To increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

After some great talks on Sunday it's time for my yearly goals post. Last year, I waited until July to post some goals, and they weren't really resolutions. This year, I feel I need to be more specific, but before I do, how about another goals update of the big five.

Goals Review
1. Amateur astronomy - Well, I got my laser pointer - two in fact, and binoculars - now I just have to keep a steady stream of batteries, and get away from the city lights a little more often. Actually, I feel like I've done a good job with this one. I'm more familiar with the sky, and it constantly fascinates me. However, I don't think this goal is the type that can ever be "checked off" the list. :)
2. Get out of debt and become financially stable - Uh, I made huge payments with my Christmas bonus and gifts. :/ However, I haven't touched the personal finance class. Lame, I know. However, all my payments are now successfully set up for automatic withdrawal, and I make extra payments when I can. Yay me!
3. Italy - I started a savings account again. I guess this kind of goes along with #2, but, yeah, I drained my previous one during college, and now I've started one again. Back to Italy, I have no immediate time frame, but, I figure saving money is a good start.
4. A Master's Degree - Well, I quit both a reading and math endorsement program over the course of 2 months. I apparently can't hack it as teacher and student, at least not right now with the extra stuff I'm doing at school. I did, however, take a serious look at the University of Northern Colorado when we were down there. Now I'm just trying to decide if I should quit teaching and go back to school, or find a program I can do while teaching, if this is still as important to me as it was. And I'm trying to decide what to specialize in. I'm leaning more toward Special Education than anything else, actually.
5. Spanish - Yep, absolutely no movement on this one yet. I'm all about baby steps.

This Year's Resolutions
After some particularly wonderful talks on Sunday, I've decided that I will have 4 main goals this year, in four categories, with plans attached. So, here we go.

Increase in Wisdom - For this one, I've decided that I need to study for at least an hour 3 days a week. The Plan: I've got those two Independent Study courses I'm working on - astronomy and personal finance - not to mention a book study at work and other education research I could be doing. So, I figure if I spend Tuesdays on Astronomy, Wednesdays on Personal Finance, and Thursdays on Education (book study or other topics), then I've got a good study habit going that may help me with goal #4 above.

Increase in Stature - I know this is cliche, but, I want to be healthier. I have this habit of eating out a lot, but I'd like to get over that, and exercise more. I love going hiking and stuff, but it's not always particularly pleasant. The Plan: I need to get healthier, easy-to-make stuff at home - and eat it! And I need to find something I enjoy doing - swimming, biking, walking - and do it for 30 minutes at least 3 days a week. Again, it's all about the baby steps. Or maybe I'll start using my pedometer again. That was a fun little motivator.

In Favor with God - Lately, I've felt this urgency to prepare to go to the temple. There's lots of little aspects to that, but, that is my over-all goal. The Plan: The baby steps with that are 1) keep up with our family BoM reading schedule (part of helping Ty prepare for his mission), 2)go to the temple at least monthly, 3)keep up with tithing, fasting, etc., 4) work on the prayer report-back thing by writing briefly, twice-daily in my journal - once in the morning, once in the evening, setting goals and reporting back, and 5) include the Lord in all aspects of my life (not which can of food I'll buy, but, especially in my work life).

In Favor with Man - That sounds a little different, but let's simplify it to a social goal. I want to work on having better language. Now, I don't curse like a sailor, but, I could improve the words I use in frustration and anger, and work on avoiding the appearance of gossip and other negative forms of talk. The Plan: This one's my favorite plan! The first part of the plan, is to be fully active in my old/new ward. Yep, I'm having my records transferred back - at least that's the idea - we'll get the official word on Sunday. Phase one of the plan includes attending all Sunday meetings, FHE, Institute, and as many of the other activities as I can, with the idea being that I will develop and improve lasting relationships, and surround myself with people who uplift and encourage me to be my best self. Phase two of the plan is just to be more aware of myself and my speech, and to consciously make it as positive and uplifting as possible, especially with my students and co-workers.