Novemberlutions, Week 1

I've done really well this week, despite some major and minor roadblocks that have made me want to bang my head against the wall.

1. HEALTH -I've met my exercise goals this week, even when I haven't really wanted to -it's much more fun to eat candy corn while reading a good book (not that I've ever done that before!)than squeeze into my too tight workout clothes and sweat it out at the gym. I weigh myself everyday, which is super obnoxious, and on Tuesday I weighed 135! Woohoo! But it was only my body tricking me. Stupid trickster! I'll stick to today's weight, which is 137.5. So, it's only a pound. But a pound is a pound, right?

2. FINANCES -Ugh. This has been the toughie. I have not bought myself not one single thing this week. Well, except for this.

It was only $3.99, and it was completely unnecessary, but whatever. I've wanted one since last year's book fair, and it sastified my need to buy something, anything.

And believe me, I have had to fight every urge to shop my sadness and irritability away at the mall, but using mint.com to track my finances, and seeing it all there in black and white, or in my case RED, RED, RED, we are always in the RED, has made it much easier to reign in my shopaholic tendencies. I mean, do I really, really, really need these?No, no, and NO! But they are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Anyway, even though I've done really well this week, J's paycheck was nowhere near what we expected, and that was so disappointing it sent me into a tailspin of crying fits. But, I still managed to drive my ass home, instead of the mall. Go me!

This brings me to another issue. Perhaps this should be:

FINANCES PART DEUX -I'm starting to look for a new job, and I might, just might, get a part-time retail job. Let's tackle the new job first. As a teacher, I get paid not much. Yes, I'm good at what I do, I enjoy it, and I get holidays and summers off, but the overwhelming financial concerns would definitely be offset by a higher salary. Moreover, I've been feeling very frustrated at work and have been aching for a change. The truth is, my job is great, but it's not very challenging. So, I'm starting to network, polishing off my resume, and researching staffing and recruiting offices. I realize that these are difficult economic times and that the job market has been experiencing a significant downturn, but I think it would be wise to begin sooner than later, especially when I am already currently employed. I would like to theoretically finish the school year, but if an exciting opportunity comes up, I'm not going to turn it down. About the part-time job, I'd hate to do it, mostly because of my pride, but a girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do. We'll see.

DREAM -I've only written 1000 words, and I'm already stuck as to what to do next. I have an idea, but I think I'm better at writing scenes or vignettes. I'm really struggling with how to string these scenes together. But I'm not giving up. I'm going to write some more today and dedicate tomorrow to getting at least 5000 words in print. :)

So that's it! I'm proud of what I've achieved, and I'm dedicated to accomplishing these goals. It's been a tough week, and I've got three more weeks to go, but I'll see you at the finish line!