GOAL UPDATE!

I have decided to tackle my YA fantasy novel edit once and for all. No more putting it off. No more excuses. No more I love you's.

"But Kristina," you say, "you are entering your hardest semester in school!"
To that I say, you are correct. But this really won't add that much extra stress.
Plus, it complies nicely with thirdly goal #4: "Take time every week to read/write for fun. I think this is important. I would say every day, but that's not likely."

So! Every Sunday, I shall edit one chapter. That way, in about 11 weeks, I will have the entire book done!
"Why is it going to take so long?" you ask.
Because I basically have to rewrite it. But it's all good.

Okay, that's all.

Kurt's Manventure

As if Man Weekend 2010 wasn't enough, Nikkia presented Kurt with an awesome opportunity in September: a 2 week, multiple species hunt in northern British Columbia, Canada. So he took it! Like I said, he was gone for 2 weeks, but on top of that, we didn't speak on the phone for that whole two weeks, and only twice through email. It was hard for me to be left behind (it's always easier to be the one gone in these scenarios), but I'm glad he got to go. 

They were based out of this lodge, in the middle-of-nowhere, BC, Canada, but only stayed there for a few nights.

The view from the lodge. Pretty gorgeous, huh?

 Then they flew out to their cabin, even more in the middle of nowhere. Only the pilot, one person, and some gear could fit on the plane at a time. This is the view as they flew (oooers, rhyming).

 Nikkia's elk. It was basically an elk and moose hunt. Nikkia got both but Kurt was unable to get an elk (due to foul weather). Which is just as well, because we barely fit the moose meat as it was.

 They rode horses all day long. Fuuuuuun.

 Here is Kurt's moose. Yay Kurt! Yay his moose! His moose is tasty!

Kurt's guide ... can't remember his name now, but he had no teeth. Yay Kurt's guide!

Then Kurt and Nikkia drove back to Spokane, where Kurt flew to DIA, where I met him and we left straight on our cruise. He was so hairy I didn't even recognize him at first, lol. Not to mention he was wearing camo pants, a plain gray hoody, and sunglasses. He basically looked like the unabomber.

Man Weekend '10

Another old post. I stumbled on these pics while doing the last post. Anyhow, the weekend I threw Camille her baby shower, Kurt and his good friends, James and Evan, had Man Weekend 2010. They left early in the morning...

Hiked a bunch...

 

Fished a bunch...




And rolled rocks off cliffs. Because they're a bunch of big kids.


This is why we love Colorado:




In the end, Kurt came home with a bunch of fish stories, none of which I believed. Okay, just kidding. But look how cute and proud he is of his widda fish:

June 2010

Soooo, I have something really old to post. The weekend after I got back from my June residency, my widda bwudda, Collin, came to visit. The reason I never posted about it is because we took pictures using Kurt's phone and until recently couldn't figure out how to easily get the pictures off the phone. Luckily we did in time for Kurt to get a new one! Collin flew in at about 2 am (thanks to flight delays) and we took him to get some yummy Middle Eastern food. Then the next day, the boys slept while I worked. Then we headed up to the mountains, where we camped for the night. In the morning we took Collin mountain biking, and got some awesome shots ...

Then we raced over to Mt. Evans before they closed the road for the day ...

It was, as usual, really cold and windy up there, but man, what a great shot!

Then we went home, ate Indian food, watched some Flight of the Conchords, slept a few hours, then took Collin back to the airport. It was a quick, but really fun trip! Thanks for coming, bud!

January - April Goals 2011

I've decided, to help lessen my load during this semester, to do one set of goals for the first four months of the year. That way I'll still have something to work towards, but I won't get overwhelmed. Because if there's one thing I'm really good at doing, it's getting overwhelmed.

1. Be diligent about my physical therapy exercises. I'm dying to get back into kickboxing, weight lifting, cycling, and swimming. During my school residency, my legs ached from not being used very much. So to do that, I need to do my PT exercises every four hours. And sit with good posture. I already walk/stand with pretty good posture.
2. Stay on top of school work. That means working a little bit every day. I'm usually one of those binge people. Don't work all week, then on Saturday just kill myself by reading/researching/writing for hours on end. Not the brightest way to tackle such a daunting semester. I'm registering with the office of disabilities at my school this semester, but I only want those accommodations to be a last-minute resort. I've managed to turn everything in on time so far in my college/graduate career. I can continue that trend in my third semester.
3. Keep the house clean. Yes, yes, an on-going goal for me. But with school going to be so heavy and the big kitchen reno going on, this house is going to have a tendency to look pretty scary most days.
4. Take time every week to read/write for fun. I think this is important. I would say every day, but that's not likely.

That should do it. Kinda like one goal per month, huh? Not that I'll tackle it that way, but when I say it that way, it doesn't sound so bad.

2011 Goals

And now I present, 2,011 goals for 2011.


#2,011: Just kidding. :D I may be mentally disordered, but I'm not crazy! Anyhow, I'm approaching this new year with mostly optimistic thoughts. I'll be honest, I'm very intimidated by this semester of school. Completely edit all 4 chapters thus written in my second book, write 4 new chapters, write a 25 page critical paper, and read 5 books and conduct lots o' research for said paper. Yes, I'm slightly terrified. I can handle it. I know I can. My last semester at BYU I was taking 15 incredibly difficult credits (okay, maybe the 2 credits for swimming wasn't difficult, but it was therapeutic!), working 15 hours a week, and was president of Laugh Out Loud (damn, ruined my parallel sentence structure). Not to mention the fact that I was slowly losing my mind and wasn't entirely aware of it! So if I can do that, I can do anything! Spit on the moon! Sing like Mariah Carey! Dress like Lady Gaga!
Hmm, maybe not that last one.
So, my goals for 2011 ...

1. Completely edit my YA fantasy book.
2. Finish my YA fiction book (the one I'm writing for school).
3. Learn how to bake pies and work with pastry dough.
4. Continue to stay healthy. Right now that's on a bit of a hiatus, thanks to my sciatica acting back up. But hopefully I'll be back in the gym doing real work outs (kickboxing, cycling, swimming, weight lifting) in a few weeks.
5. Give up daily sodas ... at some point this year.
6. Rely on the Lord more. Build a better relationship with my Savior.
7. Increase my skill in piano playing. Even if it's just by a little.
8. Eat at least 2 servings of veggies every day. I used to be good about this, but I can't really eat them raw anymore, and lately I've been too lazy to cook literally anything (other than toast). Enough of that nonsense!

That sounds purty good, eh?

December and 2011 Year Goals Recap

Hello from beautiful Tryon, NC! I'm at school right now (our residency is not on campus this semester due to limited housing but instead at a beautiful hotel in North Carolina). The area is pretty, not too chilly. The classes are interesting and inspiring. And best of all, I'm staying with my awesome friend Lindsay at her super cute house. I love being here and being immersed in this literary world. Of course, I miss Kurt and my puppies and snowboarding, probably in that order. But I'll see them soon enough.

Real quick: December goals recap:

-Get caught up on my blog posts! I have like 4 or 5 to do! I hope to do them this weekend. I wanted to do them over Thanksgiving, but we went to Tucson and left our home computer with all the pics (took Kurt's work computer) so that idea flew out the window. I have a certain friend who's going to kill me if I never get Halloween pics up, lol. Fail. And that's okay.

-Edit as much of my book as I possibly can. Fail. Also okay.

As you can see, I didn't really stick to either of my goals and I'm not too upset about it. The reason? I had an awesome Christmas with my family and friends and I have plenty of time to complete both of those projects. 

Now, for my 2011 Year Goals! dun dun dun!

-Lose 20 pounds by June. I know--I have 20 pounds to lose. It sounds like a lot. But I can definitely do it in 6 months. Definitely failed on that, but that was out of my control, so I don't feel bad. And I'm finally starting to really lose all that weight, so I'm happy. :)

-Stay on top of my homework. For this semester, that means reading 2-3 books every three weeks, writing 2-3 pages on each book, and writing a short story every three weeks. Oi. I'd say this was a success. There were a few times I got behind on writing my papers, but the books were always read on schedule, and the papers take about an hour, so that was no big deal.

-Keep my house clean! Big goal for me here. My therapist helped me break down my chores into things that need to be done weekly, things that need to be done semi-weekly, and things that need to be done monthly. I gave it a trial run in December and it was awesome! Before I was trying to get everything done every week. Well, I am OCD. Success. I actually did a really good job on this, for me. Sometimes, towards the end of the semester, things got a little unkempt, but never too bad. And my wonderful Kurt helped big time with the kitchen.

-Wake up every morning at 6:30. I need to actually do my hair in the morning, wear mascara, and get to work on time. Fail. I gave up on this pretty quickly. I'm okay with not doing my hair for work. I still look fine and no one cares, so why should I? 

-Work out 4 to 6 days a week. I feel so much better when I'm working out regularly. It really helps regulate my moods and stave off depression. Success! 

-Finish my book by the end of the year. Really, I'd like to have it finished and thoroughly edited by then, but with school I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on it. Success!

-TAKE MORE PICTURES. Overall, a success. I didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked, but still more than usual. :)

So, it's been a pretty good year. I'm going into to 2011 with happiness, confidence, and determination. I'll post my goals for 2011 and January after my residency. I'm thinking so much about my book (for school) and my big critical paper to do this semester, that I don't have thought for much else. But that's okay! My therapist would be so proud of me for being able to say that! :D

December Goals

I cannot believe the year is over. It's been a year of ups and downs, starting with losing Zumi on January 5th. But since then I've finished two semesters of grad school, we've started a kitchen remodel, acquired our two wonderful puppies, Silly Billy Swift and Silly Philly Ruby (as I've taken to calling them lately), and I've found a mix of meds that works really well for my bpd. Not to mention all of the awesome trips we've taken, the fun times we've had with friends, the many times we've been able to see our families. Life is wonderful. It's hard. Really hard. But it's pretty much the best.
Anyhow. Sorry, I have been very emotional lately. It's funny, I was listening to my ipod last night while riding the light rail up to see Kurt last night. The first song that came on was sad and I found myself utterly depressed. Then a few songs later, I really upbeat song came on and I just smiled and wondered at how awesome life is. You could say I have mood swings. ;)
Anyhow, December will be a good month! I'm having a fun time making lots of Christmas gifts. My friend Sarah has instituted a weekly craft night so I've really gotten into the crafting spirit. So far I've made a wreath (ala Allison's design) and a cake platter. I'm going to make another cake platter and this decorative heart thing that I can't describe and you'll just have to wait for pics.
Okay, seriously, time for goals. I'm rambly this morning.
-Get caught up on my blog posts! I have like 4 or 5 to do! I hope to do them this weekend. I wanted to do them over Thanksgiving, but we went to Tucson and left our home computer with all the pics (took Kurt's work computer) so that idea flew out the window. I have a certain friend who's going to kill me if I never get Halloween pics up, lol.
-Edit as much of my book as I possibly can.

I think that's good for this month. There are other things I'll work on (scripture reading, healthy eating), but I'm not going to make them official goals this month.

November Goals Recap

-Get back into eating healthy again! I've been awesome about working out, but pretty lazy about my eating habits. I blame candy corn. But I had the strength to throw away the last of it this morning and I am determined! Partial fail. I was pretty good about not eating bad stuff. But I didn't eat enough of the good stuff either. :(

-Edit a good chunk of my book. I would say half, but that might be overshooting it. My ultimate goal is the have the entire first edit done by December 31st. Remember how last year I did NaNoTryMo? Well, with two books already underway, I can't start a third (even though I have a rockin' idea). But I can do NaNoEdMo! (Ed = Edit) Huzzah! Fail. :(

-Continue to work on my scripture reading. Add to this, pray kneeling on the floor, not kneeling on the bed. Fail. :(

Yeah ... this month, not so good. I'll be honest, I've been struggling with depression pretty bad the past few weeks. Not very conducive to accomplishing things. The month started out well, but degenerated over time. This month is starting the same ... I'm feeling pretty good. But I don't anticipate getting depressed because I have lots of festivities and then off to Utah for Christmas and then off to South Carolina for my school resideny. So it'll be good! Until I get back from school and then I'll probably get depressed again, lol. Oh well, such is life! It's still worth living!! :)

Random Thoughts

Grad School.
Remember how I sat on my butt (head?) for years deciding what to get my Masters in?
And then I decided and two weeks later applied to schools and a month later was accepted to two and like two point six days later accepted one of them?
Well, I'm halfway done now.
^_^

Sponge.
So, being bi polar means I'm more emotional than your average bear. The majority of the time.
And then there are days when I feel like I'm drowning in emotion.
On those days, I soak it up like a sponge, from all around me.
Yesterday, a friend told me some devastating news.
Their pain became my pain.
But it didn't stop there.
Because once I get emotional, I don't just feel one emotion.
I get bombarded by emotions.
 Intense emotions.
It culminated in me slap happy and laughing at the stupidest things today at work.
I'm pretty sure everyone there thinks I'm crazy.
(You should see the emails I send out to our team ... I definitely used the phrase "Re-commence anticipatory salivation!" in the last one. That sounds really weird out of context. Umm ... it sounded weird in context too.)

Ashamed.
I subscribe to a blog that posts cute pictures of animals multiple times a day.
I might just be 14 years old again.

Plan-less.
I have no plans for the weekend.
This is amazing!
I plan on kickboxing, cleaning, and editing/writing all weekend.
Yummy.

Christmas gift.
I've been asked what my gift from Kurt was:
a hot pink, new generation iPod Nano.
With my email engraved on back.
In case I lose it.
Because I am married to an accountant who thinks of those things.

I love Kurt.

Kurt gave me my birthday/Christmas present last night.

It arrived in the mail yesterday.

My birthday's not for another 13 days

And, well, you know when Christmas is.

Last year he did the same thing,

giving me my birthday/Christmas present

in October.

He can never wait.

He's too excited.

(Well, Kurt's version of excited.)

I think it's cute.

November Goals

I'm feeling so much better this month than I was last month. Maybe it's because my fun Halloween weekend finally kicked me into high spirits. Maybe it's because my semester is done in a week (basically... I mail off my last assignment in a week, which means I'm done). Maybe it's because Harry Potter 7: Part 1 is coming out in 17, no, 16 days. Or maybe it's because my birthday is in 22 days. So many good things!
-Get back into eating healthy again! I've been awesome about working out, but pretty lazy about my eating habits. I blame candy corn. But I had the strength to throw away the last of it this morning and I am determined!
-Edit a good chunk of my book. I would say half, but that might be overshooting it. My ultimate goal is the have the entire first edit done by December 31st. Remember how last year I did NaNoTryMo? Well, with two books already underway, I can't start a third (even though I have a rockin' idea). But I can do NaNoEdMo! (Ed = Edit) Huzzah!
-Continue to work on my scripture reading. Add to this, pray kneeling on the floor, not kneeling on the bed.

Yay, new goals!

October Goals Recap

Wow, I only did two posts in October. And they were only about goals. All time low. I apologize. I actually have quite a bit to post, I'm just waiting until next week when I finish my semester. Yippee! I've got cruise pics and Halloween hubbub. Oh joy.

October Goals: The Results
-Continue to read my scriptures every day. Fail. Wasn't too good about this. Poop.
-Continue to stay on top of house work. I'd say success. I did pretty well! Well enough to count it as a success, at least. :)
-Continue to stay on top of school work. Success! Yay, I'm 2 for 3 this month!

October Goals

I'm not feeling particularly motivated right now. It's fall, which means I'm slipping slowly from hypomania to depression. A very slow slip, so I'm having mixed symptoms right now. I should probably wait to post this till a day when I'm feeling a little more upbeat, but now is as good as ever. I'm behind on a lot of things right now and I can easily get this done real quick, so it's one less thing to do. Anyhow! I really am happy. Just got back from an awesome cruise in the Caribbean. Kurt is back at home. My semester is almost done. And today is a wonderfully chilly and rainy day. I LOVE days like this. Makes me want to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot herbal tea and watch a movie. Can't do that--have to work--but I'm still going to get a cup of hot blueberry tea and I'm wearing a cuddly cardigan. Today I'm going to put out my Halloween decorations. I can't believe it's time for that already. Craziness. I'm just feeling a little tired today because I have four submissions to read for my writing groups to be done asap and three papers and major editing on my school story (I'm writing two books right now) to do by Thursday. Oh, and we have a blocked tub drain and complete strangers coming to stay with us this weekend. And I'm tired from our very long travel day home on Sunday. But never fear! I shall conquer! ANYHOW! On to my goals for the month.
-Continue to read my scriptures every day.
-Continue to stay on top of house work.
-Continue to stay on top of school work.

Man I'm creative this month.

September Goals Recap

So, I have a very valid excuse as to why I haven't posted this yet. I was on a cruise! I actually didn't leave on my cruise till the 2nd, but the two weeks before that Kurt was gone and I was focusing so hard on trying not to be lonely that lots of things slid by the wayside. Kurt and I have been separated for longer than 2 weeks, but this time was definitely the hardest. He went to Canada for a big hunt with his brother Nikkia and we weren't able to talk for the whole 2 weeks either. That was the hardest part. He was able to email me once towards the beginning of the trip, but that was it. But since the time apart was followed directly by a week of being with each other 24/7, it wasn't too bad. But more on our cruise later!
September Goals:
-Read scriptures every day, even if it's just one verse. A repeat, yes, but it's a worth repeat. I did really well on this until the cruise. Oh wait, the cruise was October. Then, huzzah, I succeeded!


-Stay on top of school work. Oh, dang, another repeat. Success!

-Keep house clean. This is harder than you think. Success! It wasn't too hard with it only being me to clean up after for half the month, but still.

-Start editing my boooook! Fail. I probably won't be able to start it till after my semester ends, on November 12th. Ah well.