5 Year Plan

One of the things that I do with clients is create goals.  When they first come into the program, we sit with them and make short and long term goals.  Then, every time we meet we set small tasks that eventually lead to completion of the larger goal.  Right now, my life is a little chaotic and I often don't feel like I am working towards the larger goals that I would like to achieve.  So, I am making a 5 year plan.  The hope is to work on all my goals and slowly accomplish each long term goal.  I know some will take longer than others, but hopefully writing them out will give me guidance and a purpose.  My goals are going to focus on five realms, one for each year.  They are: career, health, family, financial and home. 

Career:  One thing I have been doing is working on my education which will lead to my goal of finding a job I love.  I want to continue my education and graduate in April.  My ultimate goal is to become a licensed social worker and find a rewarding career making a difference.  Right now, I don't know where that will be but I will go through the doors that open for me and find a job where I fit.  Goal: become a licensed social worker.

Health:  I need to become healthier both mentally and physically.  Right now, due to my work and school schedule, my health is at an all time low.  I know that I need to start eating better and working out consistently.  Also, I sometimes feel that if I was a better runner, I would be able to connect to my parents better.  It's what they enjoy and maybe if I was healthier they would be more proud of me.  I also know that I need to start managing my mental health better as well.  Especially getting into the social work field, I know that self care is critical and have not been coping well.  Overall, I know that being healthier will effect my life positively in more than one area of living.  Goal: Run a marathon.

Family:  I want to have a family of my own.  And, I don't want to not have a family just because I am single.  So, once I get more financially settled and finish my education, I want to start looking at options to become a mother.  As of now, I have taken all of the required courses to be a foster parent, so it is just a matter of if I want to foster, adopt, or try and have one of my own.  I know this is a HUGE decision and will need careful consideration, but at the same time I know that I want to be a parent.  Goal: Be a mom.

Financial:  I haven't always been the best with my finances and this is something that I need to work on.  I know that I want to start being more financially stable as I will need to repay my student loans and would like to eventually be able to get a new car and be financially comfortable.  I also want to look at the long-long-term and start planning for my retirement again.  Goal: Stop living paycheck to paycheck. 

Home:  I know it may be sometime before I can purchase home again, but it is something that I ultimately want to do.  In the meantime, I want to get out of my apartment living and live in a house again.  I know that Zeus, Clubber and Rocky all miss having a yard, and I would like to live somewhere where I am happy to come home to at the end of the day.  It would also be nice to live in a place where I feel safe.  Goal: Move into a home. 

Snowmageddon

We are having our first snow of the year, and it is turning out to be quite a storm.  As of this afternoon, we are officially in a state of emergency as an ice storm is hitting the area the day after we received about six inches of snow. So far, I have been okay, but cold.  Yesterday my battery was dead in my car, but I was able to get a jump start and replacement battery in the afternoon.  In the meantime, I did have to walk to work (which is luckily only took about 20 minutes) in the snow.  Then after work, my coworker gave me a ride back to my apartment where we had to push my car out of its parking space before jumping it so I could get to the store for a new battery.
 

Today is just plain cold and icy.  It's right around thirty degrees and we have had a variety of frozen perciptation all day.  A little snow, some freezing rain, snow pellets, sleet...you name it, we have seen it.  At least it is suppose to start warming up soon so hopefully things will be back to "normal" soon!

Changes

A lot has changed over the last few months.  I don't want to get into it all and will just highlight a couple of things:

- In December, I completed my BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology at Central WA University.

- Around that same time, I was accepted into the MSW Virtual Program at USC.  I am so excited to start this 4 semester program and become a part of the Trojan family.  If everything goes as planned, I will graduate May 2013.  Maybe this will be me in a year and a half??

- I am still working at Line-X NW, but things may be changing when I find out what, when and where my internship will be.

- I have registered for a CPR/First Aid class as well as the other pre-training class required to get licensed as a foster parent.  I am hoping to complete my licensing soon and be able to be a foster parent for children in need.  I know school will be keeping me busy, but also have a strong calling to be a parent and am not going to resist that urge for much longer.

Those are the main points in my life right now.  Things between Andrew and I are weird.  We aren't together, but we aren't apart either.  We are still trying to work things out, but a lot has to change for that to happen and right now, we both have a lot going on.  I am focusing on school, getting licensed as a foster partent, and then will worry about the rest like where I will be living and working.  There is a good chance I will be moving to get closer to where my internship will be once that is announced, and that will have to occur before I can commit to being a foster parent.  Right now, it's first things first.  Classes start on January 9 and I am extremely excited, nervous and apprehensive about starting.  Here goes nothing!

Un-unemployed

I have been horrible at updating my blog lately and part of that is due to the fact that I am working again.  I got a job about 2 weeks ago and have been trying to get used to working full time and being a full time student.  My lazy days are now gone and I seem to spend all my time either at work, at school, or doing  homework.  I have managed to have some fun on Thursday nights when I take a belly dancing class that I love.  But, besides work and school, all other aspects of my life are getting less and less time.

So, I now am a sales consultant at Line-X NW.  So far, I am enjoying it.  I do a little of everything from inside sales, outside sales, picking up and dropping off trucks plus whatever else needs to happen to make the shop run smoothly.  I get along good with the guys I work with and it is a fun work environment.  My first official day on the job I managed  to get a rock chip in a brand new 2011 Toyota Tundra that only had 23 miles on it.  We all still joke about my luck.  I hope this job works out as I ramp up so I can hit some of the commission goals they set for me.  It's nice to be out and about during the day and meeting new people.  I hope that things keep going the way they are....And I promise, I will try and blog more often.