Critty Joy

2012 :: Finish Year.

I am really great at setting goals but sometimes...I don't finish.  Each year for the past several years I have set goals but not met them all.  I could give you all kinds of excuses but really... it's a choice.

A few weeks ago Jon Acuff posted a dare to his readers.  Something he called Finish Year.  He will have tasks on his blog weekly as well as accountability via twitter and facebook.

It stirred something within my heart.  So I will be doing Finish Year.

This year I want to dare to finish.

These are my big goals.  Over the next week I will be breaking down my 9 big goals into specific achievable smaller goals.  

Here is a general overview of my goals.

Write. :: I will be starting this by setting aside time each week to write.  Starting with two days and moving up to five days each week.  This will include several things but the biggest is a novel based on an idea I had in February 2011.

Journal at least once weekly.  ::  I adore going back and reading my old journals but I am not very consistent and I want to change that.  I want to capture those private moments more consistently and I want to capture word snapshots of who I am and what He is doing in my life.  I want at least 52 unique entries in my 2012 journal.

Read 150 books. ::  Yes I am that much of a reader but I also want to challenge myself in what I read.  Books on certain subjects pertaining to the novel mentioned above and books that I might not read but should. I also want to read books on the craft of writing so I can learn more about it. Any suggestions?  Let me know in the comments!

Finish C25K.  ::  I started this last year and really enjoyed it but stopped.  I want to finish the program this year.  And to celebrate finishing it...do a 5K in October.

Finish Rosetta Stone French course. ::  A sweet lovely let me borrow her French course and I have started it.  I enjoy it but often get caught up in other things.  I have always wanted to learn French so I am determined to finish course 1.  I am going to set aside some time each week to work on learning and applying this.

Memorize 2 verses each month.  ::  I participated in SSMT last year and found it to be so powerful in my life to learn the Word and keep it in my heart...intentionally.  So I am going to memorize 2 verses each month again this year.  Anyone want to join me and help hold each other accountable?  :)

Be more intentional in friendships.  ::  Over the last two years I have learned a great deal about friendships.  One thing is that I have a pretty awesome group of people who pour into my life in beautiful ways.  They are heart-friends.  I want to deepen and strengthen those relationships through letters, emails, skype, and yes...dare I say...phone conversations.  

Move!  ::  I know He has placed this desire in my heart and I am pretty certain of the place.  (He is a God of surprises though!) and I want to keep taking steps toward moving.  Toward a community.  Toward having my own space.  

 

Do you make goals each year?  What is one of your goals for 2012?

 

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Goals :: 101 in 1001

 

So.  My dear lovely Amanda has been doing her 101 list for a while and I always found it fascinating.  Then my BT Kara started doing hers a little while back.  And seeing as I have found goals to be a big part of my life for the last few months I decided I need to start my list...and see what I could accomplish in the next 1001 days!  (well....973 days!)  Now there are several of my lovelies doing it too.  I think it will be such fun to see where we all are at the end of these 1001 days.

I thought I would put my list here on the blog and from time to time update you on my progress.  So far I have completed 2 goals (only 99 more to go!) and have many in progress.

I am so excited to do these things and to cross them off my list....and to come back here in 2014 and see what I have accomplished.

CJ's 101 in 1001.

Completed :: 7

In progress :: 24

✿ Exercise 3 days a week for 6 months. (2/6) (in progress)  

✿ Exercise 5 days a week for 6 months. (0/6)

✿ Get a tattoo.

✿ Make an iTunes playlist of my 100 favorite songs.

✿ Make a list of my 100 favorite books.

✿ Make a list of my 50 favorite movies.

✿ Write a love letter to my future husband for him to read on our Wedding day.

✿ Walk/jog a 5k 1 year. 

✿ Run a 5k 1 year.

✿ Go to a movie by myself.

✿ Dance in the rain for the sheer JOY of it.

✿ Spend a day in my pajamas watching favorite movies and enjoying the moment of just being.

✿ Listen to every song in my iTunes library.

✿ Have a LOTR day and watch all three (extended editions!) in one day.

✿ Find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. (in progress)

✿ Finish a book in 1 day.  (completed!)

✿ Get healthy by watching food intake and exercising. (losing weight will be the bonus!) (in progress)

✿ Buy fresh flowers to brighten up my life every two weeks for 6 months.

✿ Get a library card. (completed!)

✿ Donate the books I want to get rid of to the Library. (completed)

✿ Stick to a wake-up routine for 6 months.  (in progress)

✿ Stick to a bed-time routine for 6 months. (in progress)

✿ Try yoga.

✿ Buy a pair of fabulous heels and wear them for a night of FUN. (Find the perfect dress for the heels.)

✿ Write my personal story in three sentences. (completed!)

✿ Finish my 1,000 Gifts list.

✿ Try two new recipes each month for 1 year. (in progress)

✿ Send friends a snail mail card. 12 times. (in progress)

✿ Make a list of 100 quotes that inspire and challenge me. (in progress)

✿ Memorize 24 scriptures in 12 months (SSMT)  (in progress)

✿ Volunteer with an organization that helps with Human trafficking. (6 times)

✿ Blog everyday for 1 month.  (My In the Becoming series... 1 blog post every day of October 2011)

✿ Journal at least once a week. (in progress)

✿ Make a quote journal.

✿ Go on a missions trip to a Eastern European country and help with babies for a week.

✿ Complete a Project 365. 365 photos. 1 for each day. 1 year. (in progress will be completed 10/9/12)

✿ Watch 50 of IMDB’s Top 250 movies (in progress)

✿ Write. Every day for 3 months.

✿ Finish the 10 short stories I have started.  (in progress, 1 completed)

✿ Finish the fiction story I started.

✿ Write at least 300 words a day on my (several) WIP for 6 months.

✿ Fall in Love (hey, a girl can dream!)

✿ New Year's Eve kiss. (Enough said.)

✿ Once book/short stories are finished submit to at least 3 contests.

✿ Read 25 classics of literature.

✿ Read 10 books outside of my usual genres.

✿ Turn off the computer for one weekend each month (12 times)

✿ Turn off the television 1 day each week. (52 times)  (in progress, 4 weeks completed)

✿ Start and finish the book Writing and Being and do the creative journaling that goes with it. (in progress)

✿ Read 5 books about writing. (in progress)

✿ Take a photography class.

✿ Take a floral design class.

✿ Take a writing class(es)

✿ Learn a new language. (french, gaelic.... one I want to learn!)

✿ Read 200 books in 1 year.

✿ Attend Donald Miller's Storyline Conference.

✿ Learn the place of 5 different constellations.

✿ Star gaze and find those 5 constellations.

✿ Stay up all night to watch a meteor shower.

✿ Simplify my life. This means de-cluttering my room and letting some things go. (in progress)

✿ Get rid of 50% of the books I have kept. Keep only the ones I LOVE. (completed)

✿ Visit Nashville and explore job and community opportunities.

✿ Quit my job. (in progress)

✿ Pay off both credit cards....and cut them up to celebrate! (in progress)

✿ MOVE!

✿ Get a job I like...and work toward my dream job.

✿ Go to a play/musical at The Fox Theater.

✿ Go to a concert.

✿ Visit the Bremen Museum in Atlanta.

✿ Travel back to Washington DC via train and explore the city for a few days.

✿ Visit the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

✿ Visit the Michael C Carlos museum at Emory in Atlanta.

✿ See a movie at the drive-in!

✿ See a play/musical on Broadway.

✿ Visit a winery and do a wine tasting.

✿ Visit my most favorite people and talk with them FACE to FACE.

✿ Go on an epic road trip with a favorite person (or two or three!)

✿ Bake something yummy and mail it to someone who needs a pick me up.

✿ Create a book for each year of Toccoa's life. (this is a continued project) (in progress)

✿ Have a picnic with some of my favorite people. (checkered tablecloth, basket and all!)

✿ See a movie at midnight with a friend. (in progress...plans are made!)

✿ Sleep under the stars in an open field one night.

✿ Pay it forward by buying the person behind me's drink or lunch...

✿ Throw a dinner party.

✿ Skype with at least two far away friends each month. (3/24) (in progress)

✿ Have lunch or dinner with two friends each month. (3/24) (in progress)

✿ Go berry picking.

✿ Have a special day 4 times a year with just Toccoa doing something just as aunt and niece!

✿ Have one AMAZING night out on the town looking fabulous and with people I adore.

✿ Host a tea. Invite my favorite lovelies. Wear Hats. A perfect ladies afternoon.

✿ Cure my wanderlust with a trip to Europe. Ireland, Scotland, England, France....and where ever else my heart desires.

✿ Watch the sunrise and sunset at a beautiful beach.

✿ Renew my passport before it expires.

✿ Go to the zoo (it would be my first time!)

✿ Bungee jump (wow...cannot believe I wrote this one!)

✿ Visit the World of Coke and play tourist in Atlanta one day.

✿ Travel to 3 states I have never been before.

✿ Visit NYC.

✿ Attend a roller derby.

✿ Go to a Braves game and sit in great seats!

✿ Spend a day hiking in a place I have never been.

What is one thing YOU want to do in the next 1001 days?