Not So Bad, Afterall

I got really frustrated recently because I realized I haven't been checking out either of my lists to make sure I'm living the right way and accomplishing my goals. Last week went by SO-FAST with all the trips to the hospital and working, and normal daily life.

But then I realized that by spending all this time at the hospital, I was knocking a few of my Goals for a Better Life out of the park.

*Never let my negative thoughts take over. If I am having a down day, take measures to cure it
Why do we visit hospitals? To cheer up our loved ones who are in a rough way. I can't be having a negative day when I'm working hard to cheer someone else up! Success. Also, an effect that came from this unfortunate accident is the time for reflection on how lucky and blessed our friend is to have survived this thing with no permanent injuries, and that my life is something to be grateful for. Every day is absolutely a gift.

*Make an effort to visit friends even if I have to go to them.
Every day we visit him. At least once. And it's important. It's making a difference.

*Any time someone needs help, if I can help, volunteer to do so
Although our friend is not asking for help, and never asks for anything from us, I know that he values our being there. And I'm not volunteering it. I'm doing it. I'm not asking, hey can we come by? I'm stopping in. I'm making a point to help without being asked. Which I think was my point of this goal.

So way to go, Holley, on working to become a better person without consciously doing so.
This makes me feel a little bit more like I really am a good person deep down, a caring, considerate person, someone who gives without asking for anything in return. Which is my ultimate goal. To not become my father, someone selfish and apathetic, but someone better. And to shout out to the world that there are good people in this world, and dammit, I'm one of them!!

What have you done for someone else lately that you feel good about?

Song of the Day: Dead Wrong, The Fray
Current Mood: Charitable, thankful

I'm doing the best that I could
Trying my best to be understood
Maybe I'm changing slowly
I'd get out turn around if only I
Knew I was dead wrong all along...

Everybody's workin' for the weekend" Loverboy

In honor of the weekend here is an old picture of the hubs and me about 4 years ago...


Although I do have great excitement for the weekend- as usual- I am excited that on the opposite end of this weekend is the Eminem Recovery release, and I'm most excited about that.
Tonight I have a Lia Sophia Show, and Sunday is Father's Day (aka just another day, to me anyway. All you with close relationships with your father's: enjoy the day!)

However, I do have quite a chore list for my weekend this weekend. I must be productive and unlazy. I must accomplish the following in my two days off.
**Balance Checkbook :: this is super sucky when you have been spending money you should not have, which describes my situation lately.
**Organize A's lia sophia show :: I've been working on that today at work actually, so I've got a jump start on this
**Mail A's invitations to her so she can hand them out :: this branches off of the last one
**Put clothes up in the bedroom :: I really don't like getting all my clean clothes out of a basket, but I've been lazy. Also, this would be a perfect time to go through my clothes and get rid of some things... Hmmm...
**Laundry :: nuff said. Of course, I'm trying to get ahead of the disastrous piles of laundry that will arise if I dont do it this weekend, so this is pro-activeness.
**Put up mail in the office :: my desk is covered in many piles of mail. It drives me crazy, and I cant use the dang desk!
**Close H's show on Sunday :: this would be a bad thing to forget
**Deposit checks :: this is also important.
**Clean kitchen :: I'm using this clean word lightly. 'Straighten' might be more appropriate.
**Be active each day :: I don't want to be stuck inside all day each day, even though I do have enormous picture windows in the living room. I must spend some time outside walking or something similar.
**Try to book some more shows :: I've not been doing well in my lia sophia endeavors, so i would like to try to put some effort into getting more bookings or catalog shows.
**Make grocery list of sales and coupons :: in an effort to be more thrifty and save money for our 1 year anniversary trip, this is quite important. I'm looking forward to it.

Do any of you have big plans for the weekend?

"Monday, Monday... So good to me..." - Mamas and Papas. (Mind Right Monday)

Great idea stolen from Dani (see her answers here) at OK, Dan!

I think this is great for motivation on a Monday, I struggle on Mondays with staying positive! Tee hee. So for Mind Right Monday we just post our goals for the week, and what we are grateful for at the moment.
I'm going to put these on a post-it note and stick it to my monitor to remember it through out the week!

Goals for the week:
**Not injure myself in any way this week.
**Send in application for Teacher Licensure Program
**Do (at least) one of the exercise options per day from 101/1001
**Clean the house a bit. More specifically, sweep and straighten bedroom (top priority for the week)
**Help Patricia with wedding tasks
**Call LeeAnn and Annette to schedule lia sophia shows!

Grateful for:
my poison ivy being almost gone!!!!
this beautiful weather
my own office
losing 2.5 pounds
the new school plans
the husband, as always
my momma (also as always)



Well I feel pretty good right now! Looking forward to the week ahead.
I feel a new anticipation about life now that I am excited about my future again. I don't feel stuck or insignificant. I feel rejuvenated and refreshed with a new outlook on life. It's about time! I've just been wandering aimlessly for the past three years, trying to decide what to do next and how to prepare for it. No more! Wandering aimlessly is only fun for so long, then you just feel like a loser. Well, I did anyway.


I also kind of just realized that I was supposed to be doing research for a cabin for Thanksgiving. Oops... I started a while back but never really finished. All the good ones are probably gone by now. Just a side note, if you ever see pictures advertising the Smoky Mountains, and think, man, that is so pretty, does it really look that way? The answer is yes, it most definitely does. I love it here!

"I Count the 101" - Albert Hammond, Jr.

The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities.

Show Me Your Soul…

1. Give 5 ‘just because’ gifts (1/5)

☑2. Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

☑3. Make a wedding photo book for Steven's parents

4. Surprise Steven with something nice once a month

5. Compliment 2 people every day for 4 months (0/120)

6. Convince Steven to read/listen to 10 books

7. Participate in 4 fundraisers (0/4)

8. Send Christmas cards to friends and family

9. Think positive things about people I don't like

10. Donate 100,000 grains of rice through FreeRice.com (8,100/100,000)

11. Leave 10 operation beautiful notes (0/10)

12. Inspire someone to make a 101/1001 list

13. Make eye contact with everyone I speak to in person

Seize Everything You Ever Wanted…

14. Re memorize 4 of the things I used to know (0/4)

15. Vacation in Deerfield Beach again Visit Savannah and Tybee again

16. Visit the Outer Banks Go on a Disney Cruise

17. Learn some Italian

18. Go to a drive in movie again

19. Re-learn how to knit

20. Sing in the shower more often

21. Learn 100 words in ASL

22. Be able to define the 100 words every high school graduate should know (0/100)

23. Make a list of things that make me happy

24. Create a passive income

25. List one positive thing about myself for 30 days (0/30)

26. Use the waffle maker we got for our wedding

☑27. Use the crock pot for meals

Risk Something, Take Back What’s Yours…

28. Clean the house every week for 4 months (0/12)

29. Organize my DVD collection

30. Shred bills from over 1 year ago

31. Move to Savannah, GA Get my Masters

32. Get a big girl job

☑33. Decide what to go to grad school for

☑34. Go through my clothes and get rid of 25 things I no longer wear

☑35. Go through the office and get rid of 25 things I no longer need

36. Make a chore list and stick to it

37. Host at least 3 family and friend Game Nights (0/3)

38. Plan grocery shopping trips around coupons and sales 4x (1/4)

39. Book at least two lia sophia shows per month (3/33)

40. Cook meals 3x a week for a month

Listen to the Money talk…

41. Pay off my car

42. Build my savings back up

43. Pay off 75% of my credit card debt (0/75)

44. Balance the checkbook by the 20th of every month

45. Pay off my tuition

The Rest is Still Unwritten…

☑46. Write a letter to myself to open in 1001 days

47. Take a self defense class

48. Showcase my writing more often to more people

49. Take singing lessons

50. Become CPR certified

51. Take dance lessons

52. Get licensed as a real estate agent Take a kickboxing class

53. Learn how to tell when someone is lying

54. Attempt to rid myself of anger and/or see a therapist

55. Answer at least one of the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind" every week (0/50)

I Could Write a Book…

56. Write a book

57. Finish reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series(17/845 pages)

58. Read 150 new books in a year (3/150) (0/150)

59. Review every book or movie I see/read (goodreads and the movie tracker)

60. Blog or journal at least once a week

61. Keep track of what i read on goodreads and what I watch on the movie tracker (find me: hizzle85)

62. Read all Jane Austen books I have not yet read(Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Emma)

63. Write a list of 365 things I love about my husband

64. Participate in NaNoWriMo

65. Join or create a book and/or writing club

66. Write 1 hour a week for 6 months

67. Do 20 creative writing prompts(0/20)

68. Make a personal ranking of favorite books and movies

69. Read 75 of the 100 best novels listed here (36/75)

☑70. Make a custom recipe book from our favorite recipes

Let’s Get Physical…

71. Lose 50 pounds (4/50)

72. Run with Tiki 3x a week for 6 weeks (2/24)

☑73. Do a Zumba class

74. Do the 100 push up challenge

75. Start doing pilates again 4x a week for two months (32)

76. Finish the 30 day shred again Find a work out regimen I like and stick with it for 30 days or 10 weeks

77. Eat a good breakfast every day for a week

78. Drink 60 oz of water a day for three weeks

79. Complete the 200 squat challenge

80. Cut out fast food for one month

81. Stick to watching my WW points

If A Picture Paints a Thousand Words…

☑82. Order wedding prints and frame them

☑83. Make a photo album of honeymoon pictures

84. Print off old pictures and add them to albums

85. Become a confident photographer

86. Be in 101 photos and love them (0/101)

87. Finish Steven's scrapbook

88. Finish Wedding Scrapbook

89. Develop some PhotoShop skills

90. Complete the 100 snapshot challenge

It’s Time for a Good Time

91. See at least 4 plays a year

92. Hold one date night a week with Steven

93. Watch 101 movies I have not seen (3/101)

94. Finish Zelda on the Wii

95. Play my Wii twice a week

☑96. Get caught up on Degrassi

97. Replace the windshield in the RX-7

☑98. Get the RX-7 up and running

99. Finish putting subs in the Prelude

100. Play Guitar Hero

101. Complete an A-Z challenge (places)

102. Exchange 10 postcards on postcrossing (3/10)

103. Spend more time outside

104. Have professional pictures taken of the family