New Year's Resolutions 2016 Update

Just a quick update on my "New Year's Resolutions" (let's just call them what they are: Goals. Ok? Mkay.)​

Religious:

1. Complete a Bible-in-a-Year plan. 
   • I am on 'Day 73' which is about a week ahead of schedule. I've been doing a lot of audio-Bible time on the way to or from work along with some worship songs. It has helped me be more centered throughout my day I feel. I've also been doing some shorter studies and devotionals to help with healing and on topics that I felt would benefit me. So far I've done short studies on: abuse, miscarriage, grief, depression, healing from pain, divorce, prayer, happiness, hope and finding comfort in the Lord.
2. Make more Wednesday Bible studies 
   •  I am doing well so far. I have only missed 2 weeks due to bad traffic one of the highways I have to take to get home (they started a new phase of construction on the highway, ugg!)
3. Invigorate my prayer life. 
   •  The  younger ladies at my congregation have decided we would like a class on this so have asked someone and she has agreed to teach a lesson for us! I'm pretty excited about this as it is an area I would really like to grow in and I think this class can help me do this.

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Health/Medical:

1. No soda. 
   • A few here and there that I still need to cut out but I never finish them as they are simply too sweet and I don't really enjoy the flavor anymore.
2. Prep more and try new things! 
   •  I've been meal prepping for Monday-Friday for the past few months now with great success... saves me money, time and helps me stay on track. I've been trying a lot of new ideas recipe wise... that means that there are less posted recipes though since I make something new instead of perfecting something I've already tried out so I think I need to work on finding a balance.
3. Water
   •  Most days I am keeping to my goal these days which is lovely. I'm not sure I really want the app to remind me to drink water on the weekdays at the office but I need it on the weekends still so reminders are staying on for now. :) When I don't make my goals I get headaches... interesting tidbit to let my neurologist know about. It could be dehydration is playing a part in my migraines more than we thought. I'm pretty much always on the edge of dehydrated it feels like but I've added extra Thermotabs and extra water since the New Year and haven't had to have an IV saline drip yet. Progress!
4. Meds
   •  Changed some things up but still doing well with the reminders my app is shooting my way.
5. Exercise! 
   •  Still walking... the 5k I signed up for isn't for a while yet so nothing new to report here really. 
   • I picked up a FitBit HR Charge to help with pushing me to meet my goals as well as track my heart rate. There have been some interesting observations on that front but my meds seem to be doing a good job most of the time keeping the tachycardia under control so I feel safe to continue my speed walking plan for now. Of course that med is actually to help with the migraines so there's that :P but both the neurologist and I knew that my heart rate and blood pressure would be affected by them as I've been on other medications of this class before for my tachycardia. The first few months were horrible and I couldn't exercise until my body adjusted to the meds. Looks like we're set now though so *fingers crossed* that the neurologist leaves them alone or that his changes don't affect my ability to stick to my plan.
6. Lose 50 pounds.
   •  So far I have lost 13.8 lbs. out of the 50 I had as a goal for the year.

Financial:

1. Budget, budget, budget! 
   •  Going strong... I'm LOVING the budgeting software I have now so I will definitely review it soon.
2. Pay off debt.
   •  So far I have paid off: $1,811.84 worth of debt between my vehicle, student loans and the credit card I took out to move last year.
3. Savings
   •  So far I have saved: $2,148.58. Part of this is due to not having to pay rent so far this year as I moved in with my parents as a step towards this goal. I still have storage fees and etc. but I'm trying to put as much as possible towards debt and saving for my future house as possible as well as a healthy emergency fund. I picked up some side hustles with tutoring and work with apps which I will let you guys know about in another month or so as well. I want numbers for 2-3 months to really see which apps I feel are worth looking into and which are a waste of time. So look for those posts in a month or two.

​Personal:

1. Get back into the dating world.
   •  I've been out in the world of online dating for a while now... nothing major update wise here.
2. Complete at least 50 blog posts this year. 
   •  So far this year: 8 of the 50 I had as a goal. I'll be working on getting this number up some.