Two Down, Ten to Go!

It is already the end of another month! I want again to thank everyone who has helped encourage me and kept me accountable to the goals I have shared with you.  Now that we are 1/6th of the way through the year, I thought I would reflect on the goals that were not completed by the end of January. 

Social Wellness 

I have already met my goal here.  I will try to work on creating a new goal during the month of March to help keep my goals balanced.

Financial Wellness 

By the end of 2013, we would like to pay off over 20% of the current outstanding debt on our house.  To do this we will need to continue to work together with our finances  find more opportunities to earn and save more money.  We have also considered looking at selling our house, since we probably have a larger house then we really need. 

UPDATE:  We are still on pace to do this thanks to Anna's parents saving for her when she was young.  We were a little concerned if we were going to be able to make this goal when we decided Anna would begin her journey toward earning her Master's degree this year.  Anna's parents reminded Anna that they had saved some money in saving bonds that she could use for paying for the tuition and books.  This truly has been a blessing for us to be able to continue toward making progress on our financial goals of becoming debt free while Anna works on her degree.

Occupational Wellness 

One of my goals this year is to have portfolios prepared for every one of my students showing their specific progress based on the Humanities IB-MYP Objectives for 6th grade.  In order to do this, I will need to continue to stay organized and make sure to be given specific and meaningful feedback on all major assessments throughout the year. 

UPDATE:  I have been able to continue to do this.  My students will be having parent-teacher conferences in March and I am looking forward to seeing the student/parent reaction to their hard work.

Physical Wellness 

I have many physical wellness goals this year.  One of my goals is to participate in an organized run/race every month of 2013.  Another one of my goals is to complete the entire week of RAGBRAI in July. 

UPDATE:  I completed my January run and had registered for races in February, March and April.  The week prior to the Red Flannel Run I broke my foot and was not able to participate and also had to realize that running a race in March was not going to be able to happen either.  This will be a goal that I will not meet in 2013 now, but am sure it will end up on a goal list in a future year.  My current short term fitness goal is to be able to heal and be ready for a come back race on April 20th.  I then want to concentrate on getting back to the gym and getting it shape and prepare for RAGBRAI.  I have registered for the week long event and signed up with team RAMBRAI (through Cornell College), the team that we hosted at our house in 2011.

Environmental Wellness 

One of my goals in 2013 is for William to complete the "Leave No Trace" requirements for cub scouts to learn the importance of taking care of our environment. We will work with William to learn to be intentional with doing things outdoors and indoors to help protect our planet. 

UPDATE:   William has completed all the requirements for the Tiger Scout badge and now has been starting some work on this achievement.  There is a lot that goes into it.  We need to practice the "Leave No Trace" principals on two more outings and then William will be organizing a "Leave No Trace" related community service project. 

Intellectual Wellness 

In 2012, I completed 82 books.  My goal for 2013 is to read at least 100.  Several of my friends were able to meet this goal.  As Charlie Jones said, "Five years from today, you will be the same person that you are today, except for the books you read and the people you meet."  I want to read some good books, so that I can be a better person five years from now. 

UPDATE:  I have currently read 24 books in 2013 and am working on several other ones.  I am ahead of the pace needed to meet my goal right now by 8 books.  I am helpful to be able to stay on pace throughout the school year and really kick it in gear during the summer.  In addition, this month with spring break may help me.

Emotional Wellness 

I will continue to blog about my throughs and feelings at least once a week throughout 2013. I will also post additional content on my blog's facebook page.  

A friend shared a great idea on facebook that our family has decided to put into action in 2013.  We will be keeping a "Good News Jar" to write notes of all the good things happening this year to open up and read on December 31st, 2013.   

UPDATE:  I have continued to update my blog at least weekly, though disappointingly I have not kept up with my twice a week updating since my I broke my foot.  I hope to get back to updating even more regularly this month.  I also need to work on writing more notes for our "Good News Jar".

Spiritual Wellness 

After finishing reading the Bible again in 2012, I plan on starting over in 2013.  In addition to reading the Bible, I will be using Tony Dungy's The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge for my personal quiet time in 2013.  Another spiritual wellness goal of mine for 2013 is to begin weekly devotionals as a family at least 5 days a week using Bruce Wilkinson's Family Walk.

UPDATE:  I have been doing a good job of getting my personal quiet devotional and Bible reading time in. One of the great resources I have added is a devotional called Ashes to Fire by Merritt J. Nielson.  It is a great devotional that has morning and evening pieces to bring me into a closer relationship between Ash Wednesday (Ashes) to Pentecost (Fire).  As a family we have decided that Family Walk is not an age-appropriate devotional for our family at this time so will be switching resources in March.