hello february // goodbye january

My snowy view at one point during my 4 hour commute from my work yesterday [typically takes 35 minutes]

Wowzers, January is over. How did that just happen? And we're already done with the first week of February? Mind blown.  It seemed to fly by for me, but ended beautifully. I was able to visit a close friend in Texas last weekend and had an amazing time. January was also a month of intentional planning. I slowly went through Lara Casey's Goal-Setting series and prayerfully wrote plans for 2014. And for these goals to bear fruit, I need to keep myself accountable each month to what I am doing in reaching these goals. So, blogging friends, here are some of the more public goals I made for January and how I did/did not meet them, then I want to finish off with February goals!

January Goals

++  read one book every month [read 2 books] 

 ++ run/gym 2x/week [yes!]

  ++ meet blogging friends [skyped with Natalie]

++  invest more time in my younger brothers' lives [took one of my brothers to dinner after his basketball win!]

++ hang out with my "little sister" I mentor [sadly, this did not happen in Jan!]

++ memorize 1 verse/week [memorized 3 verses in Jan]

++ journal at least 3 gifts/blessings every night [yes!]
++ get off phone and computer by 11pm & no electronics in bed [I think this was true for 3/4 of the month, which is an improvement!]

February Goals

++ read one book [started Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by James Ford]

++ get back to hitting 3 miles 1-2/week by the end of Feb 

++ organize paperwork and do taxes by the end of Feb

++ hang out with "little sister" that I mentor

++ meet with one of my brothers for dinner to get to know him better
++ spend 1 hour each week reviewing journal articles and notes on nursing-related education
++ wake up earlier than my usual time so that I can start doing morning devotionals instead of leaving them for nighttime. I have been waking up the last 1.5 weeks before my alarm clock and have started doing devotionals in the morning and what a difference that makes!

[ See more of the goal-setting series in the link here. ]