1st Quarter New Year's Goal Review

Well, the new year is one-fourth gone already. Nope, I can't believe it either. So how are all those new year's goals of mine coming along? I think about as well as can be expected, all things considered. Here's the breakdown.

1. Make my business more profitable - In progress. The 1st quarter of the year was filled with not-so-successful attempts at bringing in additional income, and I haven't been able to close any deals with new client prospects. But I'm about to launch my Blogging for Business class, and I have a good feeling about it. I really hope and pray that it takes off, because between developing this class and writing for Demand Studios to make ends meet, I barely have time for anything else.
   
2. Get health insurance/get ready to try again - In progress. Obviously, the health insurance depends on the first goal, and I'm nowhere near there yet. But I started Project Oven Repair to improve my health and eliminate my PCOS, if indeed that's what caused the baby failures. I'm hoping we'll be in a good position financially for trying again right around the same time my health is sufficiently improved for it.
   
3. Write at least 6 days a week - In progress... sort of? I've got the letter of this goal down, if not the spirit. My intention was to write fiction 6 days a week, but I haven't written any fiction since NaNoWriMo. Instead I've been blogging, writing DS articles and writing promotional copy and course materials. I do, however, have plans for Dominion of the Damned once the blogging class is launched and out of the way.
   
4. New camera/photography classes - Still on the list. This is, of course, dependent on Goal #1, and it's really more Matt's goal than mine. I'd still like to take some classes with him, just for the fun of it, but he's got some actual photography career aspirations. We still have to do our taxes and I have no idea whether we'll be getting a refund, but if we do, it'll probably go toward a new camera so he can get started.
   
5. Run a 5K - In progress, as part of Project Oven Repair. And this goal is more to be able to run a 5K than to actually run an official one... although if Li'l Sis and Ash do the Autism Run again this year, I just might join them.
   
6. Practice my bass - In progress, albeit slow. I'm not able to practice as much as I'd like, but at least I'm doing it consistently, and I'm improving. I don't think it will be too much longer before I'll be able to keep up with Matt and his guitar.
   
7. Learn a new language - Still on the list. If we're counting scripting languages, which we are, then I got a good start on learning javascript in early February, but then Rob's death derailed it, and I just haven't had time to squeeze it in since then. When I get back to it I'll probably be back at square one.
   
8. Learn a new yarn craft - Still on the list. When I added this goal I was still hoping to get a yarn spinning kit for Christmas, but apparently Santa missed that memo. I've watched some videos on crocheting granny squares, but I haven't yet had the time or energy to dig out my yarn and crochet hooks and actually try it for myself.
   
9. Get my house in order - Heh, yeah. Still on the list. I'm practicing Random Acts of Housecleaning to try and stay on top of the mess, but neither of us has had the energy to deal with rearranging the furniture or putting away Mom's things, so the stuff we kept is still sitting right where my family left it on the day they helped us move it over here in December. It's a little chaotic and overwhelming, to be sure.
   
10. Will/life insurance - Still on the list. We just haven't been in the mood to deal with paperwork of any kind. But I know we need to suck it up and get this done anyway, and there's really no excuse. The last thing either of us wants is to do to each other, or to my family, what Mom and Rob did to us by not having this stuff taken care of.

So that's half of my goals in progress, which is better than I thought. I guess for three months that were as chaotic and depressing as the last three have been for us, that's really not bad at all. Now if I can just accomplish Goal #1, most of the others will fall into line.

At any rate, today I'm feeling a little more hopeful about the future. I'm afraid to say it and tempt those powers and principalities to show me what's what, but I have a strong feeling that we're about to turn a corner and actually have things be good for a while.

I really hope this feeling is right. I'm ready to try putting all of this grief and sadness behind me. I'm still taking it one day at a time, because if the last four months have taught us anything, it's that you never know what's going to happen, and it's best not to get too caught up in making plans. And you never know when latent grief is going to sneak up and put the whammy on you. But with my birthday only days away, I'm ready to call a mulligan on the year so far and declare a new New Year starting with my birthday - a new year that's full of recovery and hope and better things.

Here's hoping.