Ignorant Historian

When I dyed my hair last week, it started me thinking about how little of my 20s I have left. I don’t mean that in a “poor me” way, but as a motivation to make the most of the days I do have, however many or few I have left on this earth.

That said, I’ve decided to come up with a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30 on December 15, 2012. That happens to be 6 days before the “end of the world,” so it’s a good deadline, right?

I have no idea how many of these I’ll actually accomplish. I tried to make them realistic, but I know that when I have a lot of goals, some seem to fall by the wayside. That’s okay…the point is not to be perfect, but to challenge myself in a healthy way.

All that said, these are 30 things I’m working to accomplish before my clock hits “30.”

1. Read the Bible twice through.

The way I read the Bible, I read through different sections at different paces. But I want to read every part at least twice in the next 16 months. Will continue to keep me in the Word, which is a good thing.

2. Memorize Colossians.

I actually want to finish memorizing the disciplined eating questions and verses as well as Romans 6 and 7 before I get to Colossians. So yeah, this is a challenge. Memorizing isn’t hard for me, but it takes dedication and consistency, which I want to work on.

3. Lose 50 pounds.

Okay, this goal sounds HUGE. It is huge. Fifty pounds is a large bag of dog food like those I had to lift too many times as a cashier because some customers insisted on putting them on the belt, though I told them not to.

But, 50 pounds is a pound a week, with about 18 weeks of forgiveness. Incredibly doable if I stick with my eating and exercise regimen.

And yes, I definitely have 50 pounds to lose. In fact, I will still have another 40 on the other side until I get to a healthy weight. Yes, I want to look better (who doesn’t?), but I want my chief motivation to be to better honor God with my life.

4. Save $2,000.

With the move, my emergency savings got cut into a lot. I want to bounce back, for sure. I can’t find security in money, but I do want to use it wisely.

5. Publish The Journal.

It’s still my goal to self-publish my debut novel at the end of this year. Need to get working on editing though, especially if I want to do NaNoWriMo again, which I’m not sure I will this year.

6. ________________.

This goal will remain private. I have no problem being open, but there are things that are not wise to talk about in such a public forum.

7. Pay down my student loans to $XX,000.

I really wish I get these down to 4 figures by the end of next year, but it’s not going to happen unless I stumble onto a pile of cash. But I am pushing myself…I really don’t want to be paying them until December 2019 as I’m scheduled to do.

8. Write What about Emotions (working title).

This is a non-fiction book that is in its infancy. When I have a final product with my novel, I want to get back to this project.

9. Read 160 books.

Perhaps not much of stretch, as this is my current pace (actually, I read a bit faster than that, usually). That’s okay…I have to have some super-realistic goals on this list, right?

10. Read 5 classics.

I don’t read these very fast. I almost always enjoy them, but they take a lot of work.

11. Swim a mile (again).

I want to get back in the pool. There’s just something about swimming that I absolutely love. I think this will be a big part of goal #3.

12. Work a polling place during an election.

Actually, this is on my schedule for next month. I’m looking forward to it. I’d totally do it for the experience, but I’ll be thankful for the financial compensation, too.

13. Celebrate our 30th birthdays with Dana.

Not sure what we’ll be doing, but we’ll be doing something, alright.

14. Cut caffeine down to only one Diet Dr Pepper a week.

I had been down to 2-3 a week earlier this summer, but it has creeped back up with the move and the work craziness. I’m working on slowly getting this back down. I like the stuff, but I don’t want to have it all the time.

15. Sell 100 copies of The Journal.

I’m not planning on this being a moneymaker, but it’d be nice to make back the little bit of money I’ve put in it. I have no idea if I’d even sell 100 copies, or if I’m totally low-balling myself.

16. Make an author website.

I hope to have this done soon. I guess that means I have to get started on it, huh?

17. Fast 16 days.

Not in a row, for sure. But I’d like to take a day a month to fast and pray.

18. Pray through Operation World.

I want to pray for every country throughout the next year.

19. Spend time on Yom Kippur fasting, praying, and thinking.

I’m not Jewish, but I do want to take this holiday God gave His people to remember what He has done for me.

20. Decorate my apartment for Christmas.

I’ve slowly been collecting Christmas decorations through the years, but this will the first year that everything will be my own.

21. Meet my niece.

This is kinda a big deal and should happen well before my 30th birthday…

22. Write in my journal 100 times.

That works out to about every 4 or 5 days, which isn’t really a lot. But it’s more than I’ve written in the past year or two. Journaling is a great way for me to process.

23. Make a baby blanket for Bean.

This is a late addition. I just learned how to crochet (well, I learned a simple stitch in college, but didn’t really do much with it). I learned on a whim (because others were doing it), and I’m glad I did, as I really enjoyed it.

24. Have an empty to-read shelf.

I have no idea if this is possible. I don’t necessarily have to read everything on the shelf, but if I choose not to read it, I need to get rid of it.

This would be easier if I didn’t ask for any books for Christmas, but that’s not likely to happen…

25. Write 70 encouraging letters or emails.

I’d actually like to write more, but this is a good goal number.

26. Bake bread.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. I do plan on doing this in a bread machine, though.

27. Make my own laundry detergent.

This is slated for whenever I finish my current bottle. It takes a while for a single girl to go through detergent, though…

28. Finish recording the Chronicles of Narnia for my niece.

I’m halfway through The Magician’s Nephew which is going faster than I expected. 6 1/2 books to go…

29. Walk 4 miles on the treadmill.

Not like that’s very far (I’m pretty sure I’ve walked around the streets of Turkey for at least that far), but I’d still like to do it.

30. Read the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon.

They’ve both been sitting on my shelves since college. I started reading the Qur’an this summer, but I’d like to finish both by some time next year.

I’ve mentioned this book twice in the past month. Love to Eat, Hate to Eat is the book that I preferred over the still-good Made to Crave, and is the other book I chose to read based on my desires to really address my food and laziness idols.

Because that’s really what my issues were with diet and exercise. Idols. Or actually they’re only one idol, the idol of pleasure. An idol that I frequently serve when I’m making small decisions, like what to eat or what to do.

Elyse Fitzpatrick does an excellent job of biblically addressing eating issues, no matter what those are for you. Perhaps you struggle like me with overeating. Or perhaps you “hate to eat,” and struggle with anorexic or bulimic tendencies. Whichever is the case for you, Fitzpatrick accurately identifies the root causes of both as matters of sinful hearts.

I’m in the process of memorizing the 12 questions and the corresponding verses found in the book and here. I’ve also posted them on my fridge, so I have no excuse. I may always struggle with these idols, but I’m willing to put in the long-term effort to address them.

While the fruits of the fight shouldn’t be my goal, I’ve already reaped the benefits, feeling better than I have in a long time. My clothes are starting to fall off me, and I can comfortably fit in clothes that once were too tight. Presumably losing weight makes me more attractive to my future husband. My doctor lit up when I visited her last week for a follow-up appointment (I was down about 20 pounds from the last time I visited her). While I was once well on my way towards diabetes and other weight-related issues, I’m now heading in the other direction.

I’m sorry I don’t have more to say other than “read it!” I can’t say anything more than to say that this book (excepting the Holy Spirit and God’s Word) has done the most to help down the right path. And really, that’s a lot to say.

Every day since June 1st (it just happened to be the first when I started, that wasn’t my plan), I’ve taken at least a 20-minute walk.

Yes, every day for the last 6 weeks.

I’m only now mentioning this on the blog, because I was hesitant to post about something I wouldn’t follow through. I’ve done this before, only to give up after a month or two. I still might give up, but I don’t think I will.

Even when I found out about the move two weeks into doing this, I still kept it up. With packing and other busyness I haven’t taken as long as walks as I’d eventually like (mid-June I was up to 60-minute walks), but I plan on ramping that back up after I get settled in my new place. Next week is also camp at church, so every evening will taken up by that.

I know that this is *only* walking, but it’s making a difference, because I have been losing weight. I’ve lost 16 pounds since April (got a jump start with the pneumonia, losing the first 7 pounds). I still have a long way way to go, but it feels great to have loose pants and a noticeably ( to me) smaller gut. This is a crucial time for me weight-loss wise, because the last time I was this serious (summer 2006), I lost 16 pounds before falling back into bad habits and gaining again. But I’m hopefully that taking it one day at a time, one decision at a time, I can continue towards better health.

So what makes me think this time is different? The motivation is different, for one thing. I’m not obsessed with the numbers of it all. It’s more like a report card than anything.

Instead of primarily wanting to look better or get a man, I primarily want to honor God through my choices. And choosing to self-indulge again and again doesn’t honor him.

I’m not perfect at this yet. But the walking has helped. My body’s intolerance for as large of doses of sugary things as I once indulged in has helped too. Cutting my budget to eat out a whole lot less has helped, too.

Two books that have also greatly helped me in this journey are Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. Reviews to come.

I say this all to encourage you that you too can make positive changes in your life, whatever those changes need to be. We aren’t the centers of our own universes.

Photo by parl

June was both the best and the worst month for my goals.

The bad news (let’s get it out of the way) is that I didn’t do 2 of my 6 goals AT ALL in June. I knew I hadn’t done them in a while, but I didn’t realize it had been all month. I didn’t not work on Scripture memory or editing/writing. I really need to get back into editing my book so it’ll be ready for Christmas time, but I won’t do that until I get settled into my apartment.

The good news? I’ve exercised every day this month. EVERY DAY. More on that later…it has to do with a challenge I made myself for the month.

Overall, June was a pretty good month for me. Besides exercise, eating out is something I’ve also been excelling in (well, excelling in not eating out). Nothing like a budget crunch to kick the bad habit.

I did well enough to earn another reward: navy flower pillows for my new living room that I’ve been lusting for. I will definitely point them out when I post pics of the new place.

So July will continue the craziness a bit…I think it’ll be the last week of July before I’ll have a “normal” non-moving, non-camp week. So while I’ll try to work on the areas that I’m lacking in, they’ll probably be pretty abysmal in July again, and that’s okay.

I’m not happy with my life.

I don’t mean to say that I want to change my circumstances. I mean to say I don’t like how I’m living my life. I feel like I’m spending each day waiting for it to be over, and each week waiting for it to be over. Instead of actively deciding how I want to spend my life, I feel like I’m passively letting it happen to me.

Getting over pneumonia was hard…much harder for me than actually having pneumonia. I may have wanted nothing more than to stop coughing at the time, but when I started feeling better, it was the exhaustion, mental and physical, that was hard. For two weeks afterwards I didn’t have the energy to do anything. Lots of TV watching and staring off into space, that’s about it.

Then a week or so ago, I started regaining my normal energy, praise God. But having done nothing for two weeks, it was hard to get going. It’s still hard to get going…I want to continue to relax and be self-indulgent.

I started writing this post over the weekend, and I’m happy to say that things are looking up. I’ve decided to start focusing on building/eliminating one thing a week. This week I’ve decided to add in exercise. So far so good. Trading 20-30 minutes of walking around the block for TV watching is definitely worth it. I’ve started reading again (it’s been a while since I could pick up a book and actually understand what I was reading!) which is refreshing.

Photo by Alfonso Siloniz

Seriously, is it April? How did THAT happen?

March has been a good month for some goals, thanks to the help of my new med and the new desire it’s put in me to exercise, even if just a little a time.

That said, I’ve let others go, getting lazy. The warm weather we had mid-month was awesome…and then the cold and rain hit again. I think we’re all affected by the weather to some extent, but it seems like I’m overly affected by it. In turn, it’s hard not to allow my mood dictate my actions.

To this end, I’ve been memorizing and meditating on 1 Peter 4:7 these past few days:

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (ESV)

In March, I earned 93 points which is better than the 83 I earned in February (though, of course, I had the benefit of extra 3 days).

Of the 6 goals that I’m tracking, the one that I was the most successful at in March was writing/editing for 30 minutes each day, doing that 19 times in March. Reading 100 pages a day was a close second.

Though the reading and writing were my best “subjects” in March, the one that I’m most proud of is exercising 20 minutes. I did so 9 times in March. Not only is that more than I did so in January or February, I more often than not exercised more than 20 minutes on those days. This is definitely something I hope to continue working on in April.

Sadly, the thing I was the worse at was actually my Bible reading. I’ve set a high goal for myself–reading 10 chapters a day–which I only reached 6 times in March. I did read at least one chapter most days, but I would like to work on this some more as well, as it really is simply a matter of priorities. This will be the goal that will earn me double points in April.

By the end of March, I was 17 points away from earning my second reward. Hopefully I’ll earn that tomorrow or Wednesday. My reward this time is Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst, a book that I’ve been looking forward to reading since I first heard about it a couple of months ago. Since I still have a shelf of books I want to read, I couldn’t justify picking up another any other way!

I may have forgotten to post yesterday. I apologize to my family and friends who were worried that I fell down a well.

I’ve mentioned it before that it’s been hard for me to stay on top of things during tax season. While my personal life is not any crazier this time of year, it sure feels like it is. The combination of only working in my regular office every other day and the hectic days themselves make the weeks go by so fast this time of year. It’s like I blink and it’s Friday again.

The last couple of weeks have had added complications. For ongoing non-life-threatening medical issues I won’t go into publicly, I’ve been prescribed a medicine that does two things to me (beyond what it’s prescribed to do):

1. Causes what I’ll euphemistically call “digestive consequences” every few days which I believe is exacerbated by eating sugary and fatty foods.

2. Causes Diet Dr Pepper to taste nasty.

While most people would likely be more thrown off by the first side effect (which I’ll agree is not pleasant), the second one has thrown me for a loop. Not that I need Diet Dr Pepper or even feel like I must have it, but it’s just about my favorite thing to ingest. But now that it tastes nasty, I don’t even really want one. In the past week, I have had some (not even finishing the drink), but only because it comes with my Chick-fil-a meal.

Since I’ve never been one for coffee or tea (and have no interest in changing that fact), that means I’m now caffeine free. It’s made for some interesting mornings. I’m not sure I ever woke up on Friday. I think this will be a good change, but it will still take a little bit to get used to.

The good thing, though, is that this drug definitely gives me motivation to make the much needed diet and exercise changes. While the craziness of tax season still encourages me to eat out a couple of times a week and hinders me from going the pool, I can take baby steps.

Speaking of steps, that is the baby step I’m taking in the exercise department. I ordered this pedometer that I had heard good things about…I highly recommend it. My previous $3 pedometer certainly wasn’t cutting it…what’s the point of a pedometer if it doesn’t count ALL your steps? This one does and much more.

So I’m working up towards walking 10,000 steps in a day. It’s something that I can do on my crazy days as well as on my less busy days.

So far the baby steps I’ve taken have definitely helped me…I’ve already lost 2.4 pounds, and I feel like I’m losing weight, if that makes sense. It’s in the small things!

Disclaimer: I received and will not receive any compensation for the good things I said about the pedometer. Just want to share something that’s helped me!

Photo by Nick Harris1

Happy New Year’s!

What else should I do for my first post of 2011, but talk about resolutions?  While choosing to write about resolutions on January 3rd isn’t creative, it is what everyone is talking about, so I’m jumping in.

This year, I’ve decided to make goals that can be measured daily.  I’ve made a small calendar (that I can keep in the cover of my Nook, hehe) to track which days I’ve done these 6 things:

1.  Read 10 chapters of the Bible.

2.  Work on Scripture memory. Specifically, I want to read or recite five times the chapter I’m working on memorizing, or if it’s just a verse or two, read or recite them 20 times.

3.  Read 100 pages (with 2 minutes of audio book equally one page).  This will keep me on track to read 120 books this year.  Definitely the most pleasurable thing on my resolutions list (and probably would get done anyway).

4. Exercise 20 minutes. By far the hardest thing on this list for me!

5. No unnecessary eating out. “Necessary” eating out is when it’s with friends or when I don’t have time to stop by home on my way to something.  Basically, I want to stop eating out (especially since it’s usually  junk that creates a lot of trash) when I’m just being too lazy to make something.

6.  Write or edit for 30 minutes. I really enjoy it, but if I don’t make time for it, it’s easy to ignore.  But this is important for my future goals (more information about that coming soon).

Sundays are free, so I get a break.  Each thing I complete earns me one “X” on that calendar date.  Every 125 Xs earns me one reward. That would be 3.5 weeks of perfect behavior or, more realistically, a month of good behavior.  I think my first reward will be a bottle of nail polish, and I have a list of other ideas, including dinner out, books, MP3 albums, jewelry, a purse, and trips to the beach or the cabin.  I’ll decide these as I go, as I’ll likely think of other things as I go along.

Will I be successful?  Perhaps.  History says “not quite,” but I’m not aiming for perfect.  I am wanting to maintain, establish, and re-establish good habits in my life.  In the short term, none of these seem too monumental, but they’ll help me get to my long-term goals and dreams.

1.  What is your favorite Bill of Rights right?

Freedom of religion.  Though I’m quite fond of the whole of the first amendment…thankful that I can believe what I believe, practice what I practice, and share it with others.

2.  If you could host a Reality TV show, which one would it be?

The Amazing Race would be cool because it’d be fun to go all the places they go without the stress of the race.  Plus, with all that traveling would come a lot of time to read! (Now the real reason I like to travel comes out…)

3. How would you describe your taste in the opposite sex?

Besides the obvious (that I’m looking for godly, single man), I’d definitely say I’m attracted to the nerdier type and guys that can make me laugh.  I want to be able to have intelligent discussions AND have fun.  I’m not picky physically, though I do tend to be intimidated by taller men.

4. What is your policy on book lending?

I love to do it.  While I’d like to say that I’ve gotten back every book I’ve lent, that’s not the case.  But I’ve been blessed with books, and if they’re good, I want to share!  If it’s not good, then I won’t even keep them.

5. In what way are you better than you were six months ago?

I’m stronger, I know.  I can swim longer than I have in years and faster than I ever have.  (The other day I was the fastest one in the pool, though that’s not saying much…there were only 5 others there, all older than me.)  I hope I’m godlier as well, but I feel like I have further to go than ever.

Monday morning, I didn’t know what would hit me.  But by Monday afternoon I had decided (all my decisions are of-the-moment, though these are things I’ve been thinking about for weeks in the back of my mind):

a.) I did want to take the 8:30-5:30 shift (working 1/2 hour earlier) that was offered me over a month ago.

b.) I am ready to commit to getting healthy instead of just thinking/talking/putting it off.

For me, these two decisions go hand-in-hand.  In the 4 years I’ve been working the same hours (and to think before that my shifts changed DAILY), I’ve gotten lazy, taking more time than needed in the morning.  This just wasn’t cutting it.  I’m all for relaxing, but dragging out what should take 30-60 minutes into an 1 1/2 hours, sometimes even more, is ridiculous.  I just simply wasn’t starting off the day on the right foot.

So as I was thinking about building better habits into my life, I realized that if I changed my schedule, I could have a new start at better starts to my day.  So far I’ve done this twice, and I’m enjoying it.  Working earlier does mean a little more traffic, but getting home earlier (and to bed earlier!) helps me be a happier and–along with the other changes in my life–healthier person.

The big commitment I made Monday was to join SparkPeople.  I’ve been contemplating it for ages and have heard good things about it, but I just took the plunge.  I love that it allows me to easily track my meals (most foods’ nutritional information is pre-loaded into the system already), track my exercise, and track my water consumption.  There are plenty of encouraging/informative articles and things too (some are a little too just-love-yourself-more for my taste).

Isn't my water bottle cute? Bonus: it's better for the environment than those dumb styrofoam cups!

I’ve been doing this for a couple of days now, and though it’s a bit premature, I think it’s going to work for me.  It appeals both to my competitive nature (you can earn points and it keeps track of “streaks”–how many days in a row you’ve done your self-selected goals) and my visual, analytical side (it makes graphs for you).  I also like how it’s not pushing me…my beginning goals are each day to go for a walk, write in my journal, eat 2 fruits/veggies, sleep 8 hours/night, and drink half my weight in ounces (which is umm, a lot!).  These were pretty much my goals before, I just am now getting visual accountability for them.

While I need to lose weight, my real goal is to be healthy.  I’ve been overindulgent, and when I am overindulgent in one area of my life, I am in all areas of my life.

As an out-of-the blue bonus of these changes?  Don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t “need” a Diet Dr Pepper in the afternoon the last 2 days (though I still drank one on Tuesday, anyway)!  That’s a habit I’ve had for almost half my life…