Did you notice that another week of 2012 has come and gone? We're starting the last full week of February....winter is almost gone, and spring is on its way. I look outside and wonder, is it really only February? The sky is a beautiful blue, the snow has almost disappeared from even the shady spots, you can walk on the grass and not get your shoes wet....it looks and feels more like late March or April than the end of February. This has been a remarkable winter...in my opinion, it has been great!!!
Because another week is done, it's time to evaluate how I did on my 2012 goals for the last week.
1. Finances - I'm happy to report that we've had another successful week of keeping our discretionary spending inside our budget. The tally sheet has been posted on the wall in celebration of our success! My daughter commented to me yesterday that she and her husband should use tally sheets to stay within their budget. I told her that it only works if you are required to post how you do on a blog....my husband and I used tally sheets last year, but since there was no accountability, it was a rare week in which we were successful in making our budget. The accountability of this blog is what has made the difference in our success.
I didn't achieve my plan to calculate our State income tax liability during the past week. So, it's on my "to do list" for this week. Also, on my "to do list" is to calculate what amount of debt reduction we can accomplish during the month of March. March is one of those months for us that has extra expenses --we pay our home insurance quarterly so the premium will be due in March. In addition, one of our car insurance policies is due in March. Even with these extra expenses, I expect to accomplish some debt reduction. How much reduction is possible is the answer I need to calculate this week.
2. Spiritual -- I finished my study in Galatians!!! Galatians 6 had lots of practical applications for my life...some of which I wrote about in this blog. Now, it's time to go on to the next book. As you may remember, my plan is to work through the Apostle Paul's epistles, one chapter per week. I will begin Ephesians this week.
I've not done much work on the memory verses for February. Thanks to 2012 being a Leap Year, I've still got 10 days left. Probably should spend some time this week working on the verses so that I don't have to "cram" next week.
3. Personal -- I went to class on Tuesday without having an idea of what news story to write that deals with Black History month. All of us in class seemed to be struggling with ideas. Our professor bailed us out and made some suggestions. One of them was the annual Women of Color Luncheon that was scheduled for the next day. Oh, I thought, I've got a free lunch ticket to attend...that would a good subject to use for my news story. Thank you to our professor! The article is due this coming Friday, and I've got a good portion of it already written. I'm waiting for a couple of sources to respond to my interview questions. And then, I can finalize the article. In case you were wondering how I'm doing with getting to the 8:00 class on time, I was only late on the first day!!! Thankfully, God's been giving us this mild winter so snow hasn't been much of an issue!
In the blogging world, I completed five posts this week....it seems someone was wordy!!! I'm feeling more comfortable with the concept of vulnerability that comes with sharing my thoughts, feelings, opinions, etc. on the blog. Well, I'm not sure "comfortable" is the best word choice. It's more that I'm feeling "less fearful." The blogging experience has definitely been good for me in the area of accountability. It has also allowed me to take some small, safe steps of stepping out of my comfort zone. Once in a while, I even consider making my blog more public. When I see on Facebook that one of my friends has announced on her wall that she has completed a post, I sometimes want to reply, "Me, too! I've just posted an entry on my blog." But, the idea of the world (yes, even if they are my Facebook friends) reading my blog scares me. That doesn't feel safe to me. So, I continue to write in relative obscurity -- knowing that my three followers and whoever else stumbles into the blog are the only ones reading my posts.
Good Week? YES!!!
Next post: Wanting Attention
"My daughter commented to me yesterday that she and her husband should use tally sheets to stay within their budget. I told her that it only works if you are required to post how you do on a blog..."
ReplyDeleteAnd it helps if you HAVE a budget!