first strawberry!

We have wild strawberries growing in several places in our yard. This was the first one to ripen. Mike and I split it after we took the picture. It was maybe one inch tall. There won't be enough of them to really do anything, but we're excited nonetheless!

Holy Macaroni!

Project Vicki is 4 years old this month. I put my first post up in April 2004. Project Vicki started out on paper as a collection of my goals, my strengths, weaknesses, and just me figuring out who I was/am. I even wrote my own mission statement like Stephen Covey advises.

I put it online so I could update it regularly. Four years later I still don't update as much as I'd like, but it helps me think about my goals, and what I want.

A lot has changed in four years!

First post
Second post made one hour later!

Man in snow

We got socked with over a foot of snow plus the snow drifts. Here's my honey, knee-high in the snow investigating little critter tracks. When I say "critter," I really mean a frightening, smelly, stripy, stinky skunk. I'm afraid to leave the house in the morning in the dark.

february blahs

Does anyone else have the February blahs? You know, nothing is really wrong, but nothing exciting is going on. Every night I come home from work, fix dinner, maybe run the dishwasher, pay bills, then get in bed and watch tv or read. Just sort of maintaining. Not accomplishing much, not falling behind. Blah.

Now that the days are getting longer, and it's almost light out when I leave for work, I think it's time to set some new goals and reinvigorate my life.

Watch for posts about new goals.

Goal: earn $5,000 in 2008

My Goal is to earn an extra $5,000 in 2008. That breaks down to $417/month. It doesn't include any income from my primary job. And it doesn't include my husband's job, or any extra money he makes.

Jan 1: half.com book sale $6.86
Jan 24: esearch survey $3.00
Feb 8: mysurvey.com reward $10.00
Feb 12: esearch survey $2.50
Feb 21: discover cash back $40
Feb 25: etsy sale $1.64
Mar 20: discover gift card $45
Mar 25: esearch survey $2.00
Mar 31: mysurvey.com reward $10
Apr 2: half.com CD sale $11.40
Apr 3: survey reward $20.00
Apr 28: pinecone survey $3.00
Apr 30: discover cash back $60.00
May 2: pinecone survey $3.00
May 19: discover cash back $20.00
Jun 5: esearch survey $2.00
Jun 12: pinecone survey $3.00
Jun 12: mysurvey.com reward $10.00
Jun 12: opinion outpost reward $5.00

Total = $258.40

2008: You are what you eat

For the last couple of years I've tried to pick a phrase or word to describe what I want for the year. In 2006, the theme was Quality. In 2007, Make it Pretty ( i can't find a link).

For 2008, my theme is: You are what you eat.
I'm not only talking about food, but about life. In other words, garbage in, garbage out.

At work it means that if I put in hard work and thought, I will get good results and a good reputation.

At home it applies to eating of course, and exercise. If I don't exercise, I get fat. Eat junk? Get fat.

And it applies to my other goals, such as crafting, if I don't make the time to work on it, how can I expect to get any results?

If you watch BBC America you may recognize the phrase from the show, You are what you eat, where a nutritionist visits a fat person, calls them fat and disgusting, then gives them a healthy eating plan and exercise goals. Makes you want to swear off bad food and only eat veggies.

One thing the host talks about and I'm trying to take to heart is that you can learn to like any kind of food. (even green beans!) And she says You don't have to like it but you have to eat it. I can picture telling that to my kids someday!

2007 wrap-up

I'm a little late with my wrap up of 2007.

First, one of my goals was to earn an extra $5,000 outside of work, and not including wedding presents! I fell short, making $1,341.30. I'll keep the same goal for 2008.

I found $11.23 in change since June.

I made a To Do in 2007 list:
* Get married
* Eat at a celebrity chef's restaurant (Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, etc.)
* Attend the opera
* See a piano concert
* Continue my 2006 theme of Quality
* Live out my theme for 2007 Design: Make it pretty
* Have a craft design published again
* Do something at work worthy of adding to my resume
* Designate April as Career Readiness Month. Make a portfolio, update resume, etc.
* Save up and pay cash for my wedding.
* Get in shape for the wedding.

Looks like I didn't quite do everything I wanted.

And I always like to end the year with
Good Things of 2007
- getting married!
- winning an ASBPE award (an award for writing)
- having a craft design published
- meeting our wedding fund goal
- buying a house
- really learning and using Photoshop and InDesign
- making and designing my wedding as I wanted it
- honeymoon
- paying off my car loan early
- Puerto Rico in Feburary

Good things 2006
Good things 2005
Good things 2004