Where [I'm] At

Oh goody! A song title post. There's a blast from my past.

Well, seeing as we are just about through with September, I figure now is a good time to update the blogosphere with my 2011 goals. I will also give you a run-down of the information promised in last week’s post. I will start with that :).

It is official – the Alabama trip, that is. November 18 through November 25. And a good time will be had by all, I’m sure :).

The apartment thing… Still looking. I went and looked at the one I mentioned last week. Let’s just say life is always an adventure. For one thing, I showed up and nobody was there to meet me. Except another couple showed up who were going to be viewing the apartment at the same time -- which was a little awkward. And then the guy who was going to show it finally called and said he was sorry, that he’d gone to the wrong apartment! Well, that didn’t instill much confidence, quite frankly. Add to that the fact that the apartment needed more than just carpets replaced (which they were going to do) and that there were only 2 parking spaces for 8 apartments (yeah, you do the math…) – and it being in downtown, I’d probably have had to pay for parking (ummm…. No thanks)… Yeah, I didn’t get the warm fuzzies from that place. But that’s okay. We try again. I already have the next place picked out that I want to look into. It’s cute – a little tiny house. I emailed the company who rents it and heard back that it’s still available. Now to see if I can schedule a time. We shall see. But again, I know it’ll happen when it’s right. Until then, I just try. And really, it’s kind of fun to sit back and imagine all the excitement of my own place (and imagining it in the different places I’m looking at). And since a lot of my stuff has been in boxes for at least 3 years (and some of it as long as 5), it’s going to be like a treasure chest when I do finally have a place and start unpacking! I’m picturing all my cool kitchen gadgets now… :). Yep, that’s one of my weaknesses: kitchen stuff.

Oh, and I made my friend Donna’s pepper jelly. This stuff is awesome, though mine doesn’t pack such a punch (I think my garden jalapenos – those I used 30 of those suckers – weren’t quite hot enough…). Also I will cut back on the sugar next time, because it’s sweeter than I remember hers being. But then again, maybe this has to do with the lacking hotness?

Saturday my mom, Jeremy, and I went to a church Service Project in which we beautified our city by cleaning up sidewalks, etc. The weather has turned chilly, so afterward, when Jeremy and I went out to Applebee’s and to the waterfront to walk around, I made sure to have a sweater :). Yep, Fall will be here soon… It’s in the air.

Okay, so that about catches you up on that sort of stuff. The daily goings-on of the Nilla Life. But as I said, I need to keep tabs on my progress with the goals I set for 2011. Hold myself accountable and all that.

1. Attend the Temple monthly. I’ve been doing well with this goal. I did miss 2 months in the first part of the year, but those are still the only 2 months I’ve missed. So 7 out of 9. It’s been good to do this. I usually go with my mom, and we have enjoyed the time together. We usually eat together, either before or after. It’s just nice.

2. Read scriptures for 30 minutes each day. I can say I have improved hugely in this category since my 4-month update. Mostly this is because I decided that my lunch hour is a good time to focus on reading my scriptures. This way I make sure I make them a priority and do it before the end of the day when life gets hectic. And let me say that I have gotten so much more out of the scriptures since reorganizing my priorities. I followed more, I was able to apply more things to my life… And since the Stake President had challenged us in February to read the Book of Mormon before the next Stake Conference (which was a couple weeks ago), I had decided to work toward that goal, and I was able to accomplish it! Mostly due to the fact that I had decided to read during my lunch break. So that has been a blessing all around. I will still give myself an 85% on it, though. Because I don’t have as much self-discipline on Friday through Sunday sometimes, and reporting here is all about being honest. So there is still room for improvement, but I am glad to say I have definitely improved to this point :).

3. Write in my journal weekly. I have pretty much done this consistently. There might be one week since my last update in which I didn’t. But I only missed it by a day or two. I know I will be so grateful in the years ahead that I set this goal and followed through with it. Actually, I already am. I already go back and read stuff from earlier this year. See how things have changed, etc. It’s a good thing to keep a journal. Life happens so fast, and if we don’t record it, we are liable to forget some good stuff – and some significant moments.

4. Write 30 minutes a day. Yeah, not so much. That fell by the wayside when I gave up my room and got an almost-full-time job and etc. etc. etc. One day I’ll get back to it, though. Possibly not in 2011, though ;).

5. Continue adding to my savings account. Yep, been doing this faithfully. I’m glad too :). It is amazing how following the counsel of church leaders can be such a blessing. I don’t pull in a lot of money by any means, but the fact that I’ve continued to put money into savings, even if it wasn’t very much, and also the fact that I’ve been out of debt for over a year now have led to me feeling financially sound and ready to be able to move out on my own. I’m thankful.

6. Become organized and stay that way. Oy. Not doing so well on this one either. Actually, I am hopeful that, if I do eventually get a place of my own, this will be helped significantly simply by the fact that I’ll have a place to put stuff… Until then, I just need to still work toward the goal, even if it’s in small ways.

7. Achieve at least one of my “bucket list” items. Well, I haven’t so far. I suppose something could change in 3.5 months and I will manage to pull this off. But, then again, maybe I won’t. At least not this year. But hey… There’s always next year ;).

8. See a new place. Well, I’m doubtful that I will accomplish this one either, truthfully. Between starting a new job (and therefore not having leave time to use for 6 months) and choosing to spend money to go to Alabama in November rather than some exotic locale (and believe me, Alabama is probably the better option anyway ;)), this kind of took a back-seat. But again, there’s always next year :).

9. Lose about 8 more pounds. I think I reported in May that I had accomplished this goal and surpassed it. And I have continued to maintain where I was in May, so I’m happy with that.

10. 72 Hour Kits. Blech. So important. So not accomplished. I think I probably need to accomplish #6 and that will help me with this goal.

11. 3 to 6 months food storage. Again, I’ve seen little forward motion with this. I have been given some great ideas to help me on my way. I just need to get around to implementing them! And again, I think #6 will help here. (As will having a place to call my own…).

12. Expand my garden. Yep, I did this :). I still grew a ton of tomatoes (and now they are ripening and I have tomatoes of various sizes and types coming out my ears!) but I also grew jalapenos (which were not hot, as I mentioned above…), bell peppers, zucchini (and found a couple of ways to use it that I really like! Plus a recipe my mom went nuts over and made again the other night…), acorn squash, cucumbers, pumpkin, lettuce, chives, and cilantro – in addition to the strawberries that were already in place. Yep, I grew new stuff and got something out of all of it, so that makes me happy :). (See pictures at beginning of post. I was too lazy to move stuff around.)

13. Spend less time online and more time reading. This is a toss-up. I haven’t spent as much time online most days, simply because I’m at work. But by that same token, I also haven’t spent as much time pleasure reading as I would like. And so I don’t know how to grade myself on this. Maybe a C. Because I still turn on the computer and check email before I pick up my reading book…

Yep, so that’s it. Now you know :). And just for the sake of getting maybe 20 minutes of reading time in, I’m leaving it at that :).