Okay, so from my *huge* five year goal list I need to figure out what I can realistically do in just 2009. Here goes (this might be a long post):

*physically fit*
Since this started last spring, I have re-signed up for the gym again (something I let go by the wayside when I was really struggling with my fibromyalgia and had to go to PT for a while). But now that I have it reasonably under control I have been able to do something I had never been able to do in my life: run on a treadmill! Having taken the past five years to work up from cycling to elliptical I finally made the transition to the treadmill and am able to run in spurts for up to an hour at a time. So awesome! I can already feel an enormous difference in my body and am looking forward to continuing with that and my strength traning and good eating habits to "reveal" a strong and nice looking body come swimsuit season. So that is my goal for this year. To be able to look in the mirror and like what I see and to feel strong in my body instead of struggling under the weakness of fibromyalgia and asthma and feeling so disabled. I also think that my goal of 175 is probably reachable with this new physical skill (being six feet tall 175 is the weight I was in high school and a healthy one for me - also not what I have been able to maintain since I gave birth to my daughter).

"financiall sound"
Well, since my goals of getting rid of debt won't be able to be completed until 2012 by my figures, I guess staying the course is my goal here along with re-prioritizing and budgeting my auto-savings. I think having $5000 in savings by the end of the year is a reasonable goal with my entry level counseling income. I also need to get back on the "track every penny" wagon and work toward getting the fee for service incentives at work for seeing more clients over full productivity.

"making a difference"
I need to sit for my LCSW exam and get my license

Take the EMDR trauma training in the spring and become EMDR certified

Look into CBT training and certificates

I need to prepare for and take my PhD entrance exams in the fall and apply to the programs I want at Boston College, Harvard and UMass by December 1 and see what happens.

I would like to continue to teach and perhaps develop a sociology course for my college and submit it for review by the summer.

Stay in contact with my political contacts and strengthen my social capitol network. Prepare a fundraising plan and timeline for my political plans and apply for the women in politics training next winter.

Finish the final draft of my SF book and submit to publishers and agents. Outline the second fiction book to prepare for NaNoWriMo next November.

Continue writing nonfiction articles regularly

Expand my garden next spring and invest in indoor gardening for next fall

Become more dedicated to recycling and composting and get the entire family on board

Continue with purchasing local meat. Find local grain, milk and egg suppliers. Look into getting chickens.

Make a five year financial plan to include solar panel installation, geothermal installation and eco friendly transportation alternatives and begin to follow it.

Hmmm *stands back and looks at it*. Looks good to me. Now to get to work.

Melissa
Teens
Fiction Writing