Goals Update

I promised this a few posts ago, but now I'm finally doing it. "Blog barfing" as my cousin calls it. Or maybe this is just accomplishing a goal/keeping a promise. So, back in July I sat down and defined a few goals for myself, and then of course I posted them.

Here's a quick review of my goals:
1) I want to learn about astronomy and become an amateur astronomer.
2) I want to be financially stable, and out of debt enough to own a home in the next 5 years, however small it may be.
3) I want to travel to Florence, Italy, and possibly other parts of Europe - but I'm not leaving until I see the Sistine Chapel.
4) I want to earn a Master's Degree in Education.
5) I want to refresh my Spanish so that I can be conversational and not shy about my knowledge, to better communicate with students and their parents.

And my action plan:
1) With my next paycheck I'm going to purchase a small green laser pointer so I can point at what I'm seeing, and share it with others.
2) I am going to take 2 - 3 BYU Independent Study personal enrichment courses: 1-2 on Astronomy, and 1 on personal finance. These will help me learn the skills and have the resources I need to accomplish two of my goals, and keep me in the habit of studying like a student until I actually begin my Master's Program.
3) From my personal finance class I'm going to learn to budget and I'm going to set and stick to a budget that includes, at the minimum: 10% tithing, 10% savings, 10% toward Italy, maximum monthly debt payments, and living expenses.
4) I will remain on a waiting list for the BYU Reading Endorsement program, and also watch for other cohort experiences that tie into a Master's Program, and work to take advantage of those opportunities.
5) I am going to get and take an independent study conversational Italian course (for my trip), and a conversational Spanish course (for goal #5).

And the update:
1) I did get the astronomy pointer... and binoculars and a red flashlight to boot! And, as indicated by my previous post, I am now totally obsessed with the heavens and I LOVE IT!
2) I've gotten my first I.S. astronomy and finance classes, but since school has started I haven't had time to sit down and really work on it.
3) I made huge payments with my first full paycheck. Yay me! Then I promptly went and spent the rest. Old habits die hard I guess. But, it was a step in the right direction. This month is the month that I begin budgeting! (Working on the finance class would help with this, I'm sure.
4) I decided to forget the Reading Endorsement and go for the math instead. My math classes start next Tuesday.
5) No movement on the language stuff yet. But that'll come.

I have also had a lot of time to reflect lately, and I've learned about some talents that I've taken for granted. I've now added a few things to my goals and action plan.

6) Book binding. Now that I'm no longer in meetings all day on Sunday, I'd like to take the afternoons to work on this one. It's fun and relaxing for me, plus, just plain cool!
7) I want to be a published author. Ok, so, technically, this one could be checked off the list tomorrow when my very first article in the Wasatch Wave (about our second grade field trip), is published. However, it's more than that. Eventually I'd like to be published for real, but, for now, I'll settle for the Wave, and publishing some short stories and stuff using MightyAuthors.com.

A couple quick shout outs here. First, to Melissa who as a faithful reader first asked the question of whether I would ever consider writing professionally because she loved my style. Thanks Melissa! Second, seriously check out MightyAuthors.com! It looks a lot like Heritage Makers and stuff, but it's very cost effective and simple to use. It was made to use in classrooms, but, basically, Brad Wilcox rocks my world, and I'm going to eventually chat with him about real publishers and publishing when I decide to take some of my stuff public.

It may sound like I've totally lost my mind. And I don't know when I'll ever have the time I want to devote to each of these endeavors, but, it's better to start now when I have some semblance of my own time. These are my dreams and goals, as far-flung as they may seem - but life would be very dull without them.