Thank You: Taking Off My Facebook Face

Broken (Image credit: photodee / 123RF Stock Photo)

I want to thank everyone who read my posts last week.  I am especially thankful for those who offered words of encouragement or gentle disagreement. It has taken me a long time to be honest about my beliefs, and I know I’m not alone in this. There will always be a few people who seem fearless with their opinions, but the rest of us tend to be wary of opening ourselves up to criticism.  I prefer to put on my Facebook Face, and show the world a recipe for organic kale chips (even though we’ve eaten pizza three times this week), and a picture of the kids taken at an artistic angle (because that’s the only point of view where you can’t see the piles of unfolded laundry.)

I’ve moved! Read the full post here.

Fast Forward

I took a hiatus from the blog so that I would have more free time to spend staring blankly in frustration at another writing project.  Fast forward a year, and I finally have a second (or third, or fourth?) still-very-rough draft of that project.  It’s not the kind of progress I was hoping for, but enough that I am willing to allow myself the small pleasure of writing here again.

A list of things that have happened since I last wrote:

1. I wrapped up a number of work and volunteer positions in Lancaster, PA in anticipation of

2. A move to Allentown, PA in September of last year.  Because of said move,

3. We bought a house.  I like it.  It has 4 bathrooms, so the stomach flu was much more bearable for our family this year than last year when we had only one.

4. In December, I finished the premed program I had started in January 2013.  It is nice to be done with that.

5. In January, Nati started pre-k.  He loves it…except on days when he makes a valentine for Emiline and she tells him she doesn’t want it.

So there you have it.  Five things have happened since last year.  From now on, I’ll keep in mind that I should only plan on doing five things per year.   That was plenty.

Pianos make good footrests.

Nati quote: “I don’t want to be anything when I grow up. I just want to be Nati.”

Self-Fulfilling Goals

I did it. I completed my January goal.  I started a pre-med program.  What? You thought my January goal was to finish a book?  Oh that.  Well, this is how January went: I became a full time student, and then we got the flu…and then we got the flu again…and then we got a stomach bug.  So I did not finish the book in January.

However I said from the start that I reserved the right to do some shuffling. So as January drew to a close and I realized I wasn’t going to make it, I sifted through my goal list to see if there was anything I could quickly do and mark off my list.  It turns out you can’t retroactively go to the gym (or stop eating meat), so I picked December to make the switch with one minor change: Finish Start Pre-Med Program.  In my opinion, that was plenty of accomplishment for January.

January’s goal now belongs to February, and February’s goal to December.  And this time, I mean business.  If I don’t finish (emphasis on the “ish”) this book in February, [insert some drastic ultimatum here.]  Well, I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t finish, because I plan to finish.  But feel free to think up horrible consequences to motivate me.

Project 2013

Inspired by Motley Mama 2012, I will be setting a goal for each month of this year.  It’s a little bit of a cop-out for me, because I just happened to be thinking about how busy this year will be when I read her post about how several other people are making lists for 2013.  I decided to jump on the bandwagon because bandwagons are fun.  (Disclaimer: Some monthly goals may need to be shuffled as the year progresses.  Also, if I fail miserably, I may delete this post and deny that it ever existed.)

This little light of mine…

January: Finish a Book

At the end of 2009, my dad asked me to help him write his story.  We have been working on it for over 3 years now, and it has been a slow process with many hiatuses (my fault).  If I really buckle down, I think we can finish it this month.  (Disclaimer: I’m hoping for a rough draft ready to be edited. I don’t expect to have a finished product by the end of the month.)

February: Go to the Gym Everyday

One of my Christmas presents from Yohannes was a gym membership. (Don’t worry, I asked him for it.)  I have started going, but I’m hoping a month long stretch will help me make a habit of it.  (Disclaimer: When I say “every day”, I mean at least 5 days a week.  Chances are that I will have to skip it once or twice a week.)

March: No Meat

I will go vegetarian for one month.  Not vegan, because I drink about a half gallon of milk a day. (Disclaimer: I will accept food that is set before me in other people’s homes, even if it contains meat.)

April: No Facebook

I am not quite bold enough to drop off the face of the internet for a month, but I will try to go a month without Facebook.  (Disclaimer: I might set up the blog to auto-post to Facebook.)

May: Be On Time

I want to make an extra effort to be on time in May. (Disclaimer: I am married to Yohannes, so…)

June: Write a Post about Anxiety

This one has been a long time coming. (Disclaimer: I have no idea what this post will say.)

July: Move

Yohannes got a new job in Allentown in November.  We bought our house in Lancaster in 2010 using the housing stimulus, so we have to be here until the end of June.  (Disclaimer: The earliest we will move would be July, but it will likely be later in the year.  This month’s goal will probably get shuffled.)

August: Practice Guitar Everyday

I love to sing, but some songs just don’t sound right a capella.  I very briefly took guitar lessons last year, and I want to continue practicing. (Disclaimer: “Everyday” means at least 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day.)

September: Control My Temper

If you’re not part of my family, you probably didn’t know I had a bad temper.  It gets the better of me sometimes, and I would like to practice controlling it better.  It’s weird to list it as a goal for one month, but sometimes a kick-start helps. (Disclaimer: Absolutely no way am I going to go a month without losing my temper.)

October: Join a Writers Group

There are a couple writers groups around Allentown.  I’ve always wanted to join one, just to get some constructive advice about the writing process, but I’ve never had the courage to follow through. (Disclaimer: If the people are mean or scary, I will never go back.)

November: Write a Book

I’m going to jump on yet another bandwagon and try to make some progress on a book of my own during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  (Disclaimer: I have no idea how much of a novel I will actually be able to write in a month.)

December: Finish Pre-Med Program

I just started a pre-med program through Penn State Brandywine. That’s right. I am currently a full-time student.  The program will finish in December.   (Disclaimer: No, I don’t know what I’m getting myself in for.  I’m sure I’ll find out.)