February Update!

At the beginning of the month I posted 13 goals I had for 2013. As promised I will be posting about my progress on the last Friday of each month - so here's my first! (If you're curious why I skipped January, read this.)

Here are my goals (and progress!) in no particular order:

1) Blog (more): I am proud to say that I have been blogging at least once a week! (Which is a great improvement from when I first started my blog in 2011.) Since this isn't a specific goal, such as "blog daily" it's a bit hard to keep track of, but I'm happy with my (at least) weekly postings! I plan to start sharing more projects I'm working on and various activities that I do with the boys I nanny for.

2) Run a 10k: Okay, so we're all aware this wasn't just going to happen overnight, right? I have to say that I am working toward this a bit, but not as much as I'd like to be. Although I registered for my first 10k (which is on September 29th!) I have not been able to start training at all because it's still too cold. I wanted (yes, you read that correctly) to go for a run the other day and I did, but after just a mile and a quarter (which is about half of what I was running in the summer/fall) I felt like death. I could hardly breathe, my body was shaking, and I needed to sit down before I could even make it all the way up my stairs. (It probably looked more pathetic than it sounds haha.) I will however be training with Dave once it get's warm again - which I really hope is soon!

3) Make & Follow a Cleaning Schedule: For a couple weeks now Dave and I have been tidying every night for 10 minutes. We set an alarm and then run around our apartment until the bell rings. Then we stop. Simple as that. I really love how spic 'n span our apartment looks everyday now, and I really appreciate that Dave and I are doing this as a team - he's a great sport! Although it's not quite a cleaning schedule, it's definitely progress and I want to celebrate that! But, I will be making a schedule soon enough and hopefully by next month I'll have more progress to share. 

4) Open an Etsy Shop: This is more of a dream I think, but I would really love to open an Etsy shop selling cards and typographical art. I have a ton of doodles and ideas (and I've done some research about resources and such) but otherwise I'm not quite sure where to start. I imagine that I'll be able to work on this goal more over the summer - so stay tuned. Until then, does anyone have any suggestions/tips on how/where to start?

5) Pray More: I'm really bad at this. I usually find myself praying at work (when I'm short on patience, or when I'm thankful for not getting sneezed on), but I want to be in the mindset where I'm in constant prayer. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (NIV)

Dave and I used to take turns praying each night before bed, but somewhere along the way we stopped. Last night we started again and I'm really hoping we can stick to it!

6) Start Teaching: Similar to running a 10k this wasn't going to happen overnight. Also, it's not really in my control. I would LOVE to have my own classroom tomorrow, but it seems as though God has a different plan for me. I've encountered various obstacles to even obtain my certification so for now I'm working on finding new ways to be involved with students or at least the education world. That being said, I had a meeting last night with two wonderful ladies who work for The Center for Public Justice and are heading up a new education initiative. I am blessed to be able to start volunteering with them next month, and hope that I will be able to be an agent of change in the field of education!

7) Read More: I have done really well with this goal! I always wanted to be a "reader" but never made the time for it. (I definitely had the time, I just filled it with other stuff.) So, I started committing 20 minutes each night to reading. I set an alarm (just like I do for tidying!) and I read at least 20 minutes each day. If I feel like going beyond that, I do, but usually it's a chapter of two's worth of reading and I'm content. I've been bouncing between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works of Sherlock Holmes and a wonderful new Tim Keller book titled, Every Good Endeavor. I've found myself really looking forward to my 20 minutes of reading each day.

8) Work on our scrapbook: I successfully took over our entire dining room table last week.

I got started on the scrapbook my MIL gave me for Christmas; she also gave me an absurdly awesome amount of crafting paper and supplies so I had more than enough tools to get started. I completed about 5 pages, but I plan on working on this a bit more each month. After all, scrapbooks aren't built in a day! (That's how the saying goes, right?)

9) Study the Bible: I've always wished I was more knowledgeable when it came to God's word. I guess I always had the idea that I would one day be touched by an angel and "TADA!" have the whole thing memorized. Surprisingly, that's not how it works. Instead it's something that takes time, effort, and prayer, and I'm a bit ashamed to say, I never had the desire to do that. Thankfully, though, since we've moved to Pittsburgh and joined a group of young married couples from our church, we meet weekly to discuss a book (either one from the bible or another Christ-centered piece of writing). For the last few months and for several months in the future, we chose to study Ephesians. It has been great to really zone in on bits of God's word and develop a deeper understanding. I also joined a women's bible study which has been really enlightening as well. We're reading through the devotional Lord, I Want to Know You, by Kay Arthur. All that to say, I have been studying the bible at least twice a week and learning many things. Progress indeed.

10) Explore Pittsburgh: We're eager to go exploring more, once the weather gets a bit nicer, but we've done okay so far. Check out this post, for more about that!

11) Volunteer: I mentioned in #6 how I will be volunteering next month. I am excited to get involved with my community and get out more!

12) Start composting: This one is tough. I haven't started, yet, but it's something I'm talking more about with Dave and we're going to try and figure out how to make this happen, hopefully starting very soon!

13) Get off the couch: Again I say, "brrrrrr" - why is it so cold?!? My running efforts were a step in the right direction. But winter just stinks. I do have an exercise DVD I really like, but I just haven't started it yet. I don't know... I need help with being more active. Any suggestions??

Well, there you have it. I know it's a lot but I am happy to be staying accountable and I hope my honesty can encourage you! What are some goals you have? (For the month, the year, your life?!)

Here's to getting stuff done!
-N