Goals check-in: April

Read 100 books in 2012.

Up to #50. Jenny's book makes me laugh out loud, cringe, and occasionally gasp in horror... and it explains so much. Especially about taxidermy. It also hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. I am continually tapping my sweetie on the shoulder, handing her the book, and shrieking -- in humor or horror -- "You need to read this!!" Then I yank it back and turn the page.

Exercise for 90 minutes per week.
No real idea of how much I move, but it's not enough. I DID go to the batting cages as a treat last weekend, and it was AWESOME. I love hitting things.


Get rid of (sell, donate, recycle) 80 items from the house by the end of the year.
I'm behind on my 365 things for the Declutter Challenge. A total of 87 this year (just 3 this month for real, although a bunch of stuff went to live in storage), and we have had 121 days. I'll need to get cracking!


Write 70 posts for this blog in 2012.
Only 9 this month, for a running total of 46. I think I'll hit the goal, but I wish I had more to write about. I use a couple of other forums to air specific concerns, and not all of that gets duplicated here. If you feel so moved, suggest a post topic in the comments, and I'll see what I can do.


Volunteer 60 hours in 2012.
I FINALLY made and kept a volunteer commitment on top of my other responsibilities. It was only for 3 hours, but I enjoyed myself immensely. I helped staff a portable reading room at a local farmers' market and answered questions about the blossoming Green Branch Library. Its mission inspires me. I would love to do more of this work! They'll be hosting the reading room every Saturday during the summer, while fundraising for a bookmobile and/or brick-and-mortar location.


Save or donate 50 percent of my take-home income.
In April, I saved 58.6% and donated 8.2% of my net income. (I'm counting the cash I applied to the accounts, not any interest earned.)
Here's how it broke down:
Emergency Savings: 22.6% This account took a hit with the cat's vet bills after she came back. Still on track to have 6 months' worth socked away by the end of the year.
Xmas 2012: 1.5%
Wedding: 0% We met this goal! I transferred the funds from SmartyPig to a more accessible account with a debit card we can use to pay for Etsy purchases, reservations, etc.
House Fund: 7.5% I want this to grow faster, but it will have to wait until my sweetie is employed full-time.
Grad School: 27% Some cash-back rewards and an Amazon textbook sale bulked up this amount.
Roth IRA: 0% Oops! Looks like my automatic transfers stopped and I only just noticed. I'll fix that for net month.
401(k): taken from paycheck; 5% of gross income; not counted in this total
HSA and medical FSA: taken from paycheck; not counted in this total
Investments: still 0%, although I decided that my Computer Replacement Fund would become the Big Vacation Fund now that I have my Chromebook.
Church Pledge: 8.2% 
Other Donations: 0% I didn't select a charity this month, but I'll make up for it later.


Distribute 40 business cards by the end of the year.
Oops. Fell off the wagon in this regard. I should be schmoozing more. Right now I'm concerned about landing a summer internship -- my first choice, that I'd been counting on since last November, fell through.


Spend 30 days without a phone or computer in 2012.
I have a couple of weekends off in May, after the semester ends. I will be using them toward this goal!


Be able to do 20 pushups at once by the end of the year.
...


Write 10 recommendations on LinkedIn in 2012.
Still holding at 1.





Bonus:
Finish Lent strong!
I can eat ice cream again. :)
I attended the last Lenten sessions of Q-Sangha and Taize; I also sang for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday at both morning and evening services. AND I participated in the Queer Seder and Good Friday during Holy Week. (My spiritual life is... diverse.)

Get to work on time.
I was on time or early [not enough] out of all my workdays. It's distressing. I did notice than when I went to bed earlier (read: managed to convince my sweetie it was bedtime and to turn out the light), it was a lot easier to wake up on time.


Work on wedding stuff.
-confirm the venue DONE
-buy my dress NOT DONE -- it's on backorder through June
-see if it fits or whether I need to get serious alterations or even send it back and find a new one ON HOLD
-schedule our "engagement session" of photography (which we're actually planning on using for our thank-you notes) DONE (It will be mid-May when I have some time off from work.)
-order our invitations ON HOLD until we confirm a few more details; I will just have to be patient.