a wet noodle if I don't reach my goal. Even a little progress is something to be proud of. So, with no further ado, here are my goals for 2005:

Household Goals
~ Continue using the allowance system to get chores done. We seem to have found a system that gets enough done to keep me sane without causing strife between our two VERY DIFFERING ideas about how clean things should be.
~ Work on getting rid of unnecessary items in each room. I have a tendency to hoard things, mostly for sentimental reasons. Do I really need to keep that bottle of body wash that I don't like just because a very sweet student gave it to me as a gift? I don't think so, and it is time to do something about it.

Relationship Goals
~ Improve communications with family using the schedule that I developed some time ago. Rather than feeling obligated to use the telephone (which I hate), I should be using my newly freed up evenings to write letters and make cards.
~ Continue the monthly "game night" we started with friends. Who would have thought that "going out" and "doing things" could be so fun?? :)

Teaching Goals
~ Complete BTSA (new teacher training program) and renew CA teaching credential. (Look into renewing WI cred. as well.) This includes talking to the credential expert at the district to make sure that I have fulfilled all requirements.
~ Take a class on how to teach writing, especially narrative writing. This is a consistent weak spot for my teaching. I have confidence in my ability to make social studies and science interesting. I trust myself to instill a love of reading, and I have even developed a surprising competence with teaching math (understanding their confusion and fear helps a bunch!). Teaching the art of writing, however, leaves me in a cold sweat. I have this sneaking suspicion that the 5th grade teachers can all recognize students who were in my class by their rambling prose.

Learning Goals
~ Continue to study Spanish at home. I want to keep this informal and relaxed, since I know exactly what will happen if I start feeling pressured. I have very little patience for my own failures.
~ Resume taking formal guitar lessons, with the specific intent of learning to play "Happy Birthday" and a patriotic song (preferably My County 'Tis of Thee or America the Beautiful) that I can use in my class. This has to be formal because I don't have the knowledge base to teach myself and I have yet to find a computer program that will do the job.

Health Goals
~ Maintain weight. I am not unhappy with where I am (especially since I lost about 5 pounds in the process of giving the kidney), but I don't really want to gain anything.
~ Work out 3 times weekly. We were doing a good job of going to the gym fairly regularly before the surgery and it is time to pick that up again.
~ Continue vegetarian diet for another year. I have started taking a multi-vitamin so that I don't have to worry about my iron levels. We have also decided to start using our cookbooks more often so that we aren't stuck in the Spaghetti/Macaroni/Frozen Ravioli/Canned Soup rut anymore.

Financial Goals
(personal)
~ Earn at least $25 dollars spending money through chores each week. This is easy as long as I actually DO some chores, rather than sitting around on my lazy butt all weekend.
~ Set aside 1/2 of weekly earnings for donations/gifts to others.
(household)
~ Donate more money to charity. This is pretty vague, but we haven't gone over our finances closely enough to set an actual amount. This WILL be happening soon.
~ Adjust finances to find current income and revamp savings plan. This is something we do every January. I am actually quite impressed with our ability to plan financially.

Fun Goals
~ Have at least one craft project going at all times. I am going to use the time previously wasted on television for something useful and creative. Current projects include knitting and cross-stitching.
~ Take a trip to Mexico during spring break. I truly enjoyed being in Mexico the two times I went with my family, but this time we are going to be as un-touristy as possible. I want to see Mexico, not the inside of a resort designed to look like home.


**I spent some time searching my January archives, looking for my previous goals, and I can't find them. But I did find that I had some interesting things to say on a variety of subjects. How woulda thunk it? Of course, by "interesting" I mean "I wrote some stuff that doesn't sound stupid to me a year or two later". You might think differently.