Well, it is time for an update on my progress toward my annual goals. First off, I lost some time this past month due to a “growth” opportunity, i.e. a butt-kicking spiritual ordeal. And so as expected, I have had to modify my plan and push many of my first quarter goals forward and adjust the rest of my annual plan.
But here is the good news. I still managed to complete three goals and move forward on several others.
- Normal Blood Sugar (Glucose ~ 90)
- Lowered Overall Cholesterol Levels (~ 200)
I haven’t read the lab report yet, but my doctor reports that my cholesterol levels are normal. Apparently, I needed medication to finish bringing down the bad cholesterol levels. So unless the report says otherwise, I am counting this as a win. My glucose levels were also on the mark, so I just need to continue with my current good habits. Yay! - Create Marketing Goals
I still need to schedule and add them to the plan, but here are my 2008 marketing goals.- Amber Eyes Marketing/Business Goals
- Raise prices for web design to reflect my new hourly rate
- Create templates, wire frame themes and a live test bed so I can build sites faster
- Answer requests for short term Drupal assistance on local job boards
- Attend networking events like the local Drupal Meetup
- Outreach/Publicity Goals
- Advertise Connect DC Rituals in Washington Post Religion section starting with Summer Solstice. (This has been in the works for a looong time!)
- Create a Reflections Mystery School brochure
- Advertise classes and rituals in local newsletters such as the Hill Rag, DC North, Takoma Voice, etc.
- Advertise annual Reflections intensive in regional and national publications
- Let more folks know that I am available for out of town classes, workshops, festivals and conferences.
- Amber Eyes Marketing/Business Goals
Several of my April goals are already underway, so I just need to focus on completing them.
I had three out-of-town classes in the pipeline last month, one was scheduled and another dropped. I am still waiting to see if the remaining class can be scheduled for this year or not. If I cheat (and c’mon, I set the rules!), I could count my sermon in Cumberland, MD this month as an out of town class. In which case, another completed goal! But I am still going to hold out and see if I can schedule another class.
Since I lost most of my open time in March, I may have to call my accountant and request an extension. It is not a big deal, especially since this year I think I did a better job in estimating my quarterly payments. I would still prefer to file them this month; it is just that I doubt I will make the deadline of the 15th.
I have the ecommerce solution working on one site, but I am not satisfied with it yet. I want to test out two other solutions before deciding which one to use. I also have a new client (!) who needs an ecommerce solution – so this one will definitely move forward this month.
I have completed the research on my two vision plans – gotta love Fortune 100 retirement plans. I just need to pick which vision plan I will use and make the appointment.
I am planning to use the money from my new client to fix the sinks in my kitchen and upstairs bathroom. But I have to wait till the check arrives.
And this is the month I begin the twice-weekly walks. I am waiting for warmer temperatures to ease my aching joints. I am thinking of adding the new walk on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, since I normally walk after yoga on Thursday already.
I also need to pay attention to some overall goals. I feel like I need to break them down somehow into smaller steps.
The biggest issue so far is my having purposely overloaded the first quarter so I could have some free time later this quarter. I need to block out time for me so social connections are easier. I still managed to get social time each month, most notably spending quality time with my cohorts in the Hard-K club for our annual Hat Night celebration and doing some juicy magic with a couple of dear friends. More of the same, please!
March is the month where I begin allocating a percentage of all proceeds to my reserves. I will do the allocation for last month when I reconcile my various accounts over the next week or so.
This goal sends shivers down my spine. My weight is pretty stable at the moment, so I am hoping the extra walking will help with this goal. I will re-evaluate my progress in this area in June and adjust accordingly.
All in all, a good start.
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Submitted by katrina on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 3:12pm.
Wish I could be there. Very well spoken.
Katrina,
I wish you all the blessings and power you need on your journey. Thank you for these words. It is good to remember that returning to work (and thus returning to grace) bring a chance for us all to rest and have joy.
Wishing you joy in the Work.
David
Dear Katrina- Thorn reposted your blog and happy am I. Your passion, always so immense, comes blowing out in these words. So akin to my own heart and soul that it makes me have a bittersweet smile.
The Storm is only now coming to the edges of our universe and yet it will sweep and consume all that is. In the end, our beautiful universe will be so much...more? Different? Complete? Who knows?
All I do know is my soul came here to witness and be part in this period. I cannot shrink from the work. I am here with you, fae sister!
Thought-provoking piece, Katrina. Thanks.
I don't know what to call myself either. In Pagandom, I've taken to referring to myself as a Witch at Large. In the interfaith world where I'm active, I call myself a Pagan. Sometimes I call myself an uppity woman or a Second Wave Feminist. I've never really thought to publicly identify myself by my sexuality, het woman, which is very "white bread" and old-fashioned. Not only het, but serially monogamous for the most part. It seems almost a liability these days to say you're het, but I am proudly and happily so. I tend towards intellectualism but only have a BA, which doesn't carry much weight, at least in public and professional worlds, no matter how much you've studied, trained, and can articulate, even teach.
My biological heritage is Irish, Dutch, French Huguenot, Euro-mongrel. My social heritage is Roman Catholic on one side and conservative Methodist, temperance-crusading, women's rights and education on the other, with distinct East Coast sensibilities, now mellowed by more than half a century living on the Left Coast. My maternal political heritage is conservative Republican (altho what my relatives might think of current trends in the GOP I cannot imagine, since they did have brains and they did think and they did have a social conscience), yet I am much farther left in my outlook than any elected official I know. My paternal political heritage is blue collar Democratic, except that my dad broke with his family on politics and allied with my mother's family's conservatism.
I'm a former hippie, a home-birth advocate, a home death and green burial advocate, an opponent of capital punishment and resorting to warfare to resolve humankind's differences. I support the right to conscious self-deliverance. I rejoice in any and all consensual expressions of love and eros. I'm a lover and a mom.
I have never missed voting in an election and I disrespect those who don't avail themselves of this hard-won right. (I have ancestors who fought the Brits in the American Revolution.) I support workers' rights. I recognize our interdependence on this planet, so could be called a greenie. I'm a committed environmentalist in my day-to-day life (in terms of eating locally grown food, expanding public transit, recycling, preserving open space and wildlife, opposing exploitation of natural resources [strip mining, oil-drilling, nuclear facilities, agribusiness, monocultures, clear-cutting timber, overuse of pesticides, genetic modification, etc.]) I want to make the city streets "safe for dancing," as my old friend Tony Serra said when he ran for mayor of SF on the Platypus Party ticket.
Well, you got me going there, my friend. Thought-provoking read, as I said. ;-)
xo,
Macha
Lovely azaleas!
[cough][gag][snort][sneeze]
Just lovely...
I know what you mean.
I feel you. There is too much bs- particularly when people decide that their temperament is tantamount to truthful and ignore everyone else.
I get irked by immature extroverts or closet introverts who ignore you REPEATEDLY and then pretend you're out of line for being upset by the time they can't pretend you didn't say anything anymore. I find that the same people will ignore you if you blow up right away, too, and that it's because they just don't think that honoring what you value is important to maintaining a relationship, or even worse: that you don't know what you value at all and that it's all a mind game for their pleasure or annoyance. Then they call you passive-aggressive, aggressive, moody, touchy and temperamental. I call them "not listening".