2018 Goals (& welcome!)

     Welcome to Intertwining Melodies, everyone! This is my first post with the new design. I'm super excited for this. :) (Let me know if you like the design in the comments below.) Today I'm going to show you around the design and then go over some goals for 2018... On to the post!

     A few new features you'll notice: first, I got an email address for this blog specifically so you can email me questions or comments at intertwiningmelodies@gmail.com. (Don't be scared to do that, either... I'd love it!)

     Second, I also have an email list that you can sign up for. It will automatically send you an email when I post something new, but I'll also be able to send out special things (not at all sure what that might be yet) to the subscribers. We'll figure that one out as we go.

     A few other things: you'll notice I have my Goodreads and Google+ page linked in the sidebar beside my little email thing. I'm not allowed to do any other social media currently, but I'll be posting on Google+ whenever I have a new post, and maybe some other random things throughout the week. Goodreads is just because I have it and thought I would share. :)

     Otherwise, I have the little followers thing (I'm not even sure what exactly it is but why not?) and the usual archive. If you want to see the "origin story" of the blog name, check out my about page (by clicking here or on my picture in the sidebar). On to the body of the post!

     So last year I did a little 2017 goals thing in an effort to actually accomplish something/just try it out because I never had before. So I thought I'd rate myself on how I did with each goal and then make a new list for 2018. (Can you believe it's 2018?!?)

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1. Regular Bible time. 

B+ Didn't do a very good job with this one this year. I've had my good times, but also my really bad times. School is helping to keep me on track, which is nice.

2. Be diligent with school. (A)

A Not too well on this either, especially the beginning of this school year. But I think I've mad a lot of improvements, so that's good!

3. Do at least one one-week fast from any internet. (A+)

A+ This was sort of forced on us by Mom, but I did actually do a whole week without Internet/computer (except one movie... but it was for a birthday party, so that doesn't count).

4. Get better at the piano. 

A I have gotten better... Still could get better (obviously) but I think I have made improvements.

5. Manage my money a little better. 

B- Not so good... I didn't spend a whole bunch of money, but I'm doing a really bad job at keeping track of my income/what I'm spending and especially remembering to tithe every week.

6. Read a lot of books! 

A+ Finally something I did really well! This probably isn't a huge surprise if you've been around here for much time at all, but I love to read, so this was easy. I did read a pretty big variety of books, too.

7. Exercise regularly.

C- Bleh. Did not do this well at all. There were about four or five weeks where I was really good, but that was early this year and I really haven't gotten back in the habit, though I'm trying to.

8. Use my planner consistently.

B+ I didn't really do this, but I managed to track and organize my time fairly well without it, even though using a planner does help my efficiency.

9. Drink water often. 

C- Another goal I didn't do well in at all. I'm really bad at drinking water (this YouTube video was so relatable). I kinda did part of the time?? Not really, though.

10. Go to bed on time. 

A- Eh. I did okay. My bedtime has gotten extended, which means I did go to bed on time, but that was later than I thought it was going to be. I'm getting used to less sleep, though, so I don't feel as tired as I used to. :)

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     So! That's how I did on my 2017 goals. I'd probably give myself a B+ overall... Not too great. Now for my goals for 2018:

1. Regular Bible time

     Obviously, this is going to be on my list probably every time. I'm really going to work at this!

2. Outline the entire New Testament

     This is something that I thought would be fun and helpful to do. Basically, I'm going to go through each book of the New Testament and outline it to follow it's structure or whatever. 

     I'm hoping this will get me more familiar with the Bible and where certain things are, as well as being able to "get" the point of a book. (I imagine this will be especially helpful with the epistles, but I'm going to try it with the other genres, too.)

3. Enact some restrictions/"fasts" from social media/screen time

     Sort of like my one-week fasts from last year, except a little less drastic. Some ideas I've written down include a full day with no screens/social media (unless needed for school), keeping away from my iPod/a screen for an hour before bed, setting limits on using screens (more than I already have), no screens until I've had Bible time, or no screens until I'm done with school.

4. Read different types of books

     I'm going to make a conscious effort this year to read books that I think I won't like. Now, I might not finish some of the ones I end up really disliking, but maybe I'll find some gems. Who knows? See my Goodreads profile thing to see what I read. :)

5. Diligence with school

     Continue being good with focusing and getting my school done first. Nothing much else to say about this one, I guess.

6. Manage my money better

     By manage my money better, maybe consider putting limits on certain types of spending (clothes, treats, etc.) but just generally keeping track of where my money is coming from and going. Included in that is making sure I tithe at least once every two months instead of piling all the money I owe church into two batches. *rolls eyes at self.

7. Keep my room cleaner on a regular basis

     I love being organized and my room has not been very organized recently. Basically, I'm going to try to keep it clean. Now, this does not mean that it will be spotless all the time but definitely keeping the stuff on the floor to a minimum.

8. Drink more water and stay hydrated

     As I totally and epically failed at this in 2017, I'm going to try again in 2018. Maybe I'll give myself a prize or something? I don't know. Feel free to ask me at any random time how it's going in the comments. (Partly to remind me and partly to motivate me.) I'll update you all regularly, too. :)

9. Exercise regularly and eat healthier than I do

     This sort of includes just generally being more healthy. By eating healthier that doesn't mean I'm going to cut out some things that are bad for me out of my diet altogether (Say no to McDonald's?? How could I?!?!), just reduce those items. This is more for food I eat at home, I suppose. Like candy (chocolate, anyone?), bread, etc. And add more healthy things to my diet like fruits and veggies.

10. Take good care of my teeth, face, etc.

     I've been washing my face pretty sporadically and I know that's bad. So I'm going to try to do that every day. The other thing I'm going to do is take care of my teeth. My teeth have some pretty major problems (are you interested in hearing about that?), and so I want to protect the ones that I do have. :)

     And that's it for my 2018 goals! Thanks for hanging in for this post... It was a little longer than I expected it being. Be sure to sign up for my email list and all that jazz. :) And feel free to shoot me an email if you want to!

~Anna

And I have a comment section! Let me know if you like the new design or if you have any suggestions to make it better. (I don't know if I'll have the ability to make changes, but if I like the idea, I'll try.) Are you interested in hearing the ongoing saga of my teeth? AND IT'S 2018?? Someone HELP.